The Young Feller

Usually I don't review my running shoes as I tend to buy them in cycles i.e. when my old ones are ready to be retired, so I often end up with shoes half way through or towards the end of their seasonal cycle and by that time, the shoes have already been reviewed time and time again.  For a change I've got a pair of the X-Talon 225's from release and with them being so new, thought I would take a bit of time to review them, or at least give people an overview on the new model of fell shoes and rather than just looking at certain aspects of the shoe, I'm going to honestly look at them from my own experiences of actually running in them, rather than a typical "shoe review" post. If I'm honest, the first thing that made me take a closer look at them was their actual appearance.  Now you're probably thinking why are you bothered about what they look like when they'll be several foot deep in bogs, splashing through mud and scraping on rocks fo

The Ben race.  One of the most famous in the fell/hill running calendar, steeped in history and steep in height.  At 4,414 feet, it is Britain's highest mountain and one of only nine mountains in Britain (although all are in Scotland), over the height of 4,000 feet. Me & my regular race buddy, Simon Taylor, made our way up on Friday afternoon and arrived to check in at the hotel just after 6pm.  In to the room, kit bag thrown down and a nice leg stretch out to check the facilities.  We'd booked in the Ben Nevis hotel & leisure club so we had a pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and steam room to make the most of over the weekend.  From our room the hills were visible, just across the road from us.  When I say visible, it was rare that we could actually see them, the weather on Friday was murky and on Saturday morning, pre-race, it was terrible.  The rain came down no end and the clag covered the hills and Meall an t-Suidhe (the mountain) which was towering high. Prior to arr