Inov-8 X-Talon 200 Review

The view from above my favourite trails in the Blue Mountains
at Wentworth Falls 

X-Talon 200

Upon the release of the X-Talon 200, I was interested, they seemed the perfect fit for my Skyrunning and trail running plans in 2015.

Grip like a X-Talon 190, light like a X-Talon 190, fit like a Trail-roc and offer the support of a X-Talon 212.  All the more reason to be interested, actually excited, excitement on that was on par with when my first ever pair of X-Talon 190 were in the mail.

For me I run in Inov-8 for one reason, they work for me.  They serve a purpose and I can choose a pair that’ll suit every run I do, on road and trail.  I love the trail range, the grip of the X-Talon and the comfort and durability of the Trail-roc.  I have a pair for every race and training session I do, but there was a bit of an issue when I ran my first Skyrun in 2014 down at the Buffalo Stampede.

My first and most recent pair of Inov-8's

I wore the X-Talon 212, they gave me grip, support and the trail feel needed.  I was very happy with them and I felt confident during the race but as I continued on the many long descents my toes were getting belted somewhat.  The fit is narrow compared to the X-Talon 190 and over time and distance this eventuated in my first ever black toe (obviously the fit of the 212 is not right for me). While only a minor problem and not as horrific as some stories I felt a bit worried the same was going to continue down in the Victorian Alps when I visited for racing and training.  Lucky for me at camps and in training the runs are shorter and I could rotate my shoes to reflect the particular trail if needed, so I was very happy to see the new model unveiled which solved this problem for me, the X-Talon range now offers a fit for everyone.

Testing these new shoes over the past week involved a range of trails, from my usual trails around Hassans Walls (single track, fire trail and downhill mountain bike track), to the Winburndale Range (rocky, steep and rough fire trail which is loose underfoot) and finally at Wentworth Falls in the Running Wild 16km Race today (a mix of all trail types including lots of wet areas and stairs).  Lucky for me they also experienced a range of weather from bone dry to sopping wet conditions, so I got a look at how they performed across the board.  All up I spent around 6.5hrs in them, running 45km with over 2500m of up/down.

Inov-8 X-Talon 200

Grip – the aggressive tread allows super grip on everything but wet boardwalks/wood (although I felt an increased sense of confidence on these surfaces than in previous X-Talons I have owned). On smooth firetrail they give good grip but get a bit nobbily underfoot, they aren’t really suited to easy fire trail, unless of course it is wet or sandy then they are pretty good as they lose the nobbily feel as they grip into the trail surface. On single track, rock, steep ups and steep downs they are in a league of their own, I have so much confidence in every step and was able to change direction easily and without slowing down or breaking stride.

Fit – the new wider fit of the X-Talon 200 is perfect, it is similar to that of a Trail-roc. My toes weren’t stuffed or smashed when descending the steep trails at Winburndale and they allowed my toes to spread on every step. They are a true size for me and I found the fit excellent.

Rarely do I pause in a race today I
did to take this view in.

Trail Feel – I had a good feel for the trail under foot and was always getting the feedback needed from my foot but at no point did I get discomfort or pain from a sharp rock. The weight allows good running form and the tread and foot bed gives the minimal feel I love from Inov-8.  All this along with a good amount of protection (including the new rubber toe guard) underneath gives more confidence on the trail.

New Features – the rubber toe box is awesome.  I hit my foot a few times, it didn’t hurt and the rubber material almost bounced away from the rock/tree (a bit like a dodge em’ car) allowing my foot to go over the trip hazard and not stumble or fall.  I was a little concerned that with the new toe box they wouldn’t drain as well but after several creek crossings and many puddles, they drain very well indeed.  This along with the combination of the best features from other shoes in the Inov-8 trail range gives this new shoe a position on the trails of it’s own.

While I wouldn’t go for the X-Talon 200 on runs with mainly fire trail (Trail-rocs are the perfect fire trail shoe) they will be my choice in any mountain race, Sky Races such as Buffalo, for the Glow Worm Marathon, Sydney Trail Series and anything that is wet or technical.  In both training and racing this will be my go to shoe, they are light, comfortable, durable, functional for my running and they look pretty good as well.

A big thanks to Inov-8 and Barefootinc for giving me the opportunity to test the new X-Talon 200 out, it just gets better and better…

Photo Credit

RunningWild NSW

Yearly Review

Yearly Review

Favourite race of 2014 - Mt Arthur Wellington

November & December 2013

No races due to injury in right ankle. Spent a lot of my time on the bike and rehabbing the injury with a return to full load late in December.

January 2014

Skycamp: Got my first look at Bright and the Buffalo Stampede course……

Knapsack 6hr Lap Race: 4^th male 60km 6hr 7min. First race and long hitout for 2014.

Results http://s132369.gridserver.com/files/Knapsack-Lap-Race-2014-Category-Results.pdf

February 2014

Running Wild Wentworth Falls 16km: 2^nd place 1hr 24min 37sec new PB. Poured with rain but was fun and fast.

Orange Colour City Marathon: 4^th place 2hr 59min 44sec. Snuck a sub 3 in a last minute decision to run.

March 2014

6 Foot Track Marathon: 26^th male 3hr 56min 41sec new PB. Ran a planned and smart race to allow a good finish. Will be my last 6 Foot for a few years.

Results

http://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/Home/QuickResults?clientId=1&raceId=1012&raceName=Six%20Foot%20Track

STS Manly Dam: 3^rd place 1hr 34min 9sec. Tough run but managed a good result.

Results

http://www.sydneytrailseries.com.au/sydneytrailseries/results

Lithgow King of the Mountain: 1^st place 22min 5sec 1^st win ever!!! Up a big hill and back down. We ran way over distance but I managed to get my maiden victory by getting away on the descent.

Orange Volcanic Mountain Challenge: 52min 17sec 7^th place. Finished well in a deep field.

Results

file:///Users/room/Downloads/ResultsByTime14.pdf

April 2014

Buffalo Stampede Ultra Skymarathon 2014: 12^th place 10hr 32min 34sec. My big "A" race for the year. Very happy with my performance and I am coming back with the intention of shedding some time and going sub 10hrs in 2015.

Results

http://www.buffalostampede.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014-Ultra-Results.pdf

STS Big Trail Run 46km: 1^st place 4hr 3min 58sec. Dress rehearsal for the TNF100. Was battling a hamstring problem and felt pretty good until I kicked a rock up into my leg and corked my calf.

May 2014

Bathurst Half Marathon: DNF. Hamstring went at 5km. Very disappointing and the start of rough times ahead.

STS Kamay Short Course: 1^st place 30min 3sec. Ran quite restricted but no mishaps with hamstring.

TNF100: DNF. The writing was on the wall after 3km and my hamstring went out at 31km, pushed on to 36km but eventually turned back to CP2. Very disappointing and a big reality check for me.

June 2014

Glow Worm Tunnel Ted English Bolt: 1^st place 26min 52sec. Hamstring was good and I was starting to feel better at this point. Fitness at pace was quite poor.

July 2014

Mt Arthur Challenge: 1^st place 39min 29sec setting course record. A true mountain run, flat-up-down-flat, favourite race of the year.

Results

http://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16253&RId=195

STS Manly Dam: 2^nd place 40min 48sec new PB for the 10km. Happy to sit back and wait until the back half to push it along. Nice little battle and a strong finish.

Results

http://my1.raceresult.com/details/results.php?lang=en&page=6&eventid=29637&contest=2&name=Result%20Lists%7CFinisher%20List&format=view

August 2014

Centennial Park Ultra: 50km Mixed Pairs 1^st place 3hr 51min 46sec. I popped late on but happy to get a good fast longer run in. It was great to run in a team with Kel.

Results

http://my3.raceresult.com/details/results.php?lang=en&page=6&eventid=29941&contest=0&name=Result%20Lists%7CFinisher%20List&format=view

RunningWild Glenbrook: 25km 1^st place 2hr 14sec. I was in second for most of the 27km but pushed the downhill and managed to reel in the win. Close to the best executed race of the year for me.

Results

http://www.runningwildnsw.com/results/

September 2014

Edgell Jog: 26min 53sec 5^th place and a PB. Hit the hill a bit hard and blew up a touch towards the top. Felt confident throughout the whole race I’d hold 1^st local and managed this prize. Will have to keep knocking time off in the future to get that podium!

Results

http://tiktok.biz/list/bathurstedgelljog/2014/run/

STS Duffy’s Forest: 1^st place 1hr 19min 40sec. I enjoyed the familiar trails of St Ives and really enjoyed a controlled and fun 20km run in the bush.

Results

http://my1.raceresult.com/details/results.php?lang=en&page=6&eventid=31343&contest=3&name=Result%20Lists%7CFinisher%20List1&format=view

Canberra 101km Trail Run: DNF injury. I was going to plan and had worked through a rough section when I kicked my foot and fell. Unfortunately the pain never subsided and I pulled after persisting for 15km, very disappointing and grounding.

October 2014

Sky Camp – I attended this time as a coach. I had a blast and we saw the entire course across the weekend. A new perspective and view on the Stampede was built and it is again my "A" race for 2015. I enjoyed rubbing shoulders with everyone across the 3 days, it was an opportunity to be sponge to soak in the knowledge.

STS Big Coast Run: 2^nd place 2hr 14min 26sec. Ka-boom I went on the sand. Put to the sword but happy with the run on beautifully tough course.

November 2014

Carcoar Cup Half Marathon: 2^nd place 1hr 17min 59sec. On my own but pretty happy with the run. All boxes ticked with a view to run much quicker in 2015.

So that’s the wrap for 2014. Plenty of races and new trail found. I had a good year but it was up and down due to injury and form drops. I’ll learn from everything and aim to come back better each time. I can’t wait for 2015 and I’m kicking my training off this weekend at Narrowneck where I’ll be running with Kel to the finish.

At a glance;

                        Races – 22 (4 ultras)

                        Wins – 8

                        Podiums – 4

                        DNF’s – 3 (2 ultras)

                        Best Performance – Buffalo Stampede Ultra 12^th overall

Big thanks to the following for doing what they do;

Kel - best wife ever!

Family - no way we'd be able to run without your support and time.

Up Coaching/Brendan Davies - Brendan has supported me from day one and continues to. Not going to get a better mentor in my opinion.

Mountain Sports - big supporters and great friends. Can't wait until 2015's events!

Sydney Trail Series - I love my monthly trail race in the city, new trails await next year.

Hammer Nutrition - backed me again at Canberra, looking forward to potentially working together on a permanent basis in the future.

Train>Implement>Retrain>Re-Implement=Improve

September 28 will mark the second running of the Sri ChinmoyCanberra Trail Run, this year it’s 101km and I am toeing the line again for a shot at a pb and another 100km ultra.  I have been keeping this race in mind since returning to full training and I am again supported by Hammer Nutrition in my venture to the nations capital for the event. When I was plotting my return I marked in key build up events and three main “A” goal races for the end of the year.  Those being Canberra, Egdell Jog and Big CoastRun. From there I planned my training to suit these events, which has been a challenge considering they are quite diverse events indeed.

Fuelling the long run again.

I have been back into full swing for around 6 weeks and my load and mileage is back where I want it to be. Each week I can run longer, faster and more efficiently as I have been focusing on making sure everything is done right. I have also been super strict with my core and my new strength program, which has included some balance work and plyometric work. I have also been reading about various training methods including the use of HIT/Intervals (Seller & Tonnessen, 2009 & Finn, 2001), plyometric work (Ramirez-Campillo, et al. 2014) and training methods to enhance physiological methods (Midgley,  McNaughton1 and Jones, 2007) over the past few weeks and I have been gradually incorporating aspects of this reading into my own training program.

My focus has been on endurance and speed during this block of training. I am naturally going to go up and down hills because when I run at Lithgow I love getting onto the trails around Hassan’s and there is only one way and that is up! So I have been really focusing on short but intense interval sessions, longer sustained intensity runs and getting the fast twitch fibres activated. My long runs have been progressing weekly in both speed and distance and I have been lucky to be able to include a couple of longer races to help here too, my longest run for a while is planned for Sunday where I’m aiming for around 50km in 4hrs.

Trying to hold form late on
@ CPULTRA

Only time will tell if my training is going to pay off but I have been trying to milk every session for what’s its worth and each session will give me some sort of adaptation for my planned races. My coach Brendan has launched his UP Coaching business and we are continuing to work together but now I’m more in control of setting my weekly schedule and using Brendan as a mentor, someone who provides bigger picture feedback as opposed to the daily reports. I am very interested in coaching and I see this, as an opportunity to further improve my own knowledge through reading and experience and it’s perfect as I have Brendan there if I require extra help.

CP ULTRA 50km pairs, 1^st mixed pair home. Kel and I ventured down to Sydney for the newly managed Mountain Sports Centennial Park Ultra run. We planned to split the laps just off even and get our longest runs in “at race pace”. It turns out we both probably bit off 1 lap too many but we were able to hold onto 1^st mixed pair, not that anyone was really worrying about the race in the first place.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere at the event and ultimately I got a fair bit of feedback intrinsically about where I was at from this run. Next year I plan to return for a sub 8hr Aussie 100km qualifier.

Full results here

Glenbrook Podium

Glenbrook is an area of the mountain I have visited but never ran in other than at Knapsack Park. I entered the 25km option of the Running Wild Glenbrook Marathon race and was planning a fast, well-executed race based on the training I have completed of late.  My impressions of the course were mainly of smooth fire trail with some single track, a few climbs and just over the 25km or around 26km, well I was wrong.  It was a race of two, up the Red Hands Cave and then after to the finish. The first section was tough, plenty of stairs, loads of single track and a couple of solid climbs with the section to the finish once back onto the fire trail after the caves being much more runnable and flowing. I was at the front early on and settled into 2^nd for most of the race, exchanging running partners along the way always aware of the plan and conserving energy levels for a final assault on the quads into the finish. All went to plan and when I came out of the single track I felt really good and I was surprised with the trail in front of me, appearing far more runnable than first expected. So I picked up the cadence and ran to the turn point with purpose, rounding the corner it was all systems go into the finish, where I ended up picking up 1^st place with around a km to go. My race had been carried out in a manner I had planned and I feel as though I’m hitting form once again, just in time for the big races ahead.

Full results here

My confidence is coming back and I am setting my goals for the next few events ahead. I’m very much looking forward to these races and if I can plan according to my training and form I will walk away satisfied each time.

Looking Ahead

Edgell Jog – September 7 – 7.5km, pb 27:52 5^th male is my best result at my local race. My goal is always a pb and then a strong run, but I am really keen to crack the podium and be first local home again this year. I have been able to focus on the event a little more in training and the 25min efforts in tempo, shorter more intense interval sessions and course familiarisation hasn’t been occurring by accident. I am focusing on the jog this year and aim to be ready to run come Father’s Day.

Tree Pose - area to improve

Canberra Sri Chinmoy – September 29 – 101km, pb 11:39 8^th male and my debut hundred in 2013. Hammer Nutrition again supports me in this event and I have been focusing my training for this one. My long runs are increasing in length and I plan on racing up to 30km but no further up until this event, the marathon at Mudgee really taxed me last year and I don’t want to have to recover for too long after my long runs. In the event I have to be able to run between the climbs and I am preparing accordingly with all sessions trying to get the body ready for race day.  I would love a 10hr time and a top 3 finish and I really believe I’m better prepared than last year, only time will tell.

SkyCamp 2015 is in October and I am going down as part of the UP Coaching team.  I am really looking forward to camp and will post a blog when all the information and logistics are sorted.  Rego opens for Buffalo 2015 on the 1st of September so I am super excited.


Photo Credits

Jo Brischetto and Alix Campbell.