Post-race review of Reebok All Terrain Sprint

Bottom line: The Reebok All Terrain Sprint shoes performed at Saturday's Charlotte Spartan Sprint. I didn't.

That said, I ended up 8th in the elite heat after failing the traverse wall and the spear throw, so that resulted in probably 4 minutes of burpees. Oh well, that's all part of the fun and uncertainty when it comes to obstacle racing.

Back to the shoes...

The terrain around the festival area was a muddy mess. Things weren't nearly as slick as they looked later in the day, but the mud never clumped on the shoes to the point I could feel any extra weight. Other parts of the course were smooth, gravel roads. And other parts were paths through the uncharted woods or pastures of tall grass.

• The shoes gripped well. There was only one slip where the shoe slid back a few inches before catching.
   
• The shoes drained well. I specifically ran through (instead of jumping over) a shallow creek to see if the shoes would hold much water. They didn't. And I kept on going without missing a step.
   
• The shoes are light. Because of the light weight, I never felt like they were holding me back, and I was able to make up ground after failing those obstacles.
   
• The shoes have short laces. Because of the Salomon QUICKLACE™ system, I had concerns about going back to regular laces. And the laces on the Sprints are short. They were just long enough to double-knot them. They did not come untied, so I'm over that concern.

Finally, I didn't notice any damage to the shoes after cleaning them off in the shower. (Yes, I usually jump in the shower after a race with my race shorts and shoes on still.)

Looking forward to racing in them again.