Of shoes old…

It’s been a while since I first noticed signs of wear on my Kinvara 3s… The cuts on the upper, the midsole looking more and more compressed, the sole all worn… you know the signs. And it was little surprise, I have ran more than 850 km in them (~530 miles), including of course the Rome Marathon last year (and to think some people criticise their durability!)…

 

And thinking about it (as you do when you finally admit any new state of affairs), my calves had been feeling sorer these last few months… I wouldn’t be surprised if those compressed midsoles have something to do with it. Till now I had put it down to my concentrating my training almost exclusively on speedwork in November / December last year (aimed at shaving those seconds off my race times that would squeeze me into the next club standard) but my training has been more balanced of late, with a couple of easier weeks (recovering from the Ashby 20 and then from a cold), so there was no excuse really.

In any event, there is no arguing that my Kinvara 3s are approaching the end of the road… They were the second version of that shoe that I’ve owned, the original Kinvara being my first minimalist shoe, the one that saved me from the injuries and blisters the ‘bricks’ I used to wear till then gave me… I remember my first run in them, it was a true revelation! The lightness, the speed, the comfort… and when I wore them for my first marathon, I didn’t even give them a thought in the entire 26.2 miles – which is probably the greatest praise a marathon runner can give his shoes!

But I digress. I merely meant to illustrate that I had loved the first Kinvaras, had recommended them to anyone who would listen and made sure all my nearest and dearest got a pair (or two)! When the time came, I replaced those with the Kinvara 3s, which, as I’ve already implied, suited me just as well, so little surprise that this morning I once again made my way to the Saucony website to see what the lovely people in Lexington were designing for me (yes, I do take it that personally!)

The good news was that the Kinvara 5 was on its way. The bad news that it wasn’t likely to be launched till sometime in May. Hmm… Then in the ‘New Arrivals’ section, I noticed that a Kinvara 5 Special London Edition was due to be launched… on the 3 April… ok, that’s today… in one store and one store only and then at the London Marathon Exhibition (i.e. not available for online orders)! Or, as the site put it:

“This LONDON Limited Edition of the Kinvara 5 celebrates Saucony’s pop-up store in Covent Garden. Exclusively available at the store and at the London Marathon exhibition, there are only a very limited number of pairs of the LONDON version, so don’t miss out!”

The store in question was in London (understandably) and a quick search showed that it was no more than 100 yards off my way from Kings Pancras Railway Station to a customer meeting I was due to attend today (ok, if I spurned the tube and crossed half of central London on foot, but hey)! Talk of the stars aligning or what!?

As it happens, I’m pleased I did take the trouble to buy them in a real shop though (even if that meant turning up at the customer’s offices with my shopping), because it transpires that the sizing is slightly different in this version and I had to go for half a size smaller than previous Kinvaras, or all other Saucony shoes I’ve owned (so potential Kinvara 5 buyers be warned!)

So, here I am, on the train back home, sitting next to a bag with ‘Saucony’ written on it in big letters, typing this for your enjoyment and looking forward to getting home to add some photos and post!

 

My first run in them will have to wait till tomorrow, but this is something to whet your appetite in the meantime: