On – Cloudracer

There’s a new addition to the RF shoe family. On, as in On-Running. Since my old love, the Adidas Feather is no longer available, I’ve been on the hunt for something new. I’ve tried more shoes than I’d like to admit. Well after seeing the “On” line up on the RF website I started to do some reading on several sites and read some excellent reviews from some very respected runners. Even the sometimes harsh shoe review sites didn’t seem to have much negative feedback. So, I called up RF and had a pair ordered. Once I got them home I tried them on and wondered, “are these a gimmick”. Take a look at them and you’ll see why that went through my head. They fit like a glove and felt great. I proceeded to run a short 10K out and back. From the first stride I was amazed. Not just by the comfort and support but the fact that they felt incredibly responsive. I pushed hard the entire 10K and was blown away like never before when putting on a new shoe. The roll over was not like any shoe I tried before. It actually felt like the shoe was assisting by propelling me forward with each stride. But this was only the first run and a short distance. I wore them for a few more short runs, the amazement stuck with me. Around the Bay was only a week away and I seriously debated wearing “a new shoe” on race day, we all know that’ not the smartest decision! Good thing for me… I’m not the smartest runner! The morning of the Bay I made the decision to wear the Cloudracer. Yet again the shoe was proving that it was all that it has been hyped up to be. Every kilometer was feeling good, the body was loving the support these shoes had given it. I should mention that I was debating on backing out the race as I was having some lingering hip issues. But on this day nothing hurt , nothing  ached! I completed the race exactly 9 minutes faster than last year. Was it the shoe? Well not totally but it did play a part in the new PR for sure. But I was still somewhat not convinced, so I continued to train in the shoe for every distance rather than switching shoes around. Every run with these shoes from 5K recoveries to 35K long runs felt “right”! I’ve since worn them in two other races, each a new PR. Makes you think! Although the reviews I read did mention that the shoe design limits is life span. However, I now have over 400K on these now and they are still going strong with no issues. The design also may look like they would be prone to small stones or debris that may get caught up in them, but again I’ve have these shoes road and trail with out any issues. I’d encourage anyone looking for a change from the norm to take a chance on these shoes, you’ll be glad you did.