Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 13

obstaclemudrunner.co.uk ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners 36 FOOTWEAR : INTERVIEW Leon Kofoed: continued... We saw you win the short course at the European Championships, congrats. We couldn’t help but notice you wore inov-8 X-Talon 210’s. Nice choice... X-Talon’s have an 8mm lug depth, how did you find them on relatively dry terrain? Light, fast and reliable. They are great in wet and dry terrain. As long as I’m not running on asphalt the X-talon 210 is my preferred racing shoe. The grip is naturally insane, but the fit is key for me. These are the only trail shoes that give me the same feeling as a pair of track spikes do – they make me feel even faster and stronger. How was the grip on that huge 1/4 pipe and walls? The grip did well on walls, pipes, ninja walls and everything I met on that course and other courses. The sticky grip soles are good in sprints and also in more controlled exercises like balance obstacles and so on. How much do you think this choice of footwear helped your performance overall? Any runner will emphasize the importance of good footwear for both racing and training. The Parkclaw is great for longer trail runs and even mountain running, the Trail Talon is my preferred shoe for running on the beach but there is no doubt in my mind when choosing a racing shoe for the big races – that’s the X-talon 210. Of-course it made a difference in my performance as I saved energy on lifting my feet, didn’t slide around on the trails and water drained faster than it got in. Blisters are no issue as the fit works and changing into the X-talon 15 minutes before racing makes me feel light! Are they true to size or did you go up a size? They’re perfect for my race. 41.5 for that shoe like any other inov-8 shoe. Are they still orange or have they gone 50 shades of mud? Haha, mine have gone a bit dirty after heavy use but a few races or runs with water-crossings normally gets them back to the beautiful orange colour. My mom’s favourite colour is orange, so that’s pretty cool too! Will you be racing at the World Championships, if so will you wear the X-talon 210’s again given that the terrain is generally very wet at that venue? Wet or dry, bring it on! We will be racing on dirt, grass, fields and on wooden obstacles – I’ll be toeing the start-line with orange on my feet. What star rating out of 5 would you give them? That’s hopefully not a trick question – cos I’m going for 5 out of 5. His final words are: The OCRWC prep is real :) Photo: inov-8