Category Archives: Sports

Clifton 3 versus Air Zoom Span

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Hoka and Nike each have a relatively lightweight “cushioned” entry into the road shoe category, the Clifton 3 and the Air Zoom Span respectively. The Hoka comes in at about 9.1 ounces in a size 9.5 D, and the Nike at roughly 9.3 ounces, so virtually identical there. Both are from premier shoe companies that know what they’re doing as far as the basics. They get the size right. They have a smooth sock liner with no ridges that chafe the foot. They have a nice heel cup that grasps the foot and keeps the shoe from sliding up and down on the back of the ankle.

They both have a cushioned insole and a nice outsole. A padded tongue and a smooth collar. Giving “the edge” to one over the other in something as subjective as a shoe is largely personal. These 2 entries are about as light as you will find while still providing what is considered a “plush” (soft) ride. You can go lighter like with the Hoka Tracer (7.0 ounces) or the Nike Free RN Motion Flyknit (7.5 ounces), but their ride will be categorized as “responsive” (read firmer), not cushioned.

Having worn both now long enough to have an opinion, I can’t help but feel the Clifton is a cushier ride. Your feet almost feel rejuvenated after a run with them. The forefoot protects the foot from getting that “slapping” feeling from a shoe with too soft a sole. The Nike is supposed to have an “air unit” in the forefoot like the Pegasus 33 to cushion there, but I swear your foot does not feel as cushioned as with the Hoka.

I suppose it should in a way, I got the Nike’s for about half the price of the Clifton’s! $83 vs $158 by the time I got out the door. Hoka might be the new kid on the block compared to Nike, but they win the matchup in this round. For those with wider feet, both have a roomy toe box. Both have a kind heel strike, though I would say once again the edge goes to Hoka! Its a shame shoe reviews are not a ‘one size fits all’ scenario (we end up with a closet full of shoes that don’t always measure up). Oh well, if we buy last years model on closeout we can generally get them deeply discounted.

And as I just read in Runners World, runners with 2 or more pairs of shoes suffer fewer injuries as the foot is forced to respond to each set of weaknesses and strengths!

[5/29/17 update. I’ve noticed that after just 6 months running in the Clifton 3, and those were over the less frequent running winter months, they are nearly worn out! I’ve noticed after looking at my New Balance that even though a year old, they are hardly worn! Same with the Nike. Hoka while making a very nice shoe, does not make a durable shoe. Its even less of a bargain when you consider their higher initial price.]

10 minutes to River Oak

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River Oak and Grove sign

The salesman said the Nike Air Zoom Span running shoes would make 57 year old legs feel like those of a 24 year old. I can’t wait. So far it hasn’t worked. Ghost, Glycerin, 1080v, Zante, Kinvara and Clifton have all failed the rejuvenation test.

Men I think tend to search for the “ultimate shoe” solution. Rather then drop the 15 or 20 pounds they should to improve their running, we think saving a couple of ounces in this or that shoe will be the magic elixir to running success!

I really thought Hoka had the answer (they certainly had the best marketing). $150 dollars later though, it was close but no cigar with the Clifton. The Zante’s at $75 dollars are definitely lighter and perhaps more comfortable to run in. The Kinvara’s were excruciatingly tight. The Brook’s models were mediocre at everything, but excelled at nothing. The New Balance 1080 are definitely the cushiest, but come in at a psychologically weighty 10.6 ounces.

Odd that New Balance seems to be coming out ahead in this real world shoe test. I’d definitely like to try their Vazee Pace. Saucony for sure makes the best walking shoe in the Echelon LE, but this is about running shoes. And with Nike.com running a 25% off clearance sale, I couldn’t pass on trying the company that kind of wrote the book on modern running shoes, Air Zoom Span $72.48. I’m sure that with THIS shoe, it will cut a minute or two off my 10 minutes to River Oak Drive (if I dropped the 15 pounds I need to, I’d likely take 5 minutes off my time)!

Sunday morning with Kinvara 6!

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Interesting shoe. The lightest I have at 7.9 ounces. Beautiful morning for a test run. Saucony Kinvara fits tight on your feet. Every previous shoe I’ve ever had fits like a 9.5 American. This tight fit loosens up some with each mile. The snug fit is appreciated on corners especially, no perceived risk of sliding off your shoe base. You corner well. You also have to figure its going to expand a little with wear, like breaking in a new pair of gloves.

I hadn’t planned on getting a new pair of running shoes before winter, but when I saw these prior year shoes (Kinvara 7’s out now) on Amazon for $72.61, I couldn’t pass them up. A lightweight shoe is what I’m into. A Hoka One One Clayton purchase is planned for the spring. When you flip the shoe over and press on the heel with your thumb, it is definitely a firmer heel then the Clifton, Zante or Ghost. But then, few people have an actual ‘heel strike’. The rest of the sole is quite soft.

I’ll be curious to see how they feel as the miles accumulate. Right now it is a nice shoe, but the Clifton’s actually feel rejuvenating for your feet as you run. The Kinvara’s let you run forever! They are lightweight shoes built for running lots of miles! I also think the edge might go to the NB Zante for comfort ahead of the Kinvara. Also the New Balance supports American manufacturing more, though I’m not sure to what degree. I’m still searching for the shoe that takes 40 years off your legs.

[I ended up either throwing these away or giving them away. Hard and tight is not what you want for a running shoe. Ginger Runner on YouTube as an example just raves about Kinvara, all I can think is there’s a financial incentive. I’d be embarrassed to make something so bad. In over 20 pairs of running shoes its the only one that couldn’t get the size right, not to mention their sole was so hard it was a traction hazard.]

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Purchased from Salk Trading, 172 Trade Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40511

Fall tennis in Iowa

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It is about as good as it gets. No wind. Not too hot. Not too cold. A crispness to the air. A couple of dry leaves blowing across the court. No fighting the crowds. Pretty nice. Squeezing in just “one more” game before the snow flies

Hoka One One Clifton 3 !

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A recent trip to downtown Ames scored a pair of Clifton 3 running shoes from Brown’s Shoe Fit. The first thing I noticed handling this $140 shoe from Hoka One One was how light it was. Once I got it home and put it on the scale I found it came in at 9.2 ounces for a 9 1/2 size shoe. The same trip I had “bounced” a pair of Brooks and Asics in my hands and you could tell immediately how much heavier they were in your hands.

They were imbalanced heavy in the sole. The Clifton’s were “balanced” in the sense the uppers were the same felt weight as the soles. After the first mile they broke in and you got past the “clump, clump”, and each footfall brought a nice ‘cush’ feeling and spring in the step. During a Sunday morning run, they were as kind to old peoples feet as is possible in a shoe.

Now I want to get another Hoka, the Clayton to see how they compare. I’ve found out in my short time as a runner, that weight is a BIG factor in how enjoyable your running experience is. Another shoe I’ve heard a lot about is the Saucony Kinvara. Despite my sentimental attachment to the Brooks Ghost 6 that got me into running, they are just to heavy to justify. That’s one thing that bugs me about shoe reviews, don’t “describe” how heavy they feel, give us the ounces.

[5/29/17 update. I’ve noticed that after just 6 months of running in the Clifton 3, and those were over the less frequent running winter months, they are nearly worn out! I’ve noticed after looking at my New Balance that even though a year old, they are hardly worn! Same with the Nike. Hoka while making a very nice shoe, does not make a durable shoe. Its even less of a bargain when you consider their higher initial price. So no matter how nice a shoe they are, it’s ridiculous to pay $150 for a shoe you only get 6 months out of. The thin layer of rubber on the outsole they had to know wouldn’t last long. You are overpriced and under made Hoka.]

Clear Lake Kite Festival 2016

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It was a slushy Saturday February 20 in Clear Lake for the 11th annual “Color the Wind” kite festival. Crowds might have been up with the warm weather. Long lines of cars viewing from the lake front road.

Most spectacular photo of the day! (all photos DME)

Horses and croc

Wild horses

Hug me!

Silly old bear

Arts Center

Special showing at the art center

Passerby

Buddy riding shotgun

The arch

The arch

The bear is back!

Don’t feed the bear

Chip and Muffin

Chip & Muffin

Lunch spot

Backyard Deli

And more kites Cabin Coffee Croc Dog!      Posing

Clear Lake!

Leaving town

A sign of the end times?

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The Chicago Cubs could be in the World Series? The Iowa Hawkeyes go 7 – 0 ? Donald Trump has a real chance to be President of the United States? Were all these events foretold in the Book of Revelations? No. But, these are indeed scary times we live in. Change is in the air. We’ll know the end is near if Hillary is brought up on charges for destroying evidence and flaunting every security protocol in the book. Nope, ain’t gonna happen. Live long and prosper.

Why is women’s volleyball the most photographed sport?

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For reasons not entirely clear to me, sports journalism seems to devote an inordinate amount of photographic coverage to women’s volleyball. In times past, sports photography followed the rule of catching the action at it’s “peak”. In women’s volleyball a lot of the photography focuses on ‘high-fives’ and the prelude to the action. Even now, this blog has hired a team of retired NASA scientists to try and decipher this riddle. Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this.

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1988 DM East Rachele Clark

Even in 1988 (Rachele Clark – DM East High School, Nov. 5)

The kick heard ’round the state

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The man of the hour: Cole Netten

Iowa State kicker Cole Netten won the game Saturday against Iowa by a clutch kick with 2 seconds left to defeat Iowa 20 – 17. He couldn’t have done it though without help from the $4.5 Million Dollar Man, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.

Ferentz, in one of the great strateegerizing moments in the annuls of football history, called a timeout moments before as Netten’s first kick sailed wide. Try # 2 ! Good! Thanks Ferentz, ISU couldn’t have done it without you!