Running Wild With Brooks Mazama

Running the Maysawa Trails with Brooks Mazama

Brooks Mazama is designed to blitz the trail with its lightweight built and boot like fit.  It gives you a better feel of the surface allowing you a faster reaction time on changing trail conditions.  That’s among the things I like with the Brooks Mazama and let me run it down further with a #TaleOfTheTrail peek at Brooks latest speed demon.

Read About:

• Testing out the Pure Grit 4

Brooks Mazama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=23&v=Bge-pL6rpQw

First of let’s try to deconstruct the shoes.

• Light and fast cushioning – weight is 9.3 oz.
• Grippy Traction with its sticky rubber outsole with directional lugs for uphill and downhill traction
• More power with its protective propulsion plate – the plate provides stable landing platform and gives added protection from hazards
• Durable Bootie-like fit. – gives you a better feel of the surface for a faster reaction to the changing trail conditions.

Those are the key elements from the teaser of the Brooks Mazama shoes.  I always read the features of the shoe so I’ll know what to expect.  Technically, it’s a speed trail shoes and when it comes to speed shoes, I always check out how they make up for the cushioning.  I’ve went on to try out the Pinoy Trails Sierra Trail Adventure Race 2016 Route last weekend to see how it feels on the trails.

It’s a Speed Shoes

Tanay Maysawa trail was a perfect test for speed for the Brooks Mazama as it has a long downhill stretch where you can run with varying surface from dirt roads, rocky and stony areas and even deep mud.  It’s definitely a speed shoes as the lightweight feel made each stride a lot easier.  While it’s not as cushioned as other trail running shoes, its protective plate added stability in each foot landing therefore minimizing the impact on the legs and the knee.  Another key driver of the speed was the snug-fit feel that’s common in the Brooks technology.  It gave me a better feel of the varying surface as I navigated from dirt roads, muddy trails, stones, rocks and grassy surfaces.

It has Good Traction

Where us the Pure Grit 4 uses 3D hex lugs, Mazama uses multi-direction lugs.   That means the grip would be coming from all directions, which helps a lot on the uphills and the downhills as gravity can be a factor in your climbs.  It’s effective on routine climbs though It could be a challenge on more technical surface.  In terms of muddy terrain, it accumulates mud like any other trail running shoes and reduce its traction.  What sets it apart is that it sheds of mud faster with its rubber soles. The mud immediately washes of the mud with ease.

It did help me past the steep climb

It’s Not Afraid of Waters

You’ll definitely brave the mud and waters with Brooks Mazama partnered with DryMax Trail Socks

It’s a muddy stretch on the lower part of Mysawa Trails. I went fearless on this part after all, I’m testing out how the Mazama would fare under all conditions.  For the mud, I got soaked several times in the mud and my worry was how to maintain the squeaky clean neon green look. While it looks flashy on trails, I initially thought that it would be a mess after hitting the mud.  I was surprised after hitting of the stream that the mud covering the shoes got immediately washed off.  It’s not waterproof but I like that water flows out easily in and out of the shoes so didn’t feel uncomfortable all the time. I was so comfortable with the water that aside from crossing streams, muds and rivers, I even washed it off on one of the water source and that’s thanks to the breathable mesh materials its made off.

Goodbye mud in an instant.

It has a good fit.

This is a pro and con in my book. It’s a pro for those who prefer more to have a better feel of the trail. It’s a con for those who prefer wider toe area.  The soft mesh materials does not add stress to the feet since it adopts to the contours of your feet. I usually prefer wider toe area shoes because of the tendency of the feet to expand on longer course so what I did was I took went a half size bigger for more room at the toe area.  Since the mesh is stretchable, it does reduce the strain on the foot thereby negating the compact look.  It also has a shoelace pocket to reduce the risk of untied shoelaces.

Run Happy

It’s a Value For Money Shoes

Valued within the P5000-P6000 price region, it’s around mid-tier in terms of the pricing.  A lower tier brand would be below the P5,000 region and other brands priced at around the P8,000 region. It would be a great investment for beginners and even experienced runners as it can take you to a lot of trail surfaces and once you get used to it, you can even brave the tougher surfaces.  It brings in the flashy look and speed at the trails.

Brooks Mazama

Brooks Mazama is perfect for those who wish to go light on the trail.  It feels fast and has the added support for each foot strike to reduce impact on your legs.  It will definitely add speed to your trails.  Of course, Brooks also has a line for those who prefer more cushioned shoes like Cascadia. The multi-directional lugs gives you sufficient traction on several trail surfaces and the fit would give a better feel and appreciation of the surfaces. It’s made of quick dry and quick wash materials that reduces the water or mud accumulation on muddy trails or river crossings.  You’ll definitely run fast with the Mazama but more importantly, you’ll run happy.