Richard Ussher - Winner (with Elina Ussher, Marcel Hagener and Nathan Fa'avae) of the 2010 Abu Dhabi Adventure Race
21 December 2010
"Just a quick not to let you know about the Inov8 shoes in Abu Dhabi.
Team had a great race and won every section plus the overall for a 4th year in a row so a great way to end the year.
Wore each of the style I have and they were all brilliant.
The F-lite 230’s I wore in the prologue and first Mountain stage plus as a kayak shoe on the last day and found them super comfy and great as a shoe for really fast racing. Good grip and were great in the rugged terrain as well.
The Roc-lite 285’s I used in the main mountain section which has really abrasive and sharp rock with plenty of loose stuff too. The Roc-lite gave great protection both underfoot and to the sides of the forefoot where it is very easy to get knocks. They came through a pretty brutal test in one piece, gave great grip and is still low enough that it provided a great stable platform with its ability to adapt to the terrain with the unstructured design which is how an off road shoe should be!
For the desert I used the x-talon 212 with gaiters sewn on, it may seem like an odd choice but I love these shoes and the big lugs were excellent in the soft sand. The sand proof tops were great at inhibiting and sand that got through the gaiters from going through the forefoot area of the shoe and they were super comfortable for all 120km of the desert. The sand makes the section a bit softer on the legs but even in the long running sections on the harder salt pans and with 10+kg in the pack the level of cushioning was plenty.
I’d be very keen to get some bigger bottles of the spray on sun screen too please, it has really been brilliant and amazing how long it lasts and how well it performs
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas
Thank you for the support and a full race report will be out soon."
Marcel Hagener - Winner (with Richard and Elina Ussher and Nathan Fa'avae) of the 2010 Abu Dhabi Adventure Race
20 December 2010
The team and me are back from the UAE....and it's good to be back despite the rain and overcast sky ;-).
We had a great race and apparently got some coverage on TV1 and some big photos in the Press and the Nelson newspaper.
The shoes were great :-) ! I truly loved them :-) I used the Talons [x-talon 212] a lot and they look a hundred years old but they are still holding up nicely.
The super abrasive rock on the on the Jebel Hafeet mountain was pretty nasty on them...I guess I should have worn some hardier shoes there...like the Roclite's.
The packs were awesome too. This year they made us mountain bike for nearly 90 km's before the desert track and we had to pack a lot of gear for those two legs. [Marcel used a Race Elite 20 for parts of the race, but used a 50litre non inov-8 pack for the desert section when he needed to carry more gear]
The race organizer really wanted to see us suffer this year. The race is organized by the French and I reckon each year they try to get rid of us(the racers) for as long as possible to have a bit of a pre Xmas holiday.
I just wanted to say thank you very much for your support!
Richard Ussher
24.November 2010
Just a quick to note to say the Inov8 gear has been going really well. I ran the Waikaremoana track on Friday in the Lake to Lighthouse race and used the Roc-lite 285’s and they went really well. The cushioning was the perfect mix between being light but cushioned enough to be able to jump down drops and over roots without worrying about the impact and found them comfortable all day.
I did unfortunately rip the material on the top section quite badly but will try and sew them up for the time being. The sole was also excellent on the rocks so could well be the Coast to Coast shoe.
The Inov8 pro 15 back pack was also great. The horizontal bladder system really is exceptional for when you do have to carry a full load of water, very impressed. Hoping the larger pack which Susan emailed me about arriving makes it down before the weekend so I can use it on the Wilkins Young circuit which I’m running as support for Mal Law and the 7 in 7 challenge raising money for the leukaemia and blood foundation.
Also the sunscreen is fantastic as well, great for when there’s no one to rub it on your back too! Always a big thing for us being in the sun so much so will be definitely keen to buy some of that off you.
I’ll have a race report from the Lake to Lighthouse race out soon, been a hectic week but once the 7in7 run is done on Monday will have more time and then will be getting ready for the Abu Dhabi adventure Challenge which we leave for on the 6th of Dec.
Marcel Hagener
23 November 2010
I just wanted to say that I was and am so stoked with the Roclite 295's !!
I wore them for the whole 24 hrs and we were going hard out till to the last minute.
It's funny that I did it too...I am a "seasoned" racer who normally would never wear a pair of brand new shoes for a race...especially a 24 hrs World Rogaining Champs race.
But when I put them on I had that "Blink" moment that they felt right.
View race report:
http://www.sportzhub.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11155&Itemid=1
Sam Dillon (with Mondo Kopua came in 82nd at the World Rogaining Championships)
Just some feedback on the Inov-8 Roclites and Nordsen jacket that we got a few weeks back. Recently competed at the World Rogaine champs held in Cheviot last weekend, it was a 24 hour rogaine with some filthy weather overnight so everything got a good workout!
Just thought I d tell you that the gear performed brilliantly (even though we didnt!!) The Rocklite 295s provided excellent grip in mud and wet grass on the steep hill country. Great feel for the terrain and no rolled ankles so big thumbs up for them! Combined with socks we both had no foot issues or blisters and walking freely the next day... all good.
The Nordsen jackets got a thorough water blasting as we had heavy rain and southerlies up on the tops till 3 am. The acid test was we were still dry underneath after over 9 hrs of rain..... really cant fault that. (wish some of the $400+ jackets worked that well)
Anyway thanks for your help in getting the gear to us and have certainly been recommending it to others. Out of interest there were a lot of Inov-8s seen there especially worn by the European teams.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/sport/4363720/Teams-set-for-tough-route-in-world-test
Jacob Roberts - Christchurch
I thought I would just send you a small race report from The Teva Big Day at the Office, this is a 5 1/2hr Mutlisport event held out of Methven. A very good event that attracted some of Canterbury's best multisporters and also Dougal Alan.
I spotted a couple of pairs of Rocklite 295's out there which was great to see and the shoes for me where great. The run is a 24km mountain run and it is pretty steep and technical and at the end there is about 3km on the road. The shoes performed superbly through the mountain and felt great on the road as well.
I finished in 2nd place about 14 minutes behind Dougal, I am reasonably happy with this as I have only had three weeks training since the AR world champs that I went to at the beginning of October and I also have a sinus infection to add to it. I'm really motivated and looking forward to the Coast to Coast and this year I am really going into the race with an attitude to win and want to make a real race of it for the others.
