Crazy Daredevil Uses Road Shoes on Trail Run
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In an act variously described as bold, defiant, and reckless, a local woman on Sunday wore road shoes for a trail run, Dumb Runner has learned.
The woman, Louisa Alcott, ran nearly seven miles on the trail, a mix of singletrack and logging road, while wearing shoes described as "simple lightweight trainers." Witnesses said she showed no obvious signs of distress.
"It was weird," said one onlooker. "At first, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was, like, Who is this audacious rebel?"
Reached for comment, industry experts couldn't believe it, either.
“She’s lucky to be all in one piece.”
"She's lucky to be all in one piece," said Taylor Barnum, spokesman for the National Running Shoe Council, a trade group. "Road shoes are for roads. That's why they're called road shoes. Wearing them off-road is wholly inappropriate, and an invitation to injury—or worse."
Road shoes lack bumpy nubs, Barnum explained. Bumpy nubs are crucial when running off-road, he said, because they "assist the runner with gripping varied, rugged terrain, helping him or her blaze new trails."
Without bumpy nubs, said Barnum, "you're going to be all over the place."
Alcott, however, was not "all over the place" and in fact appeared to be enjoying herself, witnesses said.
"So she was okay," Barnum said, "this time. If she's smart, she'll quit while she's ahead and go purchase some trail shoes before trying a stunt like this again."
Or, he said, better yet: "Two or three pairs of trail shoes. So she can rotate them."
Rumors that Alcott was also wearing a cotton T-shirt could not be independently verified.
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