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Trail Talk with Gore-Tex

Fredrik Ölmqvist (Salomon Trail Runners) / 08.09.2006

Mals, Northern Italy. 08:25 am. The AC/DC song “Highway To Hell� from the loud speakers brings arms in the air. And a shiver runs through my body, just like goose bumps. It’s time for another stage, the seventh of the eight. As usual in the Alps the morning air is crisp. The object for today is simply to get to the finish line in Schlanders, without any problems. I have a new running partner, Juergen Kurapkat, European manager for Gore Footwear. Basically It is “his� race, and it obviously has the purpose to promote Gore-Tex running shoes.

After the looong climb on scree and rocks up to Rappensharte, 3,012 m that took us nearly 3,5 hrs we have approx. 2400 m descent down to Schlanders. The first half is on trails made in heaven, soft, slightly declining, with enough clear space between the rocks and bushes. Juergen has some minor problem (pain) in the knees, but after the painkillers I give him start to kick in we run along in a good speed. After the second food & water stop we run on a dirt road that gets steeper and steeper. I ask Juergen to explain a little about their thoughts on Gore-Tex running shoes. (Well, it seems only polite!)

“Our strong belief is that one out of three running shoes for a runner should be a Gore-Tex shoe. For example as a choice for the morning run when you aren’t sure about the weather or the trail conditions. Historically Gore-Tex stood mainly for water protectiveness, but this has changed somewhat and Gore-Tex stands today more for climate comfort. In running shoes we talk about a comfort zone up to 25 degrees Celsius. Up to that temperature you don’t have any disadvantage in a Gore-Tex shoe, but you have the back-up with the waterproofness.�

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