In May of this year, Greg and I had the opportunity to participate in a Run Specialty Conference down in St. Louis. We attended various sessions about the industry, learning best practices for operating independent run shops, discovering an array of new (or new to us) products on the market, and, of course, making friends and building relationships. Networking is my favorite part of any trip like this, so I always take advantage of any chance to meet new people.
For this conference, that opportunity was an early morning group run hosted by Asics. This wasn't your typical group run, though—we were on a mission to go "Plogging." That's right, it's jogging while picking up trash.
We met in the lobby of the hotel where the conference was being held, and the Asics team prepared us for the run. They shared a bit about the brand's vision, handed out gloves, and—much to our delight—the Gel-Cumulus 26.
Receiving a new pair of shoes is always a treat, but I didn't know exactly what to expect from this particular model. I promptly laced up and got ready for our mission to run to The Gateway Arch and back with as much trash collected as possible.
Almost immediately, I knew this shoe was something special. It was soft enough to be very comfortable, yet light enough to still feel quite nimble. We jogged, walked, and picked up our fair share of trash, deposited it at the finish, and continued on with the rest of the conference.
Since then, I've logged a significant number of miles in these shoes and have only grown more impressed with them over time. They truly feel like the perfect shoes in their category. When comparing them to other competitors at a similar price point, they certainly make a compelling case for themselves.
These shoes were a pleasant surprise, and I plan to continue squeezing as many miles out of them as I can!
Derrick Ettel
Run Coach, Operations Manager
605 Running Company
Shop Men's Asics Gel-Cumulus 26:
https://shop.run605.com/product/3227983/asics/mens-gel-cumulus-26
Shop Women's Asics Gel-Cumulus 26:
https://shop.run605.com/product/3228038/asics/womens-gel-cumulus-26
