Mizuno Wave Kazan Trail Running Shoe Review
For a blog about trail running (well at least named that), I don’t actually run or race on trails very often. Don’t get me wrong, I love trail running, it’s just a little bit inconvenient to have to drive to a trail to run when I could just put on any other pair of running shoes and step out the door for a road run. I have done quite a few trail runs in the city and compete in a couple throughout the year. I even got 2nd in my age group in a trail race last year! For all of the trail runs and races I’ve done, I’ve always ran in the only pair of trail shoes I own, Saucony trail shoes that I received back in 2009. But since I haven’t used them very often, there is still a lot of tread left. So when I got this opportunity to test out the new Mizuno Wave Kazan trail running shoes, I couldn’t say no.
Trail running is so much more different than traditional road running. In road running, all you really have to worry about is maintaining your pace with occasional uphills. Trail running varies by the course, but for the most part, it’s like a mini obstacle course. You have to constantly be on the lookout for rocks, branches, random holes, wild animals, etc. If it’s a good trail, there will definitely be uphills which will probably mean downhills. All of those challenges is what makes trail running fun. It’s exciting to be outdoors with amazing views on an adventure run.
And that’s how I tested out my Mizuno Wave Kazans, see if it could survive on a typical trail run. I wanted to make sure my feet and ankles were well supported while tackling all of the obstacles that you find in a trail, light enough to allow me to pick up speed when needed and provide cushion to absorb from the jumps and downhill pounding that a typical trail running shoe endures. And I have to admit, the Kazans passed with flying colors. I ran with them on my old high school trail (which was more of a horse trail than anything) as well as some pretty technical outdoor trails.
These will probably be my go to trail running shoes moving forward, I’m also exciting to see how Mizuno improves on these trail shoes as they are pretty new to the trail running shoe industry.
This post is sponsored by Mizuno through a campaign with FitFluential. I was provided a pair of shoes and compensation in exchange for this post, social media shares, and a review of the shoe on their website. As always, all opinions are 100% my own and I only share products on this blog that I genuinely love and use in my own life.
