{"id":245597,"date":"2026-05-28T11:17:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/2011-put-a-bird-on-it-2026-put-some-gravel-on-it\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T11:17:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T11:17:19","slug":"2011-put-a-bird-on-it-2026-put-some-gravel-on-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/2011-put-a-bird-on-it-2026-put-some-gravel-on-it\/","title":{"rendered":"2011: \u201cPut A Bird On It.\u201d 2026: \u201cPut Some Gravel On It.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Remember when cycling was the new golf<\/a>?<\/p>\n

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Well now gravel cycling is the new cycling.<\/p>\n

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[Oh, well Reddit says it, so\u2026]<\/p>\n

Logically then, it would follow that gravel golf would be the new golf<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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But golf is secure enough in itself to simply remain golf, whereas cycling is neurotic and insecure and needs to constantly reinvent itself in order to make new friends, because it doesn\u2019t think its old friends are cool enough. Apparently running also suffers from this same personality disorder, and as a result gravel running is the new gravel cycling<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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This is the best news I\u2019ve heard in years, because hopefully this means all the gravelistas will finally just run away and never come back, and I for one welcome a day when \u201cmovement becomes instinctive<\/a>\u201d and the Pas Normal set moves \u201cbeyond the city limits\u201d to \u201cwhere the surface softens\u201d once and for all:<\/p>\n

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Though all that sounds too good to be true, and I suspect we\u2019re merely on the cusp of a weird dystopian future in which the city will be full of wan work-from-homers in weird non-specific \u201cdoing active stuff\u201d clothes<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Whatever happens, gravel shoes and gravel bikes are indeed quite similar. For example, both harness the Jan Heinian power of planing:<\/p>\n

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Sitting somewhere between on-road running and full-on trail running, the collaboration focuses on the GRVL Concept shoe, which Salomon revealed at the beginning of May. This incorporates two full-length carbon plates and a PEBA-based supercritical foam midsole, designed to increase energy return and decrease strike energy.<\/em><\/p>\n

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The also use the same tread pattern, because a shoe is exactly like a tire:<\/p>\n

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That part of the design is borrowed from road running, but Salomon says the sole\u2019s tread pattern is inspired by\u00a0gravel bike tyres\u00a0with shallow 1.5mm lugs, which the two brands say offer grip on gravel but also speed on tarmac \u2013 very gravel cycling.<\/em><\/p>\n

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And, most importantly, they\u2019re both expensive:<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a built-in short gaiter to keep stones and debris out of the shoes, which use Salomon\u2019s updated Quicklace Neo system rather than conventional laces. The shoes have a 262g per shoe claimed weight and are priced at a\u00a0cycling shoe-like \u00a3230. They\u2019re available in sizes from 37\u2153 to 49\u2153.<\/em><\/p>\n

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I look forward to the gravel shoe equivalent of the 32-inch wheel:<\/p>\n

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Oh, and in case you\u2019re wondering, the answer is yes, of course there\u2019s such a thing as barefoot gravel running:<\/p>\n

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