BACK IN MARCH when lululemon first unveiled its inaugural footwear range, the brand’s senior vice president of footwear Simon Atkins told Men’s Health that lululemon would be adopting a feel-first approach to performance footwear, and that “it’s those nuances that separate lululemon from other options in the market”. Now, with the release of the Beyondfeel Trail, lululemon is offering proof of concept.
We live in an age of increasingly theatrical running shoes. Every week, a new shoe hits the market with a comically tall stack height, a ridiculously lightweight frame, or so much cushioning it might as well be an airbag. These shoes will certainly catch eyeballs, but what they lack is the components that will actually make a tangible impact on your performance. lululemon understands that to perform at your best, you need to feel your best. That’s why the Beyondfeel Trail puts your needs first.
The Beyondfeel Trail is a utilitarian shoe if there ever was one. It’s been crafted to maintain optimal performance on trail, mixed and road terrains, meaning it’ll hold up wherever you take it. The shoe’s upper is constructed with ultra-flexible ventilated mesh that stretches and moves with you every stride for bolstered support. But for all its flexibility, the upper compromises nothing in terms of durability, protecting your feet from rocks, dirt and debris – a necessity if your runs frequently take you off the beaten track.
Under the hood, the Beyondfeel Trail is similarly impressive, with directional traction, a lugged outsole for boosted grip on all surfaces, and Lululemon’s supercritical foam, which provides a smooth as silk heel-to-toe transition with enough cushioning to handle uneven terrain.
One of lululemon’s strengths is that its footwear is designed to cater to the specific and often minute biomechanical and morphological differences between men’s and women’s feet – a rarity in the industry. With the Beyondfeel Trail, that results in the men’s version having room for a wider foot shape, taller instep and longer toes. On the other hand – or foot – the women’s version boasts a narrower heel, wider toe-to-heel ratio and accounts for a smaller big toe.
The question you’re probably asking is how these shoes actually perform when put to the test. To help answer that question, we spoke with endurance athlete Ben Seymour – who got his feet on the Beyondfeel Trail early – to get an expert opinion on lululemon’s new shoes.
Since cutting his teeth in rugby with the Western Force, Seymour has transitioned into ultra running. “I jumped straight from a marathon to an ultramarathon and I just fell in love with the challenges, obstacles and thinking around what you’ve got to do and when you’ve got to do it,” says Seymour.
For his next challenge, Seymour is taking on the Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie – which translates to ‘following the footprints of the Dukes of Savoie’, but is more commonly referred to as the TDS. More than just a few laps around a French park, the TDS is a 145km race from Italy’s Aosta Valley to France’s Savoie region, in which competitors gain nearly 10,000 metres of altitude while traversing the Alps. Seymour expects it will take him around 40 hours of nonstop running to conquer the TDS, but is he confident he’ll even finish? “I’m very confident,” he says without hesitation. “Obviously I’m a little scared, but I’m also excited at the same time. I think that means I’m in the right place.”
To prepare for such a gruelling physical undertaking as the TDS, Seymour is currently doing three strength sessions, two swimming sessions and four runs per week. His running schedule isn’t for the faint of heart, but he tells us he’s going to be pushing himself even harder once he gets closer to competition. “Currently I’m sitting at 65km per week, nothing too big. Peak weeks I’ll be at 100km-plus,” Seymour says.
It’s safe to say that any man capable of even attempting the TDS knows a thing or two about performance footwear, and Seymour is practically an expert in that regard. “In my type of races, we take on all different kinds of terrains. There’s a lot of climbing, but also a lot of descending. So I mainly look for shoes with a lot of grip that are still spongy enough to give support on the way downhill,” Seymour says. “Being just as good on all terrains is also important because I’ll be running on roads and through towns, but also on trails, so having a shoe that can go across everything is super important.”
Luckily for Seymour, a lululemon ambassador, the Beyondfeel Trail fits that description perfectly, and he’s been fortunate enough to test them out before their official release. “The Beyondfeels have been awesome,” he says. “It’s been so cool running around in them and getting a feel for them. I think they’ll definitely be well received.”
If you’re keen to put the Beyondfeel Trail through its paces for yourself, you won’t have long to wait. The shoes are launching in stores from today, May 14th. Find out more here.
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