The Travel-Ready Running Kit That Got Me Out of the Hotel Gym

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The Travel-Ready Running Kit That Got Me Out of the Hotel Gym

It sounds strange for such a simple activity, but having the right gear makes a huge difference when running. I’m a lifelong snowboarder and at 41, my knees, to put it gently, aren’t what they used to be. I’ve always desired the activity’s benefits – the improved cardiovascular health, the boosted metabolism, and the famed “runner’s high” that leaves one breathless but stoked beyond comparison after a jaunt on the trail or pavement. I travel frequently for work and have long wanted running to complement the inconsistent quality of hotel gyms as a source of exercise while on the road. But I’ve never been able to make it more than a mile without experiencing significant knee pain. Every so often I try, and each time I spend the following couple days cringing and hating myself at every step.

Then a friend introduced me to the Altra Experience Wild 2 trail running shoe, which kickstarted for me a quest to obtain good running gear that has subsequently changed both my experience and perception of the sport. I’ve since acquired running clothes from Roark’s Run Amok collection, and Stance Light Performance Crew Socks for a complete setup of basic running attire. Combined, these pieces of gear have reframed an activity I’d long thought couldn’t work for me, and given me one more reason to skip the hotel gym altogether.

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Where and how I tested this stuff
I live in the high-desert of western Colorado, in a county that is 70 percent public lands. As such, trails abound – from the alpine of the Grand Mesa to the deserts of Fruita. I tested the Altra Experience Wild 2 shoes and the Roark Run Amok gear in both alpine and desert environments, primarily on the Lunch Loops trail system in Grand Junction. I chose this system because it’s rocky and technical, with moderate but not severe elevation gain. This allowed me to learn how the shoes, in particular, performed on uneven surfaces. Also, it’s frickin’ hot here in the summer (above 90 degrees daily in July and August), and most of my runs were in the afternoon heat. This allowed me to get a good feel for the ventilation and circulation, as well as the breathability, of the Roark Run Amok products. Additionally, I brought the gear on work trips to Detroit and to Providence, Rhode Island, to gauge how well it all traveled, including how much space it took up in my roller bag.

My runs varied in length from 2.4 miles to five miles. I did some 10 runs over six weeks as part of the testing.

Getting into the swing – er, run – of things

The Altra Experience 2 trail running shoes provide ample padding on the heal and a wide toe box. Photo: Tim Wenger

The Altra Experience 2 trail running shoes helped me train my brain to land on the heel and roll forward, rather than the other way around. Photo: Tim Wenger

The Altra Experience 2 trail running shoe turned this non-runner into a runner. Photo: Tim Wenger

The Altra Experience Wild 2 trail running shoes ($140 at REI) upped the game for me immediately. Altra is doing cool stuff to make running a more inclusive community, and a bit of research on the brand and its products, along with an additional recommendation from a guy at my coworking space who is training for a marathon, made clear that this is the brand I want to support if I’m going to make space in my mud room for a pair of running shoes. The wide toe box prevented the bunion on my right foot from constantly scraping the side of the shoe, something that has been a consistent issue with hiking boots and shoes in the past. The heel is buffered, providing a soft landing after each step that prevents me from leaning into my toes. After some six or seven good runs in the Altra shoes I’ve learned that leaning into my toes was part of the reason I was experiencing significant knee pain before. The shoes have retrained my brain to not land on my toes and roll my feet backward when I run, but rather to do the opposite. This results in less strain on the front of my feet, and makes the entire running process less painful. I also feel significantly less sore than I did before acquiring these shoes.

When I first began this testing I was running two to 2.5 miles and still felt significant pain and soreness in my knees in the couple days that followed. After two runs this pain went down noticeably and became more of a slight soreness that could be worked out with some good stretching. My fifth run at Lunch Loops was accented by a significant downpour. It started slow with a drizzle, but by halfway through the run I was drenched and the trail had become muddy and sticky. The shoes seemed to minimize the stickiness and, most importantly, kept me from sliding or slipping. I did, however, slow down each time I crossed a big rock or came to a step down.

The shoes feel quite bouncy on the step, cushioning the impact and then helping to launch the foot back up again. I’m admittedly not embedded into the “running community” and don’t have much frame of reference, but prior to owning these shoes the thought of running a 5k seemed like a tall order. After my first run in the Altra Experience Wild 2 trail running shoes I’m confident I could accomplish this tomorrow.

Completing my travel-ready running setup

At least 50 percent of my (admittedly minimalist) wardrobe consists of Roark clothes, from the brand’s travel pants to its t-shirts and button-downs. The travel-guide-esque catalogues the company sends in the mail along with the extensive collection of documentary-style travel videos it produces increasingly lean into the “Run Amok” collection, a line of clothing designed for running (often distances much further than what I will ever accomplish). Since I already trust the company’s travel-ready clothing, I opted for the Alta 5” run shorts and the Mathis Active Pocket Tee. I also grabbed a pair of Light Performance Crew socks from Stance, which I chose because they’re thicker than typical crew socks (and the brand’s Ultralight crews) but still thin enough to not encase my feet in sweat after half a mile, as had been a problem running in standard hiking socks.

Upon first stepping into the Alta shorts ($89), I was reminded of the day in 6th grade when I arrived to my middle school bus stop wearing what weren’t acceptably plumed shorts (those were the days of JNCOs) only to have a kid yell “TIM WEARS SHORT SHORTS!!!!” in front of everyone. This time around I had the benefits of a) wanting to wear short shorts for breathability in the 90-degree heat, and b) the apparent fascination of Gen Z men with showing off the upper thigh, to prevent any verbal ridicule. The breathability immediately worked to my benefit. It kept me cool as I ascended a few hundred feet to the top of the Curt’s Lane trail. The shorts feature a zippered pocket in the back for a car key and phone. I learned not to put a full key ring in there otherwise I’d get poked in the lower back repeatedly, but the pocket works well for the bare essentials. There’s no pocket space beyond that one. The shorts held tight to my hips the entire time, and I appreciated the oxygen flow and minimalism of them.

Roark's Alta running shorts are super breathable. Photo: Tim Wenger

Roark Run Amok running gear remained breathable and comfy, even on 90-degree runs. Photo: Tim Wenger

Who wears short shorts? Photo: Tim Wenger

Meanwhile, the Mathis tee ($59) features “DriRelease” jersey knit that wicked the sweat from my chest and back, regulating the heat quite well, and was loose enough that I could use it to easily and frequently wipe the sweat from my brow without having to stop or even slow down. The Stance Light socks ($54.99 for a 3-pack) worked alongside the wide toe box of the Altra shoes to keep my bunion in check. They’re made of soft cotton and feature the brand’s Infiknit reinforced heels, which also complemented the boots’ padded heel. The combination of these two pieces of gear seemed to be what really saved my knees. Each time I arrived back at the trailhead my feet were the least-sweaty part of my body, which I’ll count as a win.

What I gained most through this experiment was perspective. Prior to that first run, I had no concept of how intense a marathon is or how doable a 5k might be. That first 2.4 miles cast a new light on terms and topics I’ve heard about all my life, but had never been able to discuss with any earned knowledge. Something I’d long thought I couldn’t do has become an exercise tactic I now hold in my pocket for travel, able to deploy early in the morning on work trips or after long days when I can’t make it to the hotel gym. As a bonus, by wearing the shoes on the plane (far more comfortable than wearing boots or even my typical skate shoes) I don’t even have to sacrifice any room in my roller bag.