Peter Runs the 2026 M.O.M.’s Run in the Altra Vanish Carbons

Okay, I have to admit I was surprised. I had had a pretty stressful week leading up to this race, and I didn’t sleep all that well the night before. I went into this race planning to treat it as a time trial for my Next Big Race™️. I was expecting to run it somewhere in the 8-9 minute per mile pace.

I used my time trial structured workout with my Garmin Forerunner 965, synced from my Coach Parry dashboard. It called for a 10 minute easy run, followed by 5 30 second runs at around an 8:30 pace, followed by 30 seconds of cooldown at around 13.30. I did that with a few minutes to spare and made my way to the starting line.

The whole time, I was a little worried that the new Altra Vanish Carbons felt a little restricted at the top. My toes weren’t hitting the front of the shoe, but they were rubbing against the top. This is the same phenomenon that kept me from buying the Altra Escalante 3 and that I later also discovered in the Altra Torin 7. The design from that year seems to have spilled over into the Vanish Carbon, leaving less toe room. As someone who has gotten black and blue toenails (and lost one – twice) this wasn’t a good feeling.

What was a good feeling was how fast I was at the outset. The shoes did make me feel faster, and I had to actually brake a couple of times to avoid crashing into other runners who were zigging as I was zagging trying to pass them. While it wasn’t my plan, I went all out. I looked at my Garmin and read my heart rate (working with the Polar Verity Sense) and it showed me at 171 bpm. I was concerned. Later I saw my HR go over 173. A few years ago, that was pretty much the top end of my range. I really was working hard!

And the first mile or so of this course was uphill! I pressed on, regardless. My breathing was labored, but I was moving and I did not want to slow down.

Well, I did slow down, but only a little!

I did not expect to set a new personal best in the 1km, 1mi, 2mi, or 5km distances, but – somehow – that’s exactly what happened.

M.O.M.’s Run Route

Afterward there was food, and it was tasty! Good pizza, pasta, chicken fingers, and – perhaps most importantly – beer! Worth the price of admission, will run again.