Wayne Edy (founder of INOV-8) once teased me about the eternal search of fell runners for the “perfect shoe”: inexpensive, comfortable, supportive, lightweight, robust, grippy on every surface, lasts forever - the never ending quest.
Through this Forum I have noticed that Montrail, which name is presumably derived from mountain and trail, have an off-road shoe - the Caldorado. Caldorado? I remember when fell shoes were simply called Raid or Racer but I suppose if you merge the word for a volcanic cone and a rocky desert state in the USA you get Cald(era Col)orado.
The eternal search reminds me of that other quest: that for the Holy Grail and the challenge to recover it, as taken up by King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, for Christendom.
The Knight who achieved the Grail Quest was, of course, Sir Galahad: he who filled the seat at the Round Table that no man had previously been worthy enough to fill (Sege Perilous) and pulled the sword from the floating stone.
Has there been a fell shoe named after Galahad? Or any other Knights? Isn’t there something heroic and evocative of Arthur’s Knights about fell runners conquering everything in their path, whether man or nature - and rescuing maidens as they pass? Should we have the Nike Galahad? The Adidas Galahad?
Or evoke the exploits of other Arthurian Knights: Tor (notes of Dartmoor!), Cador or Laucelot, the greatest Knight of all. And what about Mordrayns (although aloud that doesn’t sound quite right) or Melliagaunce (allegedly a little too lustful)…but perhaps these are a Knight or two too far: and I must go off and clean my Mudclaws.