So today was my first ever attempt at buggy running. It’s something that I’ve never really tried before but I can really see the appeal – keep the baby amused/quiet/asleep for an hour or two and keep fit at the same time, it’s a win-win!
The guys at Thule donated us a brand-new Glide Dark Shadow to test drive and review. For this test I enlisted the help of our resident buggy expert Oliver:
Age: 18 months
Weight: 17lbs
Running experience: Regular circuits of the lounge each day
Nutrition: Predominantly fueled by teacakes and milk
With Oliver to assist we decided to get cracking and try out the Thule Glide Dark Shadow. I built it in 10 minutes without looking at the instructions – it’s clearly a premium product from the moment you open the box and is super easy to assemble and collapse for anyone that has used a regular buggy. We have a Baby Jogger City Mini GT as our regular pram and the settings etc are very similar. Within 15 minutes from opening the box we were ready to go!
Oliver absolutely loved it in the buggy and was quite content and secure. My initial plan was that he would have a little sleep during the run, but he was way too excited for that and my run was accompanied by a series of loud whoops and shouts of “yay” followed by excited clapping.
I went for a 5-mile run with a mix of trail and road and a few small hills to really put the buggy through its paces. I’m delighted to report that Thule really know their stuff and the Glide Dark Shadow is quite a phenomenal product. The frame is strong and sturdy – everything feels robust and safe (this was my main concern beforehand.) It’s also fairly narrow which makes it easy to maneuver but also has plenty of room for the child. There is loads of storage and the handlebars are adjustable (which is a must as I’m 6’4.) There was no cup holder / water storage on the pram which is a shame, but I took my water belt which was fine.
The pram has a fixed wheel at the front which I’ll be honest I found a little scary at first (I crashed 3 times leaving the house!) However, once I started running it made complete sense to have a fixed wheel and I realised how easy the steering was. You can turn effortlessly, and the fixed wheel means that you can run fast with absolutely no concerns about balance or toppling. This pram glides over the roads and is so responsive that after a few minutes I wasn’t really thinking about the steering, it was just instinctive.
So, I got a bit cocky and decided to really push it and take the pram off road on the trails and up a few hills. What I hadn’t realised is that it had been raining for a few days (we’ve been away) and the trails are a little bit swampy! I was a bit worried that we’d get stuck but credit to Thule the Glide Dark Shadow just ate up the ground and didn’t have any problems scything through the mud and puddles. At one point I started to slip and lose grip but actually having the pram to balance me out meant I could keep going. I took it up a few moderate hills too and have to say I was equally impressed. It is definitely harder pushing a pram but the difference between pushing this pram and our regular one is massive. I’m not sure how but the Thule seemed to reduce the weight of my chunky little helper quite considerably and I was able to keep running with no problems at all.
In summary:
Pros
Sturdy, secure, safe, easy to assemble, light, easy to maneuver, good storage and a very high-quality finish
Cons
No water bottle holder (sorry its all I can come up with I genuinely love this product.)
Overall Rating – 5/5
I was blown away by this product – simply amazing.
Thule will be exhibiting on stand C46 at the National Running Show at the NEC on 20 & 21 January 2018. If you have any questions or suggestions for me on this subject then please tweet me @raccoonrunner or e-mail [email protected]