First Impressions -> Newton Running
Grant’s Grunts » Newton Running
I have run in my new Newton Running shoes twice now and am happy so far. The first thing I noticed about these shoes after putting them on and starting up is they definitely give you feedback when you are striking on your forefoot (or your heels for that matter). I know definitely know when I am landing on my forefoot and it feels uncomfortable to strike on the heel. Note, I am a mid-to-heel striker, so I am still adjusting to this new style. In order to compensate, I am scaling back on miles for a bit and only doing shorter runs of 1-3 miles until I adjust. One positive I have noticed over previous times when I tried to be a forefoot striker is that my calves and ankles are not sore after a run. It will be interesting to see how long it takes my body to adjust to this new running form. Hopefully not too long, as I want to get back up in the 3-8 mile range fairly soon.
About the only thing I really do not like about the shoe is the color. My wife promises not to be seen in public with me when I am wearing them and the neighbor kid says they are “scary.” Day-glo orange is meant for traffic cones, not shoes. I know it helps with visibility, but there are other ways to do that. I also don’t know that I would recommend them for trail running, but I suppose they aren’t any worse than any other shoe not specifically designed for trail running. I did notice I felt a little uncomfortable on some parts of the trail I regularly run on that was a bit muddy. Not sure if it was my new running form or the shoes. You also don’t get the same feedback on a trail as you do on the street, but that would be expected.
Lastly, I was thinking some more about the price and I still can’t quite get my head around paying $160 for shoes. There really isn’t that much more material than regular running shoes, nor does Newton Running have in place expensive overhead due to stores or distribution channels (since you can only buy them online from their website.) I suppose they are trying to recover some of their 10 years of research, but that doesn’t hold much water for me. I suppose, in the end, it is a classic supply and demand problem and hopefully the price will come down as they sell more.
As of now, the jury is still out. I will report back more once I have some more serious miles on them.
January 10th, 2008 at 7:58 am
[...] I have put about 15 miles on my new Newton Running shoes and there are a couple of things I can add to my first impressions. [...]
January 10th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
[...] Newton running: never heard before about these shoes or the company that makes them. They have been designed over the last ten years and they have been developed “to make your feet think they’re barefoot and increase your performance”, “mimicking your own, allowing your foot to move freely and promote a forefoot impact”. Right off the bat, that sounds like good idea but the review author is not quite happy with them. [...]
January 13th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I wouldn’t say I am “not quite happy with them” as this comment says. I guess in the context of trail running, I would say they are OK, but I am not a hard core trail runner, so I am not one to judge.
As a road shoe, I am pretty happy (A-) with the shoe. Technically, they do what promised and I feel good running in them. My only two downsides are the price and the ugly orange.
April 13th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I bought these shoes in the hopes of getting rid of some knee pain or future injuries. I recieved exactly what I was buying, shoes that will help me run forefoot without injuring myself. and have to say that I have become a more efficient runner, I won’t praise these shoes as the only thing that made me run faster, but I can say that they helped. I am happy with them, as for the price, all I can say is that Nike has more expensive running shoes and they probably have worse quality than newton. About the color… mine are tennis ball green and they are not exactly good looking, but i don’t really care.