Minimalist & Newton Shoe Review

Ironman AZ in the Newton Sir Isaac Trainers
Over the last year I’ve put a whole bunch of miles on my Newton Trainers and knew I’d need to pick up a new pair before Ironman AZ. I’d been eyeing the Sir Isaac Guidance Trainer for a little bit and was really impressed when I tried on a pair at my local Road Runner Sports in Scottsdale. I dragged a friend along for one of the RRS weekly runs, and the shop owner hooked me up with a little discount. I was only able to put about 20 miles on ‘em before Ironman, but knowing how great the sockliner is on Newton shoes I felt there was nothing to worry about.

As you’ll read below, I’m a fan of the “old” Newton models, and I had no Idea I would love the Sir Isaac Guidance Trainers even more. I feel like these are the shoes that Newton should’ve put out first – they are the most comfortable trainers I’ve used while still being light enough to be racers!

During the marathon portion of Ironman AZ, my feet were the only thing I didn’t need to worry about. After the finish line my feet were the only part of my body that DIDN’T hurt!

I’m looking forward to running the Inaugural PF Chang’s 50k With Dean Karnazes on January 17 in the Sir Isaacs and then tackle 200 miles of Ragnar Relay Del Sol in mid-February. I know at least half of our Ultra team have Newtons, let’s see if I can convince the rest of ‘em to switch before then!

The love affair continues
This morning I was jogging to the pool for a workout, so I popped on my Newton Gravity Racers – my “old” pair. These are the shoes I wore for 400+ miles of training, a 70.3 triathlon and at least 1 marathon. I retired these when I bought my second pair of Gravity trainers, and had all but forgot about ‘em. This morning I saw a bright greenish-yellow shoe staring out at me from the bottom of my shoe pile and I figured I’d take ‘em for a spin. I remembered how great these shoes felt without socks when I wore ‘em for tris & brick training so on they went and I was out the door. 10 steps into my run I realized how much I liked these shoes they day I bought them, they feel like a well-worn yet comfortable slipper. Lightweight, flexible & a perfect fit without socks. The wide mesh allows for great breathability in the 100º morning temps and allows them to dry when I put them on after I get out of the pool & run home. My run was made special by bringing an “old friend” along with me… well, strapped to my feet.

I was wrong for retiring these shoes too early, there is still way too much life left in the lugs and they feel soooo good. They just got promoted from closet to gym bag for lunchtime runs!

Updates; Wrong shoe names & stuff… (5/2/09)

Now I realize my mistake when I ordered the “wrong” Newton Trainers; I’d screwed up the naming here on my blog — I didn’t even know I was wearing the “Gravity” (orange) model before. Anyhow, I feel it’s all irrelevant anyway. For today’s 5-miler, I popped on my “old” (~200-300 miles) Gravity Trainers and the difference between those and the stability “Motis” (white) seemed negligible to me. The Motis feel a little bit stiffer in the forefoot lugs than my Gravity Trainers, but have plenty of spring. My legs might have been a little tired today, but I swear I was running faster all week in the Motis Trainers. I’m looking forward to an 8k in Scottsdale this weekend… I wonder which shoes I’ll race in!

Newton Running Shoes – Pair #3: Motis Trainers (4/29/09)

Right now, I’m on my third pair of Newton Running Shoes; the Motis Trainer. These are a stability shoe, and I’ve never needed a stability shoe in the past. I have an extremely “average” stride, arch, etc. According to salespeople at both Fleet Feet and Road Runner Sports who’ve tested me on treadmills, I’m Joe Average as far as running shoes go. I’m also a little too light for stability shoes (150lbs.) and the lugs in the forefoot seem a little harder to me. It may just be in my head, overall they feel pretty good. I’ve run in them 4 times since I got ‘em and need to go back to my Gravitas to compare the difference.

Why did I buy stability trainers? Honestly, I saw a good deal and ordered a pair. Since Newtons are a high-end shoe ($175/pr.), I’ve taken to buying a pair when I can find a deal. So far I’ve been lucky to find some overstocks & clearance sales for $130 and $109 after paying full price for my first pair. I honestly believe they are worth every penny of the full price, but with an infant at home and my wife leaving her full-time job to be her (awesome) caregiver, it makes fiscal sense to be frugal. So; while I had stars in my eyes to find a new pair for $109, I failed to investigate which model “Motis” were. I thought I was buying another pair of the trainers I had, but those are “Gravitas”.

I’m putting together a post on my main blog about what I’ve learned over the last few weeks regarding “runner’s knee”, my running posture and the “cheating” I was doing in my Newtons.

Ragnar Del Sol Ultra Marathon Relay (2/28/09)
AWESOME. That’s how my feet felt after 36.6 miles of ultra marathon running in my Newton Running Gravity Trainers. (3) members of our team wore Newton Trainers and we were all amazingly pleased with how well they performed… or maybe how well WE performed in them! Actually, all (3) of us have a pair of racers and trainers. Jason & I wore our trainers exclusively while Laura ran her longest leg in her pink racers.

There’s a certain feeling of accomplishment when you turn your friends onto something that they end up loving; encouraging my teammates to drop $175 on a pair of shoes is a little hard to do, but I am SO convinced that Newton Running Shoes are worth the extra 30-50% compared to traditional running shoes. Seeing Laura & Jason ecstatic about their shoes makes me feel damn good. We’re all on our second pair, and I’m pretty positive there’ll be many more in our future.

Get a pair; they are worth every penny. (BTW, Newton does NOT provide me with shoes, not even a discount — as much as I’d appreciate one!) This is an unbiased opinion of a guy who’s ponied up over $300 for (2) pair of these shoes over the last year.

1st Marathon in my Newton Running Gravity Trainers (1/18/09)
January 18, ’09 I ran in the PF Chang’s Rock ‘N Roll Marathon in AZ – through Phoenix, Scottsdale and finishing outside Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. Weather-wise it was a beautiful day for a run, and my Newtons performed so well I was absolutely thrilled. This was my fourth marathon, and I’d run each with a different pair of shoes. (OBX ’08 in Asics GT2110, R’NR AZ ’08 in Asics Nimbus 9, R’NR San Diego ’08 in Nike Zoom+) Each of the first 3 m’thons ended with foot pain, this time my feet felt great after 26.2 miles of beating and about 40,000 footfalls! I actually didn’t swap out my shoes for sandals when I walked the mile back to the car as well as the next 40 minutes to home. These shoes are the real deal, and it will be really difficult for another manufacturer to knock these off my feet anytime soon! I almost forgot the most important part – I retired all the other shoes immediately after those previous marathons as they just felt “beat” and lost their cushion. That will NOT be the case with my Newton Running Gravity Trainers!

Newton Running Gravitas (Gravity) Trainer (12/1/08)
These are my current Newton Running Motion Trainers, and I will have a difficult time explaining how much I love these shoes… but I’ll try.
My first Newton Running shoes were the Distance Cushion Racer, and those were excellent shoes; extremely comfortable and very lightweight. I almost feel bad that those shoes didn’t see any marathons; but they did propel me through a lot of training and a few triathlons and a 70.3. “Training” is the optimal word in the last sentence; I figured that if I was running every day in the Newtons, I’d get the trainers as my next pair. The 1oz difference is nothing considering how light the shoes are, and I figured I’d get more miles out of a trainer. After running in the New Newton Gravity Trainers for a week, I feel I made the right decision. The Trainers are even MORE comfortable than my racers (well, duh!) and feel as flexible and light. One huge difference I noticed between my old (400 miles?) motion racers and the new trainers were how bouncy the new ones were. I didn’t feel like my racers were dead, but the new trainers had a lot more “energy return” to the forefoot.
The first few days with any new shoe are a semi-uncomfortable break-in period, with my Newtons it’s pure bliss. There’s a reason I call these my magic shoes!
In less than 10 days I will be running the Las Vegas Marathon, and it will be my first m’thon with Newtons, and I am really excited. After that, I have Rock ‘N Roll AZ and an Ultra m’thon relay (182 miles, 6 runners!)
I’d also like to announce that I converted another runner to Newtons, Laura is now sporting some pink Newtons! She will be running the Ragnar 182-mile relay from Wickenburg to Mesa AZ in February with us as an ULTRA Marathon team! As of this moment, 1/2 of our team is wearing Newtons (Wanna sponsor us?) and we’ll see what I can do for the rest.
I’m pretty active in the Twitter running community (@TRIPHX) and have heard a few folks complain of calf pain with new Newton Running shoes. YES! That’s your foot strike moving farther to your forefoot, and that’s  part of the process in becoming a more efficient runner. It may seem a little awkward or sore at first, but I honestly feel it is the best change I’ve ever made.

My First Newton Running Shoes (6/15/08)
[Updates Below] Kristen surprised me with a new pair of Newton Running shoes. If you aren’t familiar with them, here is the Newton Running site. I read a few reviews and was very interested in trying them out, and my lovely wife totally hooked me up.

All my friends and training partners know I’m into every gadget I can get for running/tris. iPod, iPhone, Nike+, Garmin, wetsuits, carbon bike, aero wheels, (should I continue?) Well, for my first 2 marathons, I spent $125 on Asics shoes, for San Diego I actually used a $49 pair of Nike Zooms. I figured I’d keep using “cheap” shoes until I read a review on the Newtons. Now I’ve seen their booth at bigger tris and marathons, so I am pretty familiar with how light and how big the forefoot lugs are. I’m also not put off by the garish color combination (several day-glow colors at once), but I was a bit hesitant at the price tag. $125 was my limit, and these start at $155. For a shoe that I never tried, I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger – I’m glad K did it for me. (supportive wives rule!)

I received the shoes a few days after the order (free shipping), and was psyched to find that they came with a really nice pair of socks, extra laces and a vented shoe bag. First impressions were very positive. The packaging contained a DVD and brochure to give tips and info about the shoes and proper running technique with them. I read a lot about the unique break-in period for the shoes and the wearer.

Today I logged 4.5 miles (cut short by a meeting) and was overall very impressed – but wasn’t so sure in the first mile. At first, these shoes feel strange with the large lugs under the ball of your feet. I tried hard to emulate the running form I saw in the video (and on YouTube) and I felt pretty awkward. The first 3/4 mile I felt like I was all over the place — but my pace was pretty strong. By the time I hit the 1.5 mile mark, I was dead on my 8:00 pace (12:00 total) and felt OK. The shoes started to feel normal and I no longer noticed any instability on my forefoot. It was a hot & humid (it happens) AZ day, so J and Il wanted to hit the treadmill for another 2-3 miles before heading back to work. The Newtons performed excellent on the treadmill, I wasn’t sure if I had gotten comfortable or they wore in – but they felt great and efficient.

I’m looking forward to logging some longer distances this week, I’ll send out a Tweet (Twitter: TRIPHX) each day as I get more experience with them.

: Day 2:
Today I logged another couple of miles in my Newton running shoes (BTW, they are the cushioning/racing model) and they have broken in quite nicely. I honestly didn’t even notice the lugs under my feet at all today – except for running up the stairs. A word to anyone thinking of running stairs with them… don’t do it until you get used to the extra 1/4″ lugs!

: Day 4/5:
Mileage So far: Treadmill – 12.5, Road – 10
Today I checked the soles of my Newtons to see the wear pattern and was very pleased; each foot is wearing identical, and in exactly the same spots. Mentally, I’ve used this “break-in” period to focus on improving my running efficiency and clean up my mechanics. It feels very strange to run differently after I’ve spent a few years getting used to my “natural” stride, and I feel like I am improving. The wear pattern on the shoes tells me I may be a little bit more biomechanically efficient than I thought. The more efficient the better – and the Newtons surely benefit proper movement. The shoes feel even lighter each day, I’ve worn racers before and these seem like feathers for 9oz. The toe box is very wide, I wonder if my toes will slop around after 6, 8, 10 miles?

OK, here’s the marketing spiel… these shoes MAKE YOU RUN FASTER. I swear that they do… at least on the road – treadmills suck anyway. My last 3 outdoor runs have been faster than intended pace, I need to find a better pace with these screamers. I’ve been cutting my 1.5 mile splits to under 11 min (not intentionally) and today I looked at my watch to see a 7:18 first mile during my “easy” 4 miler. I’ve yet to try to hit my PR for 2 miles (12:20, but that included a 600 yard 6 degree hill) but I’ve yet to find a casual pace with these shoes. Running on my forefeet is more efficient than I anticipated and I feel like I’m making a breakthrough…

Update: 21 days
I’m still very impressed with these shoes, and frankly can’t remember what it was like running without them on a daily basis. OK, maybe I can… I ran a quick 2-miler from my office to the park to do some stairs and field sprints and wore “regular” shoes. Actually, I wore the Nike+ Zooms with Smart Feet inserts that I used to run the San Diego Rock ‘N Roll Marathon. While they are comfortable shoes that are well worn in, I still preferred the Newtons. Actually, I think it’s unfair that I wear a shoe that makes me faster, more efficient and has all that forefoot cushioning while my training partners don’t. (evil grin)

The wear pattern on the bottom of my shoes tells a story – and a very good one at that. Both shoes are almost perfectly symmetrical and show almost all my weight and propulsion is happening on my forefoot. The heels are barely worn while the front of the lugs show a nice, smooth wear pattern up to the toe.

Update: 40 days
Mileage < 100 miles
After over a month of daily 5k’s, these shoes have been great. I feel like I’ve got a better stride, and more energy at the finish. While a 5k is short, the 110 degree AZ heat makes it the preferred distance for lunchtime runs. I also have a real job, so the days of a 2-hour run at lunch are over for now – until I retire or get a gig like I had at ESPN.
Impressions: Comfortable, very lightweight, extremely breathable, comfortable (again), and bouncy. I feel like I get a great deal of cushioning when I land on my midfoot to forefoot area and roll up through toe-off. I’ve never worn a shoe like these and truly enjoy running in them. I know the $155 is a bit steep, but I’ve raved about them so much that Jason bought a pair too. He’s on day 3 today, maybe I will include his reports too.
Wear: I have close to 80 miles on these shoes so far (a couple longer runs were done on other shoes while my Newtons were left in my gym bag at work) and the shoes still feel fresh. They are broken in, not broken down – or anywhere near it. The tops look clean thanks to all the mesh, and they still look new. The wear pattern on the bottom is still symmetrical, and I can see that the majority of the wear is right under the center of my foot. Seems like these shoes are doing their job well!
Most importantly, I feel good in these shoes. That counts for a lot with me, and I’d recommend them to anyone, especially my best friends!

UPDATE: November 10, 2008: 4 Months (Countless miles)
I’m actually a little upset that I wore these shoes out! Actually, the uppers are still practically perfect, the toes on both shoes are starting to wear through. I figure I will keep these as my triathlon shoes for the near future and get a new pair for the upcoming Las Vegas marathon. Yes, I said “Get another pair” — there’s no way I would run without these shoes! I’m torn as to whether to buy the Motion Trainers or get another pair of the Cushioned Racers. Seriously; I have the site up in my browser and both in my cart… decisions… [35 minutes later] OK, I bought the Gravity Cushion Trainer. They are 1oz. heavier than my Gravity Cushioned Racers, but I hope to get a few more miles out of these, and I’ve got some marathons already scheduled (3 so far) for the rest of ’08 & early ’09.