So I’ve been running in Newton running shoes for about a month now and I thought that enough time has now passed to give them a review. For those who are not familiar with these shoes go to newtonrunning.com for a background on them. I have the Newton Stability Trainer.
I generally am not a major heal striker so I suspect these shoes are more reinforcing my existing gait than changing it. That being said I was told you needed to break into these shoes slowly due to the cogs (sorry, “actuator lugs”) in front and the way it makes your step a bit different. So I first ran 1 mile in them (then changed shoes to finish my run). Then, 2 days later I ran 3 miles in them. Finally that weekend I ran a 10K (race). I did not experience any of the calf discomfort that others have reported. After each run my legs felt exactly as they did with my existing shoes. In fact I now switch between these shoes and my Brooks without incident. The biggest thing I notice is my regular shoes seem incredibly heavy compared to these (and they are).
As for the supposed performance gains derived due to better running motion I can’t say I have seen any. I have run a 10K and a 5K and in both cases finished in times about what I expected based on my current fitness level. Certainly the shoes are comfortable and are a nice change of pace from a heavy trainer but I’m not sure I can justify the significantly higher price. I’m going to keep switching back and forth and see if I notice any difference between my runs and paces in the shoes. In general, I do prefer the Newtons though.
I have run up to 7 miles in the Newton’s without incident and I will try 10 likely this weekend. I can’t help but wonder if they would feel uncomfortable on longer distances (I guess I’ll find out).
One other word of caution, if you have any bunions, warts, calluses, etc. on the front of your foot, you may notice them to be a little more painful in these shoes just due to how you land differently. Not a huge issue but one I am getting used to.
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