Anyone run in Newtons?

[KristinU]

I read an article on Newton shoes a while back and have have been thinking about them for a while. I have integrated some of the principles of shorter stride and quicker cadence running in regular shoes, and it seems to have improved my heel strike a good bit but on long runs I still get some fatigue in the balls of my feet. Since I'm kind of between training right now I was thinking it might be a good time to actually go for it with the shoes. Of course my local running store *just* had a Newton clinic last weekend (when I was out of town for a race) and they don't have another on the calendar at this time.

So, if you run in them, how long did it take for you to transition over to them? From reading their website it sounds like they recommend a 1-2 mile run for the first time out then ramping up after that. How long until you're back up at your average weekly mileage? I do have a few races coming up, but my next half will be in early November. I have a 5 mile Turkey Trot and I'm hoping to throw in a 5k before then to qualify for a better start time for Thanksgiving since it is a zoo...but if I have to skip the 5k while I'm getting used to new shoes that's fine. I'm thinking I should be OK with this time frame if I go for it.

Also, did you do any clinics or training? Or just kind of "self study" with their technique?

TIA for any input!

 

[Rose&Mike]

My DH and I have both been running in them since the beginning of June. We did not do any clinics, but he has done a chi running clinic in the past and (re)reads the chi running book a lot. We had both been working on our foot strike for a while before we switched, but I found that until I actually got "minimalist" shoes it was just a theory--it's hard not to heel strike (imho) until you are in a shoe without a built up heel.

My history--I have had a lot of problems with itbs and plantar fasciitis and the itbs is just about non-existent now. How much of that is because of the shoes and how much because of other things I am trying, I don't know. I have inserts for my shoes which I put in my newton's for my long runs, but not for my short runs. I still have some mild arch soreness, but all in all feel good. We decided that some of that might be coming from curling my toes a bit.

Today we ran 15 miles in the Newtons and I feel good. Didn't have to ice anything and only have some mild calf soreness.

All in all I am pretty happy with the transition.

The first run in them we did 30 minutes. That was a mistake. It was the beginning of June and we were running a 10k on July 4th. My calves HURT. And I had some mild tendon soreness. By the end of the first week we ran 7 (run 2 walk 1), but again my calves were very uncomfortable at the end.

We ramped up too fast. They told us to run a couple of miles and then change our shoes, and we considered it....but didn't and then paid for it. But all in all it wasn't too bad. My advice, change your shoes and ramp up slower. It's not worth a possible injury to your achilles.

Another shoe you might want to look at is the Altra. It has a 0 heel drop, but some cushioning all over. We are actually going to go try a pair on this weekend or next. The newton's are great, but crazy expensive and I think I am only going to get about 250 miles out of mine.

And fwiw, I know a lot of people swear they are faster, but I am definitely slower and have been working very hard to get my speed back. My turnover is great--I am close to 180 steps per minute. Which is great and has been really good for my body, but I am definitely struggling with speed. That could be why the injuries are staying under control though, so not complaining.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

 

[KristinU]

Wow, thanks so much for the detailed response! That's exactly the type of feedback I was hoping for. Maybe I'll start with reading the Chi running book then go from there. Thanks again!


And if anyone else happens along, additional feedback is welcome of course

 

[dragitoff]

Now that I've been running in Newtons for about a year, I won't run in anything else. I love them. I have a nuetral foot and run in Gravity (working on 2nd pair now). They're light enough that it feels like a minimalist shoe; however you do have some cushioning there. It took a little getting used to having the "lugs" on the shoes, but I wear them all the time now and don't ever notice them.

 

[cewait]

Actually, if one practices forefoot landing with the Newts you can double the expected mileage of the shoe. The lugs will take a few runs to get used to but once you get over the uphill feeling, you will not like the way most other running shoes feel.

I have run in Newtons since late 2009 and have not changed. In addition to all the above...

I am in the exact same model that I converted in. There have been little or no changes to the model. If I were in my older Sauconeys, I would now be in the third model change. I run in both their Motion (Guidance Trainers) and one of the Distance shoes. Even the Motion trainer is a light weight shoe compared with many.

Since these folks made inroads in the triathlon community, they drain well. I have never had the feeling that my foot is under water even running on a rainy day. I remember my old New Balance shoes from the mid 1990's... They were bath tubs. My feet would wrinkle up from the water on any run longer than an hour.

The Chi running book is a great place to start on getting the feeling and idea down.

 

[dragitoff]

Actually, if one practices forefoot landing with the Newts you can double the expected mileage of the shoe. The lugs will take a few runs to get used to but once you get over the uphill feeling, you will not like the way most other running shoes feel.

I have run in Newtons since late 2009 and have not changed. In addition to all the above...

I am in the exact same model that I converted in. There have been little or no changes to the model. If I were in my older Sauconeys, I would now be in the third model change. I run in both their Motion (Guidance Trainers) and one of the Distance shoes. Even the Motion trainer is a light weight shoe compared with many.

Since these folks made inroads in the triathlon community, they drain well. I have never had the feeling that my foot is under water even running on a rainy day. I remember my old New Balance shoes from the mid 1990's... They were bath tubs. My feet would wrinkle up from the water on any run longer than an hour.

The Chi running book is a great place to start on getting the feeling and idea down.

To further your comment on water, my first half it flooded for the first 3-4 miles (tornado sirens went off between miles 4-5). My socks were soaked through, but the shoes made a nice recovery.

I've also logged about 500 miles in those shoes already and they still have plenty of life left in them. I just bought my second pair so I could start breaking them in slowly before I burn the first pair up completely.

I can honestly say, at this point, I don't see myself ever running in anything else.

 

[KristinU]

Thanks for the continued input everyone! I've been in touch with my LRS and they're working on scheduling another clinic after the Hartford Marathon is over...silly me, I forgot they might be a tad busy getting people geared up and making plans for manning the expo

However, they said I could certainly go in and consult with them any time...so I might jump sooner rather than waiting for a clinic to be scheduled. I would guess it would be sometime in November, and I think I should probably get a move on before then...but thinking out loud here...I want to run that half in mid-November. I guess I could wait until after that to transition...but I wonder if that would be cutting it short to get back up to mileage for the Princess half at the end of February - 10 weeks or so I guess...hmmm...

Who knew a shoe transition would be so tough to decide timing-wise!

 

[Rose&Mike]

Good luck with your decision OP. I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

 

[PrincessV]

I tried the Lady Isaac S and LOVED them... for running. Problem is, I do the run-walk-run method and I really disliked how they felt for the walk intervals. I still can't say enough about Newton, though; I think they're fabulous, just not quite what I need right now. FWIW, I swapped mine for Brooks PureCadence and PureFlow and have found my happy place: minimal drop, plenty of cushion, easy to walk in, as well as run.

Oh, I'm a natural mid-foot striker and pretty much live in flat shoes (flip fl;ops, ballet flats, Crocs, Chuck Taylors), so I didn't find the transition to Newton or Brooks' Pure line difficult at all, but I can see where someone used to a higher heel would really need to ease into a minimal drop shoe.

 

[KristinU]

Thanks again for all of the input on this thread! I got my Newtons yesterday! I had been corresponding with a guy from my LRS and he let me know that they were setting up a Newton section at the expo (Hartford Marathon) and that the Newton rep would be there...and a discount was being offered. So I jumped at it (plus I decided to run the Hartford 5k for that seed time I'm going for...so I was going to stop by the expo anyway)

Since I went fairly early they both had a decent amount of time to talk with me and work with me and there weren't a ton of crowds yet so I was able to take a couple of pairs for a quick spin around the expo floor. I ended up with the Gravity and they feel great! I can't wait to get them out for a real run, but decided I should wait until after tomorrow's race.

The only downside I have is that I typically buy two pairs of shoes - one to leave at my office since I run at lunch hour, and one to leave at home for my longer weekend runs...not gonna happen with these spendy puppies!

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

I have been running in Newtons since May. Did the one thing you're not supposed to do, I ran a 10k in them straight out of the box, but they worked! I pr'd and felt good.

I have about 150 miles on my Gravity shoes and started to notice some shin pain and the way my lugs were wearing down looked funny to me. I took my shoes to a local running store and was told I need more of a stability shoe because I pronate a touch. I am now in the Distance U and I love them. This shoe is better than the last because I got a bigger size and they work better for my longer runs. Ran in my new shoes (straight out of the box again, I never learn) this weekend during my 2nd 1/2 and PR'd again. So, you tell me, I think they work! LOL

 

[El&Asmom]

Another Newton runner here. Love them. Had a lot of runners knee problems before switching to them and now have no problems. The only small issue is that they do stretch out your calf and achilles a bit so I felt some soreness initially.
I started in Sir Issacs, and have not switched. I'm due for a new pair, so I'll talk to my running guy to see if I should switch to the Gravity.

And I agree on the weirdness in walking in them. Love them for running but they do feel weird for just walking. I'm not a run walker though so it works fine for me. Just more if I end up walking around town, it took a while to get used to walking with the lugs.

 

[KristinU]

I have been running in Newtons since May. Did the one thing you're not supposed to do, I ran a 10k in them straight out of the box, but they worked! I pr'd and felt good.

I have about 150 miles on my Gravity shoes and started to notice some shin pain and the way my lugs were wearing down looked funny to me. I took my shoes to a local running store and was told I need more of a stability shoe because I pronate a touch. I am now in the Distance U and I love them. This shoe is better than the last because I got a bigger size and they work better for my longer runs. Ran in my new shoes (straight out of the box again, I never learn) this weekend during my 2nd 1/2 and PR'd again. So, you tell me, I think they work! LOL

I was so tempted to run in them this morning's 5K after reading your post, but I resisted (and PR'ed in my Lunarglides, so I'm a happy camper)...but I did take the Newtons for a quick 2.5 mile spin after I got home since I've been just dying to try them out. I can see whee they'll take some getting used to with the lugs. I almost feel like the lugs are just a little further back on my foot than I feel like they should be when I run in them...but maybe that's just something I need to get used to as I hone my stride with them. I know the guy really worked with me to look at where the flex point of my toes was in relation to the lugs, so I'm feeling pretty confident that they're the right fit. So I think it is a getting used to thing.

 

[KristinU]

Just checking back in to say thanks again for all of the input - I'm definitely in love with Newton running! It turned out that my early suspicions were correct and I did need to go up a half size.

I wish I would have tried Newton's sooner. They're super great for me and my bunions and the subsequent rubbing and callousing.

I also found a good deal on closeouts of last year's color on runningwarehouse.com that I was able to use a 15% code on, so I got my 2nd pair to leave at the office.

Oh, and my speed has definitely increased

All in all, I'm a very happy camper!

 

[jimandami]

Just checking back in to say thanks again for all of the input - I'm definitely in love with Newton running! It turned out that my early suspicions were correct and I did need to go up a half size.

I wish I would have tried Newton's sooner. They're super great for me and my bunions and the subsequent rubbing and callousing.

I also found a good deal on closeouts of last year's color on runningwarehouse.com that I was able to use a 15% code on, so I got my 2nd pair to leave at the office.

Oh, and my speed has definitely increased

All in all, I'm a very happy camper!

Thanks! I currently run in the LunarGlide 4 and have been thinking about trying a pair of Newton's. It's good to know you didn't have trouble transitioning. I really like the LunarGlide but since running in them (only about a month), I have 3 really bad blisters on the bottom of my left foot. I'm not sure if it's the shoe or socks or just increased mileage or what. You ever have blister problems with your LG?

 

[KristinU]

Thanks! I currently run in the LunarGlide 4 and have been thinking about trying a pair of Newton's. It's good to know you didn't have trouble transitioning. I really like the LunarGlide but since running in them (only about a month), I have 3 really bad blisters on the bottom of my left foot. I'm not sure if it's the shoe or socks or just increased mileage or what. You ever have blister problems with your LG?

I didn't have blister problems in my Lunarglides, but I did have the callousing on my bunions and sides of my big toes. Time will have to tell if they come back with the Newtons (since they take a while to build up again after a pedicure...ick, I know, sorry if TMI!), but so far so good.

Have you tried switching up your socks? I LOVE Experias, which always have provided lots of cushioning in my rub spots. But honestly, since switching to Newtons I can get by with some less cushioned socks (Ballegas and a pair of Under Armors I have.) I don't know if that is the shoe design not rubbing me as much or the midfoot strike keeping my foot from rubbing as much.

 

[booth22]

Something to look at as well, the book Natural Running by Danny Abshire (one of the founders of Newton) is a great read and talks about form, drills, etc. that really help - if you wear Newtons or not. Worth a read... we switched a while back and haven't looked back!