Any other shoe recommendations which provide additional support for mid or front foot striking like Newtons?
Save your money! Gimmick.
any low-stack shoe will work. Saucony Kinvara is probably your closest no-lug comp.
If you are a mid or forefoot striker, I don’t think support is an issue. Any shoe dubbed a “support shoe” is going to be built up at the mid to rear of the shoe.
Any shoe with reduced heel toe drop will have that effect to a degree. A flat shoe will probably make heel striking uncomfortable enough to really accelerate the process. A flat, hard shoe double so. With that in mind try the Altras - I have a pair and they’ve completely solved the problem of spreading feet / wide toes that I bought them for and I do find they really encouraging a forefoot strike. I’m still on the fence about whether I want that but it sounds like you do so I’d recommend them.
Save your money! Gimmick.
From experience or just your opinion? I switched from Asics to Newtons and would have to respectfully disagree.
Now if you think newtons are no better than other low heel to toe drops such as Brooks Pure lineup, you might be right.
$170-$180 for shoes is absurd. Find some low profile shoes at an outlet for $30-$50 and you’ll be just as well-served and you can buy 3-6 freaking pair for the same price.
I’d love to read your reasons as well.
$170-$180 for shoes is absurd. Find some low profile shoes at an outlet for $30-$50 and you’ll be just as well-served and you can buy 3-6 freaking pair for the same price.
Fair enough if you feel they are overpriced. But to transition to mid-foot strike and injury free running they were no gimmick to me and worth the price.
Brooks Pure
NB Minimus Road
Kinvara
K-Swiss Blade Foot Run
Inov8 makes a bunch of low drop shoes.
There’s tons of stuff out there with varying degrees of “support”.
Newtons have their place with some people but once you are running “correctly” you don’t need them anymore.
My reasons are simple. I came from a straight distance running background over the past 4 years to triathlons this year. At the beginning of the year i switched from the 21xx series to Newtons because I was tired of the latest and greatest “updates” Asics kept doing to their shoes every year that never maintained a consistent feel from one year to the next. I also had plantars fasciaitis and knee pains that I was looking to resolve.
Ordered and tried the Newtons in the Spring then proceeded to cut my 10k PR by over 1 min/mile (boulder) and half Mary time by over 30 sec/mile. Oh and the injuries are also gone.
Run times have continued to improve in training and my split in a local sprint tri last month was faster than my previous stand-alone 5k.
Feel free to ask any other Newton converts what they think of them. I haven’t met one yet that says they think they are a gimmick.
Brooks Pure
NB Minimus Road
Kinvara
K-Swiss Blade Foot Run
Inov8 makes a bunch of low drop shoes.
There’s tons of stuff out there with varying degrees of “support”.
Newtons have their place with some people but once you are running “correctly” you don’t need them anymore.
Is there a reason Nike Free isn’t on this list? I’ve been thinking about getting a pair but I rarely see anyone talk about them
Kind of curious about your definition of “provide additional support”, do you mean literally provide support, or do you mean just promoting forefoot striking like Newtons?
To be fair, Newton certainly does offer some models with much more support than others, but with the claim at least that while offering enough support to protect yourself, the ‘proprioceptive feedback plate’ makes you feel as if you had less support to encourage you to heel strike less. In general though, I agree with others that if you want a Newton-like feel without getting Newtons, look at other minimal drop running shoes.
Kinvara is obviously a very popular shoe and it wouldn’t be popular for no reason, but I’ve never personally liked it too much. The feel is too spongy, and still too much drop for my tastes. They’ve gone through many iterations since I’ve owned a pair though, so may have changed quite a bit. I’ve owned a lot of running shoes, and honestly my favorite pair of shoes is a tie between the Newton Distance and the Suacony Grid Type A4 racing flat. Hard for me to say definitely which is better, since one I use for longer distances (Newton) and the A4 for pretty much everything else.
Only response I have to the countless people who will chime in about how Newtons are gimmicks or over priced or whatever have you, you are entitled to your own opinions and to bask in your own smug self satisfaction in some cases. I certainly won’t disagree that they are expensive, but having raced in many brands and styles of shoes, the Newton Distance’s are definitely one of the best pairs of shoes I’ve ever owned. Lastly, correlation does mean much of anything, but running a 3:30ish marathon split at my last IM, I was pretty shocked by the % of the FOP who were running in Newtons, definitely was the highest distribution of a single brand that I observed.
I was looking for ICSTG’s response. I run in Newtons as well. Switched it up before but still come back to them. The first responders discount helps as well.
Brooks Pure
NB Minimus Road
Kinvara
K-Swiss Blade Foot Run
Inov8 makes a bunch of low drop shoes.
There’s tons of stuff out there with varying degrees of “support”.
Newtons have their place with some people but once you are running “correctly” you don’t need them anymore.
Is there a reason Nike Free isn’t on this list? I’ve been thinking about getting a pair but I rarely see anyone talk about them
No. No reason.
I tried them on and found the upper to be too binding. When I put weight on one it was painful on the top of my foot. I felt this right away while trying them on. I wish I could wear them because they seem really nice. Nike does something that doesn’t agree with my feet. It is rare that I can find a pair of Nike shoes of any style that works for me.
Like I said, if you want to argue if other low drop shoes are better than Newtons that is fair game. But promoting a midfoot strike over a heel strike is not a gimmick IMO. I haven’t tried others but have stated why I like the Newtons. The OP wanted alternatives that you have given which is a much better response than a embarrass “save your money-gimmick” reply with no other reasoning behind it.
$170-$180 for shoes is absurd. Find some low profile shoes at an outlet for $30-$50 and you’ll be just as well-served and you can buy 3-6 freaking pair for the same price.
What’s the make and model of the $30 pair of shoes you’re wearing?
$170-$180 for shoes is absurd. Find some low profile shoes at an outlet for $30-$50 and you’ll be just as well-served and you can buy 3-6 freaking pair for the same price.
Fair enough if you feel they are overpriced. But to transition to mid-foot strike and injury free running they were no gimmick to me and worth the price.
In my day job, I am glad to talk to my customers about the competition, put the facts on the table and let the company that adds the most end customer value win the relationship. I don’t beat up on the competition, rather, I just address our strengths.
I’d like several shoes as great alternatives to Newton who I am sponserd by: Brooks Pure Connect, Saucony Kinvara, New Balance Minimus Road. All of these shoes that I have tried will do a really good job in letting you run mid foot.
The only differentiator for Newtons is the material in the midfoot “pad”. I find it is a bit softer and provides better feedback to the runner if you are not mid foot running.
I grew up running track in high school, and the first time I put on a pair, I said, “I feel kind of like when I used to run with track spikes…I immediately know what my mid and forefoot are doing” It is hard to describe without using them.
As I said, all the other shoes work pretty good. Newton’s main differentiator is the feedback you get, but once you have “learned” how to run again mid foot, you can go to any shoe with minimal drop. However, you might find that you’re just hooked.
As for price, I have two pairs now that are going strong with 1500 km on each (still use them and can’t seem to throw them out). The first pair is from back in 2008 and is the Distancia model with no rubber in the heel and has been through several half marathons, half IM’s and full IMs and just won’t die. I finally broke down and got a new pair, but the old pair stays at work for lunch runs. Since 2008, I have only gone through 5 pairs of Newtons between racing and training and even though I am entitled to several more pairs per year, I never actually order my full quota, because they last too long. I know, I’m an idiot and I should order the full quota, while my sponsorship lasts, but perhaps I am doing these guys a favour by testing these shoes out for sooo long.
I know that some athletes also go through them “very quickly”, but my personal hunch is that they are “sliding” on impact rather than the sole staying static when it lands relative the earth.
Like I said, if you want to argue if other low drop shoes are better than Newtons that is fair game.
I’m not saying one is better than the other. Shoes are very individual. If you like Newtons, great. If not, great.
I used Newtons and I believe they were a big help in getting me to run “better”. Now I can put on almost any shoe that fits right and still run “properly”. I don’t feel that I “need” Newtons anymore.
If Newtons were priced more competitively I would be more likely to buy them.
I tend to switch things up a lot. I’ve got 5 or 6 different shoes that I use. I also run a lot without shoes at all.
$170-$180 for shoes is absurd. Find some low profile shoes at an outlet for $30-$50 and you’ll be just as well-served and you can buy 3-6 freaking pair for the same price.
What’s the make and model of the $30 pair of shoes you’re wearing?
Adizero of some sort. Similar to a long distant flat.