New Balance Fresh Foam 980, Pointy Shoes, and Toe Blisters

Sometimes the running gods can be cruel. Yesterday I wrote a post on how to avoid chafing while running. One of the anti-chafe products that I recommended is called Hike-Goo, and after I wrote the post I emailed my contact (Vito) to let him know that I had finally managed to try it. Vito responded […]

The Return of the New Balance MT101 Trail Shoe

I’ve run in a lot of shoes over the past 5 years since starting this blog. Some were memorable, others not so much. And there are a few that rose above the rest and found a special place in my heart. The original Nike Free 3.0. The Brooks Launch. The original Saucony Kinvara and the […]

New Balance 890 v4 Review: The Barcalounger of Running Shoes

One of my top shoes from last year was the New Balance 1400v2. It’s a simple, comfortable, no frills shoe that provided just enough cushion – kind of like an Ikea Poang chair: = Given that I tolerated the 9mm drop 1400v2 just fine, I thought I’d give the 10mm drop New Balance 890 v4 […]

New Balance 1400 v2 Review: A Candidate For Shoe Of The Year

“The 1400 are what running shoes are pretty much supposed to be.  That’s not to say that shoes that aren’t like this are no good. I know they are. And not everyone can wear one model. But running is supposed to be simple. At some point we came to believe that our running shoes weren’t […]

New Balance 730 v2 Review: Fun Shoe, Bargain Price, But With Possible Durability Concerns

I really want to like New Balance shoes. They make a lot of shoes that fit right into my sweet spot, but I’ve had a lot of issues with shoe durability and construction over the past few years, and it has made me hesitate to recommend a lot of their recent offerings. First, the MT10v1 […]

2014 Shoe Previews: New Balance Minimus Trail Zero v2, 980 Fresh Foam, and 890 v4

Runningshoes.com has shared a bunch of additional videos of new shoes that were previewed at the 2013 Outdoor Retailer show. In this installment we take a look at three new offerings/updates from New Balance. New Balance Minimus Trail Zero v2 (MT00v2) I really don’t understand why New Balance chose to call this shoe the Minimus […]

New Balance 890 v3: Guest Review by Ron Abramson

In the realm of romantic relationships, monogamy is a virtue. When I sought to apply that virtue to running shoes, though, I quickly found myself feeling oppressed, limited and pining for the sexy contours and promising performance features of shoes made by my “main squeeze’s” competitors. After deciding to see other people [okay, this metaphor […]

New Balance MT110WR Winter Running Shoe Review

The New Balance MT110 is a trail shoe that held  lot of initial promise for me, but was done in by a sole that was overly built up under the lateral forefoot. This caused my feet to tilt inward simply standing in the shoes, and led to a bout of posterior tibial tendonitis after a […]

New Balance MT110 Update Revealed

A contributor on the Runblogger Forum just posted a link to the spec page for an update to the New Balance MT110 trail shoe at Running Warehouse. Given the steep discounts I’ve seen lately on the original MT110 (on sale for under $50 at 6PM.com), I suspected that some kind of sequel was on the […]

New Balance MRC1600 Racing Flat Review

A bit over a year ago I wrote a post on the somewhat complex relationship between running shoe midsoles, ground surface properties, muscle tuning, and limb stiffness (read the muscle tuning-limb stiffness post here). As a result of my experience with shoes, the research I did while writing my book, and conversations with gait experts, […]

Experienced Zero-Drop Runners Wanted: Apply to Be a Wear-Tester for the Mizuno EVO Cursoris

Got an email this morning from Mizuno asking if I would share a link to their wear-testing application for the Mizuno EVO Cursoris. The Cursoris is a zero-drop shoe set to be released in early 2013, and they are particularly interested in wear-testers who are experienced at running in zero drop shoes or who are […]

New Balance MT20v2 Review: Solid Shoe, But Questionable Upper Durability

The New Balance Minimus MT20v2 is the sequel to the “mass market” version of the New Balance Minimus Trail MT10. I’ve never quite understood the rationale for why New Balance makes both the MT10 and MT20 since they are basically the same shoe with slightly different designs, but I guess they have their reasons. I’ve […]

New Balance MO80 and WO80 Trail Shoe Preview on Running Warehouse Blog

I’m a big fan of the New Balance MT10 and New Balance MT00 trail shoes (I’m also currently testing out the NB MT20v2, and like it a lot), but have found that they lack protection necessary for running on some of the chunky gravel trails near my house. The MT110 was a potential solution, but […]

New Balance MT10v2, MO80, and 1210 Trail Shoes and MR10v2 Road Shoe Preview Videos from Running Warehouse

Earlier this month Running Warehouse posted preview videos of three new trail shoes set to be released for Spring 2013. First, the Minimus Trail (MT10) gets an update which includes aspects of both the upper and sole. Sounds like they addressed the tendency of the upper to soak up water like a sponge, though I’m […]

Sole Delamination in New Balance Minimus MT00 Trail Shoes

While walking around Santa’s Village in northern New Hampshire yesterday I noticed that the sole of my New Balance Minimus MT00 shoes was starting to peel away from the upper in three separate locations – seems to be worst along the lateral forefoot. Curious if anyone else has had a similar problem – see photos […]