Newton BoCo AT and Distance Elite Running Shoe Previews

Newton Running has historically been characterized by a fairly small collection of shoes. You have the Distance, Gravity, Motion, Sir Isaac/Lady Isaac and a few others, and short of incremental updates you pretty much know what you’re going to get. In the past few months, however, Newton has announced a bunch of new additions. First […]

What I Did With My Summer Vacation Part 1: Craftsbury Running Camps

For the past 10 years I was a professor at a small college. Normally come late August my stress level is through the roof as I prepare for the coming school year, but having resigned from my faculty position in May, this summer has been a bit different. Going into Labor Day weekend I’m feeling […]

GoStrap Handheld Smartphone Strap Review

I don’t often run with my Smartphone, but when I do I prefer to hold it in my hand or tuck it into a pocket in a hydration vest. I can’t stand carrying an iPhone on my upper arm, particularly if I need to have easy access to it for some reason (e.g., to change […]

Newton Energy Running Shoe Review

The first time I put on the Newton Energy NR I didn’t know quite what to think. My first impression was that they were crazy soft and that the heel lockdown was really slippy. I though maybe Newton had swung and missed with the newest shoe in their lineup. (Disclosure: These shoes were media samples […]

Altra Increasing Stack Height on the Instinct 2 and Intuition 2

Altra has released images of the newest iteration of their flagship shoe, and in a move that is sure to generate some discussion and controversy among the Altra faithful, it sports a thicker sole than it’s predecessors: Altra Instinct 2.0 image via Sneakerreport Stack heights on the Instinct 2 and Intuition 2 have gone up […]

Dirty Runner: Pearl Izumi EM N1 Trail Shoe Review

I’ve been struggling to write this review. I received this pair of Pearl Izumi EM N1 Trail shoes in May and have run 111 miles in them so far (Disclosure: These shoes were sent to me free of charge as a media sample courtesy of PI). I love these shoes, but when thinking about what […]

adidas Boost: Some Actual Running Economy Data

Several months ago when adidas first started to market their new BOOST midsole material they made a big deal of touting the fact that the sole, which is composed of fused polyurethane beads, provides greater energy return than traditional EVA. The implication was that this energy return would provide a performance benefit to a runner […]

I Think I’m a Pseudo-Heel Striker!: Study Suggests That As Many as 25-33% of Heel Strikers Exhibit a More Midfoot Loading Pattern

One of the points I’ve attempted to make repeatedly is that there is a lot of variation among the biomechanical properties of heel strikes when we compare runners. As evidence of this I like to point to a photo compilation from the 2009 Manchester City Marathon that I put together that shows just how much […]

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 […]

Podcast on Running Shoes: Minimalism, Maximalism, and Everything in Between

Last night I participated in a Runner’s Roundtable podcast discussion about running shoes with Chris Russell of the Run Run Live podcast and Mike Westermeier from Westy’s Running. The title of the podcast was “Hokas and Minimalist Running,” and although we did spend a lot of time on-topic, we wound up covering a lot more […]