When I think of Inov-8, I think of shoes designed for a purpose, and most often that purpose is to run on rugged trails or fells. Their shoes are typically fairly simple in design, but are very effective at doing their job. Unfortunately, you also often pay a premium for their product. I’ve run in […]
Topo Twofingers: Topo Athletic Releases Photos of New Shoe Line
January 16, 2013 By 17 Comments
Topo Athletic burst onto the scene a few weeks ago with a slick teaser website and a proclamation that they would be producing shoes that offer “innate amplification.” The company is led by former Vibram America CEO Tony Post – Post obviously knows a thing or two about bringing unconventional shoe designs to the mainstream, […]
Merrell Ascend Glove Preview: Zero Drop, Cushioned Trail Running Shoe
January 13, 2013 By 19 Comments
When I wrote up my 2013 minimalist running shoe preview last week I alluded in the comments to a new shoe coming from Merrell that I didn’t yet have clearance to discuss (was asked to hold off for a week). Well, Running Warehouse has now let the cat out of the bag on the RW […]
Altra Torin: Guest Review by John Shepard
January 8, 2013 By 25 Comments
John Shepard (@runsheprun on Twitter) and I are kindred spirits in a way. We both are fathers of three kids (he writes about his on the Suburban Father Alliance blog), we both fell in love with running and footwear, and shoes have become a second career of sorts for both of us. For me it […]
Brooks Drift, Mizuno Evo Levitas, Mizuno Evo Cursoris: Comparative Review by Fred Brossard
January 8, 2013 By 62 Comments
Guest review by Fred Brossard: Fred Brossard is a French expert on minimalist running. He is the co-author of the book “Barefoot, Minimalism, Natural Running” (Ed Amphora) and is a freelance writer and gear reviewer for http://runners.fr The French representatives for both Mizuno and Brooks Running recently gave me the chance to be the first […]
2013 Minimalist Running Shoe Preview: Eye Candy for Shoe Geeks!
January 3, 2013 By 65 Comments
I’ve been asked a number of times recently about which of the shoes that are coming out in 2013 I’m most excited about. To be honest, there are a ton! After a fairly stagnant Fall with few exciting new shoes released, we are about to get hit by a wave of new minimalist spectrum footwear […]
Top 3 Hybrid Trail Running Shoes of 2012
January 1, 2013 By 28 Comments
This is the last post in my “best shoes of 2012” series. I’ve previously covered the following categories: 1. Top Transitional Road Running Shoes of 2012 2. Top Barefoot-Style Road Running Shoes of 2012 3. Top Cushioned, Zero Drop Road Running Shoes of 2012 In this post I tackle trail shoes, and I’ll do so […]
Top 3 Zero Drop, Cushioned Road Running Shoes of 2012
December 31, 2012 By 17 Comments
Welcome to post number three in my top running shoes of 2012 series – this time I take on the zero drop, cushioned road shoe category. This is a category that grew in a big way this year, and is set to expand even more through the first half of 2013. Personally, I find a […]
Top Barefoot-Style Road Running Shoes of 2012
December 29, 2012 By 11 Comments
Time for post #2 in my “Best of 2012” shoes series. In this list I tackle my top barefoot-style road shoes of the year. I define barefoot-style shoes as zero drop shoes with minimal cushion between the foot and the ground. Vibram Fivefingers and Vivobarefoot pioneered this category, but these days my preferences have moved […]
Study: Running Economy Improves After a 4 Week Simulated Barefoot Running Program
December 26, 2012 By 12 Comments
English: Vibram FiveFingers Bikila shoes, top view. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The question of how footwear (or lack thereof) affects running economy has received a great deal of attention over the past year or so. Several studies have come out that have compared oxygen consumption in runners in both shod and unshod states, and most recently […]
The Future of Minimalist Running Shoes and the Value of Variety
December 17, 2012 By 45 Comments
This morning I opened my email to find an alert that the newest edition of SGB Weekly magazine had come out and that it would be featuring a few articles by Thomas Ryan on trends in the running market as gleaned from interviews and discussions at The Running Event. The Running Event is the major […]
New Balance MT110 Update Revealed
December 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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 […]
Altra Instinct 1.5 Zero Drop Running Shoe Review
December 15, 2012 By 20 Comments
A few weeks ago my wife and I were in our local food co-op and she turned to me and pointed at a woman in front of us in line. In a low voice she whispered “What are those shoes she’s wearing?” Now, you need to know that in our marriage I’m the shoe junkie, […]
Brooks Pure Cadence 2 Review: First Run Thoughts
November 26, 2012 By 41 Comments
A few weeks ago I got a cryptic email from Brooks asking for my shoe size and mailing address. It’s been awhile since I’ve had contact with Brooks, but was hoping that maybe I’d be the recipient of a pre-release sample of the new Pure Drift zero drop shoe. I recently saw that Scott Jurek […]
New Balance MRC1600 Racing Flat Review
November 19, 2012 By 18 Comments
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, […]
