Newton Running is the mid-foot running shoe brand. Their shoes mimic running barefoot by allowing your mid-foot/forefoot to strike the ground prior to your heel. To do this, the shoes have a protruding rubber bottom in the forefoot area. Why is this important? As I wrote about in my Running Injury Free post, mid-foot striking is our natural and most efficient running form because it protects our legs from the shock impact of running.

I’d heard a lot of great feedback about Newton Running shoes and wanted to find a distance shoe that would allow me to mid-foot strike easily. I ran the Disney Marathon in Mizuno Inspires and found mid-foot striking difficult with the giant, chunky heel. However, my legs and feet aren’t strong enough to handle running for that long in my Vibrams. I chose the Distance model because it’s a light-weight, high-mileage trainer. My first impressions were that it was bright and light. If you are a fan of neutral looking shoes, Newton will not be the brand for you. They love them some color. I’ve run twice in the shoes so far and I have to say that I really love them. You see, I’m what I would call a paranoid runner. I focus on if my form is right. My typical running thoughts are something like, “Did I just land on my heel? I don’t want to land on my heel. Ugh, but if I correct myself it’s going to feel weird. Weird is better than being injured, Brenna! Do you want to be injured?” It’s an endless cycle I avoid in the Five Fingers and in the Newton Distance. I don’t have to worry about my gait. I know I’m landing correctly which allows me to think about other things– or hopefully zone out because let’s be honest, that’s the holy grail of running.