Despite having the injured back I have been able to get out on the trails the past two days. I was hoping to have a little more audio/visual for you guys but for now I will just give you some of my first impressions. Yesterday I did a 6.2 mile run on some fairly technical trails. Today I went out and did 15 miles of varied terrain. So far my experience has been mixed.
For background I am a big Newton fan. I train in the Newton neutral trainers and race in the Newton Distance stability racers. I held out high hopes for their take on the trail shoe, especially since their founders are big trail runners.
First the good - For those of us that strike on the forefoot you have decent padding as well as a little bit of the "action/reaction" spring in your step you expect from Newton. The effect is definitely less then you would get running on the road but is still present. The grip was also pretty good. There was a little slipping on the bed of dry leaves and pine needles but not any more then I have had with other shoes. Although I would say that Newton does not provide as strong a grip as other trail shoes it does well enough for 90% of the terrains you might encounter during an Ultramarathon.
Items that disappointed - The most noticeable problem I had with these shoes was the slipping of my heel. My Newton road shoes do an amazing job at cupping my heel and forming around my foot. I bought the trail shoe in the exact same size and my heel definitely did not feel secure. Although I did not develop any blisters over 15 miles I am a little concerned for my 50 miler coming up. The second item that was disappointing was the area under my shoe laces never felt comfortable. I always felt something digging into the top of my foot no matter how loose I tied the laces. I am also afraid the ride might be a little high as I rolled my ankle more than usual.
That is all for now. I will be training much more on these leading up to my race and will provide a more detailed review soon.
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