Newton Running is a Boulder, Colo., company known for a line of running shoes that promote midfoot or forefoot striking to dissuade runners from landing on their heels. The shoes are equipped with “actuator lugs,” stout rubber strips that sit beneath the foot’s metatarsals and prop about a quarter-inch off the sole. The goal when running is to land on the actuator lugs and not your heel. Newton pitches the whole experience as encouraging a “natural running gait.”
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For the most part, I am a convert to the Newton philosophy. Three years ago, I was at a point in my running life where I needed to change my gait and embrace a midfoot stride. In a 2007 column I wrote about how the Newton tech aided in bringing me around. My running style has changed dramatically for the positive since.
Today, I run in Newton shoes a few times a month. I actually prefer shoes more minimal — and less “engineered” — than the Newtons for most of my running now. But Newtons were a great segue for me. I could not have jumped straight from the trail shoes I wore in the past to the minimalist “barefoot-style” footwear I wear today without the Newton stepping stone in between.
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The initial Newton shoes were built for roads. A new product, Newton Running’s Momentum shoe, has the actuator lugs and the same low-heel design as other Newton offerings. But the Momentum is built for trails.
It has a stout, protective build. The Momentum’s uppers do not allow sand and debris to seep through. The outsole has a light tread to add some grip.
I have put a few miles on the Momentums this month. In my size 12 shoe, they weigh about 13.5 ounces per foot. This is a couple ounces heavier than other Newton models, and it’s about four ounces heavier than the trail shoes from Inov-8 Ltd. that I often wear. For me, that extra weight is noticeable on the run, and the Newtons feel heavy.
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