One of the selling point of Runnr Store at Bonifacio High Street is that they are the first store to offer Newton Shoes in the Philippines. I finally got hold of Newton Shoes (racer shoes-stability) last week but was only able to road test it just last night at Bonifacio High Street for 10km. However I did use it previously not for running but for walking to “feel” the shoes. First impression? Weird.  While walking, it almost feels like you have a bar under your forefoot, but the awkwardness goes away pretty quickly. Now lets check its vital stats

The first time I used this while walking around the office, my boss asked me where I got my McDonalds shoes!

You will notice that Newton shoes have a negative heel (the forefoot is higher than the heel), this is because of the actuator lugs below the forefoot section of the shoes.

During my road test, I did notice a significant drop in heel striking, but as a mid foot runner, I don’t get much of that anyway. The shoes have a nice roll on the forefoot section which seemed to improve my posture but I also noticed it gave me a sensation of running on slight downhill. I’m not sure if its just my mind but I also noticed increased foot speed and my legs weren’t dragging as much. Having said that, I was able to run 10km faster without ever stopping and felt very good and satisfied at the end of the run even though their website and even blogger runners warn that I might feel some pain on my calves due to an increase usage of calf (which I didn’t experience at all). On the last kilometer of my run, I was able to sprint the entire 700 meters even if I’m only used to do it on the last 300 meters. Was it the shoes? I would attribute a little to them because they helped me maintain my position even when I’m tired as well as keep me on my forefoot to help me stay in my natural sprinter form.

This shoes is very light compared to other shoes I’ve tested. They are very breatheable due to the completely see through mesh that covers the toe box and side walls of the shoes. As I have very sweaty feet (which makes me very susceptible to annoying and running-career-destroying blisters, I’m sure this will keep my wet socks dry faster during runs and help keep odors away.

Obviously, this shoes was inspired by Sir Isaac Newton and his Third Law of Motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Actuator Lugs

The main selling point of this shoes are those four red actuator lugs above. As you land on the ground, those actuator lugs presses against a hollow chambers connected via an elastic membranes that absorb shocks and stores energy. Energy is released back to you as you lever your foot forward. These lugs will thrust out of the midsole chambers with a burst of energy that helps your forward propulsion.

An interesting question that might pop-up is if Newton shoes can be used by any runner. The answer is no. They are designed specifically for people who are already mid-foot/fore-foot runners, or for people who are working on transitioning from a heel-strike stride to a mid-foot/fore-foot stride. I suggest that you head over Newton Website to see a couple of videos and interesting facts about fore-foot running.

Aside from the cost (this shoes cost php 7,400+, the most expensive running shoes I’ve tested), the other draw-back I noticed during my short road-test of this shoes is that the corner of the heel counter section seems to worn out easily. See pictures below:

I don’t know if its the road condition of BHS, my running form (maybe I’m a terrible heel striker after all!) or both but I’m really curious if this just happens on me or others as well. Any Newton runners reading, please send in your comments if you notice the same. Hopefully, its just me.