Review: Newton Running Shoes

The Latest Shoe Technology Since Nike was Born

Newton Running shoes have been out for a few years now, but are more of a cult following at the moment with a small dedicated user base. Newton Shoes are then next great advancement in running shoes sine the Nike Cortez; the first shoe for the everyday jogger. They are currently the best kept running secret on the market.

Most runners today are heel strikers when they run, and because of this most shoes are designed for heel strikers built for a smooth transition of heel to toe. Contrary to what about 90% of runners do running heel first is not natural running form. Anyone who has ever run along the beach barefoot would tell you that you run more on your fore foot and never on your heels. Most shoes today are promoting non-natural running form. Not only is heel to toe running not natural it will actually make runners more prone to running overuse injuries. The reason for this is because when a runner lands on their heel there leg is locked out straight and the shock of landing travels up through the leg. This is opposed to running forefoot strike first. When you land on your forefoot your leg is bent a little upon strike and the shock is absorbed much better then when your foot is locked rigid in heel strike first.

The shoes are designed to make you want to land forefoot first as opposed to heel first. The design creates a little bigger forefoot area, with a smaller heel. Most of the padding is focused into the forefoot area. The forefoot area of these shoes is where all the innovation happens. The forefoot area under the shoe has what the company calls actuators. There are for actuators that stick out a quarter of an inch past the rest of the shoe. They go up and down cushioning your forefoot landing absorbing shock, and springing you quickly off you foot.