New Balance is releasing it’s own line of “minimalist” running shoes on March 1. The lineup consists of the Minimus Trail, Minimus Road and the Minimus Life. Both the Trail and the Road have gotten pretty good reviews from testers (the Life is geared to be an “everyday shoe” so I haven’t paid attention to it…) All 3 feature a 4mm drop and the awesome <=> logo (the Enginerd in me loves it.)
The 2 running shoes have thicker soles than would be found on most “minimalist” shoes, testament to the fact that shoe definitions have become very watered down and geared towards whatever is trendy at the moment. Barefooters will gripe about the lack of ground feel such thick soles will cause and of course the 4mm drop. But for those of us looking for a “tweener” (the dreaded transitional shoe) this might be an interesting option.
I’ve been rotating between my Asic Hyperspeeds (a size too small) and the Merrells and have been looking for another shoe to do some long runs in. I’m interested in a little padding and enough heal to protect against the chance of returning to heal strike as my form breaks down or I start to push hard at the end of a race, while still being minimal enough to maintain proper forefoot strike with ease. I’ve been planning on picking up a pair of Asic Piranhas (mainly because of my Asic loyalty) but after reading some of the New Balance reviews, I may have to figure them into the equation…
Check out these reviews of the Trails from those lucky enough to get the test pairs:
Barefoot Running University
Running and Rambling: http://www.runningandrambling.com/2011/02/new-balance-minimus-trail-review-and.html
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