Newton Gravitas (Gravity)

I’ve been reading about Newton shoes all over the intarwebs since I took running everyday seriously some 1.5 years ago…A lot of runners swear by them but for the longest time I couldn’t get over the sticker shock: almost twice the price of a “regular” pair of running shoes.

Over that short span of time, I’ve learned quite a lot about running…and during this short span of time, spent a deal of dough in pursuit of the perfect running shoes.

Over the last few months–while trying to get accustomed with midfoot/forefoot running–I’ve settled on the Nike Free series…while running with the Vibram Classics from time to time.  I’ve suffered from ITBS from time to time, but with these shoes, I rarely deal with the symptoms of the pain.

Until, of course, I had the embarrassing first 10K run.  ITBS came back with a vengeance.

So I broke down and finally bought a pair of Gravitas.  Fortunately, I bought this through a local RoadRunnerSports store…with the membership and some coupons, it sort of eased up the blow of the sticker price.

When I tried it out on the store, I knew the shoes were different…it had a beefy midsole…and I was a bit skeptical.  The store offered that I try it on a treadmill, but I didn’t have much time…plus I wasn’t too keen on the idea of running on a treadmill while somebody looks at me as if I’m some kind of rodent on a spinning wheel for a science experiment.

They did say I could return the shoes within 60 days if I’m not satisfied.  SOLD!

Now I’m writing this after my first 2-mile run on a treadmill, and here are my impressions:

• With the Frees, I have to be conscious of making sure I run the proper form and land on my mid/forefoot.  With the Gravitas, I can’t land on my heels without feeling awkward; I can actually forget about having to be conscious about my running form.
• NO PAIN.  I know this is probably some kind of Placebo effect, but I did not feel any form of numbness or pain like I would occasionally feel with the Frees or the Vibrams.
• Not too excited about the electric blue color (with bright red-orange laces!).  I really wish Newton would offer a bit of more subdued colors in the future…heck, I would settle for another color.  Perhaps I’m being picky, but I really don’t wont to be noticed when running…and with this color, people can see me from a mile away with their peripheral vision.

So…in conclusion (so far), it’s worth every penny.   That may change in 60 days…We’ll see.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 10:34 am and is filed under Running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.