Love the Shoes Your with

New Balance 730

So there is little that gets runners more excited than talking about shoes and especially why they love the shoes they are wearing.  How many pair of shoes they have and when to wear which shoe.  I am not so different.  I am definitely a minimal runner girl.  I have a really short quick stride with a cadence that averages about 196 BPM.  That might seem fast, but you should see my regular walk.  At work when I walk into the ladies room you can hear an echo of "hi Kathy" from behind closed stalls.  Followed by "No one walks as fast as you."  Today hubby and I were warming up and he was like "why are you walking so fast?" And in all honesty, I answered "I am not this is how I walk.  I was just strolling."  So now you get a feel for why I might prefer the minimal shoe with the efficient forefoot strike and short stride.

Not all minimal footwear is created equal.  I happen to be a big fan of New Balance.  I love the fit and I am absolutely in love with the New Balance Minimus Road 00.  The shoe is zero drop meaning no heel toe differential but the sole is so flexible and there is almost no cushion.  I have bad knees and always figured that would keep me from running, but that has not been the case.  With minimal footwear, even during 1/2 training I had no knee pain.  I also love a shoe that New Balance discontinued.  The NB730 is a no frills shoe.  It is flexible and light and has a 3mm drop, but feels like a zero drop.  It is also supper cheap and my go to training shoe.  With both shoes I get plenty of road feel and absolutely no knee pain. 

I used to run in Saucony Kinvaras and I loved them.  They were the first shoe I put on and loved and you never forget your first love.  But I now remember them fondly.  After I ran more and got into more minimal shoes I found the Kinvaras had too much cushion for me.  In the next two weeks Hubby and I will be birthday shopping, our Birthdays are 2 weeks apart.  We will be going to the minimal running store Natural Strides to pick out our birthday gifts: a new pair of running shoes.  Hubby loves Altra, and will be checking out the Ones.  I am thinking Merrell Road Glove looks interesting and I am planning to check it out.  Who knows I may just get a new pair of Minimus, but I like a variety of shoes, because I think switching around makes me a stringer more versatile runner.  We all look for different things in shoes, but for me road feel, low profile, minimal cushioning, flexibility and light weight make a great shoe.  What do you look for in the perfect footwear?