Shoe Review: Newton Running MV3 Racing Flats / Trainers

You’ll see from several previous posts that I first looked in to whether racing flats really make that much difference and secondly, a look at my shortlist of the five best racing flats around in 2014.

Well… I finally decided on going for some Newton MV3’s. Newton call this a ‘lightweight performance racer’ and at 5.4 ounces they really are. I think my flip flops  (thongs to you guys in the US) weigh more. I think I have socks actually that weigh more! The mesh upper is barely there. When you’re running, you kind of forget you’re wearing shoes and, after wearing heavily cushioned Nike Lunar Glides for two years, I could suddenly actually feel the road beneath my feet.

 

Feel and Flex

Best shown through the medium of video:

Heel Drop

These shoes have a zero drop and with the five lugs at the front they feel like they have a slight raise at the front even. They do come with inserts to raise the heel by 3mm for a gradual adjustment if required. I haven’t inserted these yet, but having done a 7.5k test run earlier my left Achilles is definitely sore as is my right calf. I may therefore add them before the next run. I can see why some people say these are only good to wear up to half marathon distance… Newton even have a ‘good running form‘ guide on their website to help you run right:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sizing

One of the worries with ultralight racers is sizing as they generally seem to be a snug fit. I run a size 9 in my Nikes so after checking with a Newton rep which size I should go for, he recommended to go a full size up to a 10. Well the shoes arrived on the same day I had a track speed session to go to, but no matter how optimistically I looked at the huge gap between the end of my big toe and the front of the shoe, the phrase ‘clown feet’ kept entering my mind. So I sent them back on the Thursday and by 9am Monday I had a new pair of size 9’s. I went for a run in these today. They felt ever so slightly small on first try but after just a couple of km I felt I was running barefoot but with trampolines on my toes!

In Summary

It took a LOT of research getting to the point of actually ordering the Newtons and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with them. Super light and they look the part too if I’m honest – looks shouldn’t matter but of course they do! When running with them I could feel the shoes urging me to run raster with the Action/Reaction tech.