By Adam Pritchard
This winter was a surprisingly mild one for Utah. Not exemplary for skiing. Amazing for trail running, however. Myself and a group of gents have been romping around the trails of Utah from Millcreek Canyon to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail systemto Antelope Island. The shoe I have fallen in love with for these endeavors has been the New Balance 110! This beauty is one sweet ride. I get a sick sort of pleasure out of opening up a trail shoe box and whispering to my brand new shoes, “I’m going to destroy you! ”Well let me tell you, the New Balance 110s looked back at me and said “I dare you!”
Receiving this shoe in late summer 2011 I spent a fair amount of time just getting use to the geometry of the shoe. The 110 has a mere 4mm difference between heel and toe height. At first, I spent about a month working on my feet all day in the shoe, then I gradually started employing it for Crossfit workouts, then when the trails proved to be more accessible than anticipated this winter I brought it out for some wet and wild fun! The aforementioned gentlemen and myself have been regularly putting in between 9 and 15 miles on trail during the weekends.This shoe has proven itself to be light (7.75 oz @ Men’s size 9.5) and responsive.
For some people, this may be a “trail racing” shoe. For others, it may be their regular trail shoe. Either way I would recommend getting used to the minimalism like any stripped down shoe available nowadays. I weigh in around 200 lbs at 6’4” and I found that after asensible adaptation period I could let fly with this shoe above the 10k mark and feel great!
You don’t sacrifice a whole lot by dropping heel and weight from the shoe either. The rock plate in the forefoot is built to outlast the rest of the shoe as far as I’ve experienced. The upper is made out of a double layer system. A sort of inner soft mesh that one’s foot glides along and an outer tough protective layer reminiscent of a pleather. The grip is aggressive to the same level as a Brooks Cascadia and emblazoned with the challenge “Keep Up”. The only part of the sole I was worried about was the exposed midfoot foam, but it has lasted as long as the rest of the shoe. Frankly,and sadly, they’re just toast:
A brand new pair from Salt Lake Running Co. will run you a trifling $84.00 retail and will look like the following picture before you embark on your enjoyable quest to obliterate them!