With the Ironman World Championship in Kona just over a month away, Michellie Jones looks like she’s peaking. She just won the Santa Barbara Triathlon Long Course (1 mile swim , 34 mile cycle, 10 mile run) last weekend, setting a new course record. Michellie crossed the finish line in 3 hours 1 minute and 09 seconds, shaving 5 minutes off the previous course record she set in 2006, the same year she won the Ironman World Championships.

Read Michellie’s race report here.

The next stop for Michellie is the Ironman 70.3 in Cancun. Mmm….the beach sounds nice right about now. Got room in your suitcase for Sir Isaac, Michellie?

Hi Newton-

I wanted let you know that I’ve finished my triathlon season with great success and the Newtons were a big part of it! Highlights include winning my age group at Turtleman and for my first half-iron distance I finished sixth overall in 4:16:04. My half-marathon split was 1:28:46. I tried to use this time to get a corral 1 start for the Twin Cities Marathon, but they wouldn’t buy it. Oh well, that just means I’ll be passing more people to catch up to the corral 1 starters. l cannot say enough about how much I LOVE my Newtons!

I believe you said you were going to be at the expo at Ironman Wisconsin. I recall you saying that you have minimal staff at expos and that it can get crazy. Could you use some extra help? I love your product and would love to help others learn more about and experience Newtons. I’ll be arriving on Friday and I’m volunteering my kayaking services on Sunday. Other than that my schedule is free. Please let me know if I could be of assistance to you or one of your Newton colleagues.

Sincerely,
Andy N.
Brooklyn Park, MN

Nice shirt Josh!

Hello,

I just wanted to send you a note to let you know that I love my shoes! I read about your company in Inc. Magazine and as soon as I got home, I went over to City Sports ( I live in Boston) and got a pair. They have shaved 3 minutes off my five-mile time! I am so happy with them. I have added them to my blog, so my friends will learn about them also.

Thank you!!!!

Karen F.
Boston, MA

From a journalist who was recently in Beaverton to preview the new Spring ‘09 Nike running shoes:

“And the neon colors in this line are very Newton-esque.”

Is that a new word?

Regardless, I guess imitation is the ultimate form of flattery. Jennifer Abshire is the keen eye behind Newton’s bright neon colors and bold looks. A quick glance through any recent issue of Vogue or InStyle (where Newton was featured in January and May) and it’s clear Jennifer was right in predicting neon is back!

We can’t wait to see Nike’s neon knock-off new shoes.

Sarah Haskins and her custom Newton Distance shoes finished in 11th place at today’s Woman’s Triathlon in Beijing against a stacked international field of pros. Emma Snowsill of Australia won the race, finishing more than a minute ahead of the field. Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal won the silver, Emma Moffatt of Australia took the bronze and American Laura Bennett finished fourth, less than 30 seconds shy of a medal.

Congrats to Sarah for proudly representing our country and Newton Running at the Olympics!

Full Olympic tri coverage here (where you can watch a replay of the whole race…just don’t get caught doing it at work like I did!)

Another nice message from the Badwater Ultramarathon:

Hi Jennifer!

The race went really well. I ran 4 hours faster than last year so all in all I was very happy with the race! My feet are a little sore but besides that I am fit as a fiddle!

Thanks again for the help Newton has provided me on these events. The next big one is the 24 Hours of Duathlon! Looking to break 300 miles!!

Take care,

Jim Smith

Another cool photo of Jim at Badwater from the LA Times here.

For those of you who love the ventilation of the current Newton Running Shoes, but get cold feet when the thermometer drops below freezing, Sir Isaac has been hard at work in the R&D lab over the last year perfecting an all weather road shoe.

This product combines some unique technologies and developments. In addition to an improved lug system, the materials in the shoe have been tuned to perform in cold weather (to our knowledge, no other shoe has been built for temperature like this). This includes a windproof upper, softer bottom unit (below your feet), more compliant membrane supporting the lugs, reflective logo and bilateral posting.

Bilateral posting provides support for the 80% of us who pronate OR supinate, and the cushioning you find in neutral shoes. Some clever thinking by Danny Abshire, Newton Running’s resident development genius, and harsh wear testing revealed that all runners, regardless of their foot strike benefit from bilateral posting. We will have a limited release of the shoe in early winter, so stay tuned for more.

For now, here’s sneak peak at one of the models.

Here’s the shoe in the dark …

Newton athlete Michellie Jones has won just about every multi-sport race known to man. Now she can add Surf Monkey champion to the list.

I’ll let her explain here.

Regardless, that’s certainly going to be the coolest trophy in what must a very, very large trophy case at home.

Hello Newton –

I am a member of the Army Triathlon Club and wanted to express my
gratitude for the Newton shoes. I have been running in Asics for over 10 years now, and the past few years my feet have hurt and I tried everything you can think of, with no improvements. A colleague who runs in Newton’s recommended them, so naturally I ordered my very first pair through the Army Triathlon Club.

I had not run in them except to try them on, and from the moment I
slipped my foot into them, I was like WOW – I am so going to love these
shoes. I didn’t have a day to run before my competition in Munich, Germany at the Munich Olympic Distance Triathlon this past weekend, and when I slipped my new Newton’s on for my first time run in them, I was in 7th heaven! I am hooked, my feet did not hurt one bit, and I pleased with how the shoes felt and performed.

I just ordered two more pairs from Rick to keep in stock!!!

Again, I just had to thank you for the great discount that you offer to us! I love my NEWTONS and will never run in another brand ever again!!!

Very Respectfully,
Gail R. Gilderoy
US Army Garrison Stuttgart
Germany