Just wanted to drop a line about this weekend’s first pro outing. Even though it was a super hilly course, I really stepped it up and in my pro debut, was second. I was absolutely elated. The course was crazy hilly, lots of climbs packed into a short course. The opening run, was a half mile straight uphill, starting at 6% and reaching a peak of 19% (the RDs were kind enough to write the gradient on the pavement) and then continued to roll up an down back into T1. I let the first few guys go, thinking they would definitely be coming back, and I was right, by mile 1, a lot of them looked gassed. So, once I hit the first mile in 5:30, I started to put it down, flying back into T2, getting on my bike, and climbing that same hill out. The ride was tough, but I was wishing it was longer, since I’ve spent all winter training for long course. I was feeling strong by mile 10, but we only had 8 miles left to ride, so, I really started to hammer. I got into T2 in 6th, and started the second run, which was single track trails. The Newtons were awesome. I just ripped thru the trail, got on the road for the final mile and grabbed spots along the way.

I was never happier to have my Newtons in a race. With the downhills being super steep, I was on my toes, and avoided that hard “slapping” you often hear from runners going downhill. I felt fresh and relaxed, and was so thankful to have them with me. Can’t wait to race them at Powerman AL. Thanks for the support. I look forward to talking to you soon.

Best regards,
Guy Petruzzelli

Wired.com (one of Sir Isaac’s favorite sites) features a thoughtful, comprehensive, balanced review of the AW’s. Overall they give the AW’s 8 out of 10. We’re pretty happy with that.

The user comments, on the other hand, are not so positive. Check out the review for yourself and feel free to add your own, more enlightened comments. Wired.com Motion AW review.

For Immediate Release

March 30, 2009 (Boulder, Colo.) – After a year that included a marathon win and a new American record in the 50K, Newton Running is pleased to announce it has renewed its sponsorship with professional runner Josh Cox.

“Josh is a terrific athlete spokesperson for our shoes,” states Newton Co-Founder and CEO, Jerry Lee. “Josh is not only winning races in Newtons, but he’s a very recognizable runner with an influential media presence. This is an example of Newton’s growing commitment to the running market.”

Cox, 34, is a three-time Olympic Trials qualifier and three-time US National Team member. Last January, Cox was named USA Track and Field’s Athlete of the Week for shattering the 50k American record by over four minutes at Arizona’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. As a TV personality, Cox currently offers his professional perspective as an on-air personality for Fox Sports and Runner’s World. In 2005, Cox starred on ABC’s hit reality show, The Bachelorette.

“I first tried Newton shoes in February 2008; 11 months later I had a marathon win and an American Record in the 50k. Many products make groundbreaking, revolutionary claims but few ever deliver – Newton Running shoes live up to the hype,” says Cox.

Team Newton also includes Paula Newby-Fraser, Craig Alexander, Michellie Jones, Natascha Badmann, Heather Fuhr, Katja Schumacher, Michael Simpson, Stephen Hackett, Tim Berkel, Chris Legh, Jozsef Major and Heleen Bij De Vaate.

For more information on Josh Cox visit his website, www.joshcox.com.

The April issue of the UK’s Running Fitness magazine has a terrific story about Newton Running.  Click the image below to enlarge and read it.

From our man on the ground in Singapore, John Minto:

Current World Ironman Champion Craig Alexander confirmed his credentials as the world’s greatest by claiming victory at today’s Singapore 70.3 Ironman race.

In familiar style to his season opening win in the Geelong 70.3 Ironman, Craig shot out of the final Bike-Run transition to establish an unassailable lead. 2007 winner Reinaldo Colucci and and fellow Australian Chris McCormack could not match Alexander’s early speed in the hot and humid conditions.

Alexander started as he finished, taking the early lead during the first of two laps in the 1.9km and emerging from the water with recently crowned Australian Long Course Champion Pete Jacobs. The bike saw at least 6 of the elite men’s field taking turns off the front during the very flat and very fast second discipline.

The difference in class was obvious in the first mile of the run leg with Alexander gaping the filed by 30secs. He continued to turn up the heat and extended his lead out to over 4mins before celebrating with an appreciative crowd that included a large number of expatriates and vocal locals.

Chris McCormack was second over the line with 2008 Singapore 70.3 winner Simon Thompson’s personal best time on the course securing him a spot on the podium today.

Craig’s next race will be Honu IM 70.3 on May 30 2009.

Read more about the Singapore 70.3 results here.

Newton co-founder Danny Abshire is featured in this terrific video series on running form, flexibility, footwear and preventing injuries.

There are five videos in the series. Check them all out here.

At last week’s TRIFEST 2009, a grand expo of all things Tri, Newton Running was awarded Best of Show for runing. TRIFEST 2009, presented by TriSports.com, invites triathletes from around the world to Tucson, Arizona and hosts a variety of events including a Conference featuring industry-leading speakers, a large consumer  Expo, Affiliated Training Camps and other events like scheduled group rides and runs.

Although he doesn’t actually test Newton shoes, Adam Weiner from Popular Science does have an interesting take on the science of Newton Running technology. I love his intro:

“First of all, let’s set the record straight. Man is a natural long distance runner. Despite impressions to the contrary foisted on us daily from our predominantly sedentary and “well-fed” modern lifestyle, it is interesting to note that for long enough distances a well-trained human can outrun just about any other creature on the planet.”

He goes on to note,

“In fact, consider the following: Man evolved to run barefoot, and shoes arrived on the scene only in the last few tens of thousands of years or so. Try running barefoot some time (preferably on a softer surface like grass) and pay attention to your foot strikes. You might find that it’s almost impossible to land heel first. Your command central (your brain) just won’t let you do it. Too much jarring. Your bare heel isn’t designed to handle that pounding. The evidence supports that landing nearer the middle to front of the foot is the most efficient way to go.”

Check out the full Popular Science story here.  We’re going to try and get Mr. Weiner in some Newtons so he can actually try them for himself.

Check it out, Newton Running was named the Green Shopaholic Company of the Week for it’s efforts to be more environmentally and socially responsible. Cool! Read the story here.