Newton Running was in the national news recently when an amputee stole one of our shoes from a store in Belgium, but we’re much more proud of the fact that we were a Platinum Sponsor of the San Diego Triathlon Challenge last weekend, an event produced by the Challenged Athlete Foundation.

Here’s a terrific recap of the event from Neil Senturia, the CEO of the San Diego News Network, published originally on America’s Finest Sports Blog.

When the first swimmers came out of the water, some did not have legs, some did not have arms, some did not have hands, and some did not have feet. They were paraplegics, quadriplegics, young and old. What was once called disabled is now called challenged– but one thing was for absolutely positively sure. These were real athletes, and I was in tears.

Last Sunday was the 16th annual San Diego Triathlon Challenge — a 1.2 mile swim in La Jolla Cove, then a quick 56 miles on the bike up the coast, and then a leisurely jaunt of 13.1 miles up and down Torrey Pines hills. A nice way to spend anywhere from 4 ½ hours to seven hours — depending.

La Jolla Cove was packed with people, and the remarkable part was that it seemed like there were prosthetics everywhere on everyone. It was so amazingly normal. Here were lots of people at the Cove walking around, riding their bikes — except that it wasn’t normal — because as a society we do not really see so many challenged people in one place, acting so naturally, as if nothing had ever happened to them — except that we know it did. It is empowering to the athletes and ennobling to the rest of us to be part of something so much bigger than our little selves.

And there were the tears. When you see the challenges that these individuals have overcome, you are in awe, and you are hit in the gut. Because compared with these athletes, our daily complaints are like a small leaf blown off a tree — a nothing, a minor small random meaningless little leaf.

And so the question is: why does it take an event like this to remind us so viscerally about the value and the meaning of life, the blessings, the gratitude for health, and the simple acts of daily life that “the rest of us ” have been given and often take for granted?

Ironically of course, if you interview some of the challenged athletes, what you find is that they see themselves as triumphant. They are uplifted, they are indomitable, and they are the ones who give the rest of us the gift.

Don’t forget it!

Neil Senturia is the SDNN CEO.

Check out this beautiful artwork sent to us by James Dean Erickson. It’s entitled “Running Sneaks” and  is an 8″ x 10″ oil on linen painting.

About the artist:

James was born in Detroit and grew up Belleville, MI. He attended the University of Virginia (ed note: go Hoos!) where he ran Track and Cross Country and studied Studio Art and Art History. Currently James is enrolled in the MFA program at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. More of my the artist’s work can be viewed at www.jamesdeanerickson.com and http://wallblank.com/products/seven.

Newton is proud to have some outstanding masters runners in our shoes. Three athletes in particular have had a great year – balancing families, full-time jobs and training to achieve some really impressive race results.

Bob Weiner is a father and a full-time attorney. Just a few weeks ago he finished third in the National Masters Marathon Championship at the Twin Cities Marathon with a time of 2:26. After the race Bob said, “My feet felt great and I had no toe issues at all. My Newtons generated lots of comments.”

Pam Reed is a renowned ultrarunner, a race director and a mother. This year she set an American record for running 496 miles in six days in June, and was the second place female finisher at the Badwater Ultra Marathon in July, finishing in just over 29 hours.

Dr. Mark Cucuzella is a father, a family physician and an expert in exercise physiology and running bio-mechanics. This year he ran Boston in 2:37, the Air Force Marathon in 2:36, and will defend his Masters Championship this November at the JFK 50-miler. In his spare time (!?) Mark loves to give back to the sport of running and he is involved in numerous community and children’s running programs. He also served as the race director for the inaugural (and very successful) Freedom’s Run in Shepardstown, WV earlier this month.

Congratulations to all of these athletes on their outstanding accomplishments in 2009. You’re an inspiration to us all!

The New York City Marathon is less than five days away and Newton Running’s venerable expo team is ‘wheels up’ on their way to the Big Apple. If you’re racing in New York, or live near the city, we’d love to see you. Here are a few places to catch up with the Newton crew.

Marathon Expo – Jacob Javits Convention Center, 11th Avenue at 35th Street, Manhattan.
Thurs. & Fri. 10 am.-8 p.m.
Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
All entrants in the marathon have to pick up their race packets here, but the expo is open to the public! Come by the Newton booth to meet Newton’s founders Jerry Lee and Danny Abshire, Newton pro Josh Cox, demo a pair of new shoes or buy some Newton merchandise. We’re selling all our shoes at the booth and to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when you buy a pair of Pink Distance Racers for $155, you’ll get a free pink hat and tech t-shirt and we’ll donate $50 from the purchase to support breast cancer research.

There’s a whole list of cool stuff going on at the expo, everything from an appearance by actor Anthony Edwards, to a contest to win $10K in gasoline (ed note: that’s a weird prize to offer a bunch of runners). See the full list of expo activities here.

Friday morning Natural Running Form Clinic/Fun Run with Danny Abshire and IronBrandon
On Friday morning, the Newton crew is getting up bright and early for a run in the park. With the help of IronBrandon (a.k.a. Brandon Wood) we’re organizing a FREE Natural Running clinic and fun run lead by running form guru Danny Abshire. Danny will present the basics of natural running, lead the group through a few drills and then Brandon is going to lead us on a run through the park. It should be a lot of fun and we’re hoping to make a big statement with a large turnout. As an added incentive, we’ll give everyone who shows up a free Newton race hat or visor. Please come out and join us. We’re meeting at the Boathouse in Central Park on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 a.m.

Saturday International Fun Run
If you’re looking for a final tune-up for Sunday, or you want to join a bunch of international runners for a spin through the Park, then consider this Saturday morning 4k run. Some of the Newton crew will be out representing.

Sunday – Race Day!
Race Day. The Newton team will be out cheering! The pro women start at 9:10 a.m.. If you’re not in the city, you can watch from home on TV or the web. Listings here.

Hope to see you in the Big Apple and good luck to everyone racing!

Develop efficient form with lightweight shoes and barefoot drills

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

The natural running movement is quickly becoming a revolution. Are you onboard yet?

Thanks to the advancement of lightweight high-performance running shoes plus a best-selling book and recent stories in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Washington Post and National Public Radio, to name a few, the natural running movement has become quite the rage in recent months.

Natural running is running the way the human body was meant to run in its purest form — namely, barefoot — across a solid surface. That means running with good mechanics and a efficient gait that focuses on landing lightly on the midfoot/forefoot (the ball of the foot, but not the toes) and quickly lifting your foot off the ground instead of pushing off with excessive muscular force. Natural running can help make you a stronger, more efficient runner who is less prone to overuse injuries.

Tenants of natural running can be seen while running barefoot and running in lightweight or minimalist running shoes that allow your feet to develop proprioception or “feel” the ground with every step. Running barefoot on a soft lawn, wet sand or even a smooth sidewalk offers proof of your body’s natural inclination for moving across a surface with as little muscular force as possible. The same is true for minimalist running shoes on pavement, concrete or hard-packed trails.

That afferent feedback from feeling the ground encourages your body to naturally run efficiently with light footsteps, upright posture, a relaxed but consistent arm swing and a slight forward lean. Landing lightly at your midfoot/forefoot and quickly picking up your foot to start a new stride is the most effective way your body knows to propel and protect itself while running. Conversely, your body doesn’t allow you to land on your heels, especially if you’re running on a hard surface, because it isn’t engineered to accommodate the blunt force trauma of repeated heel striking. But that’s fine because landing with hard heel impacts doesn’t allow you to be efficient and run with good form.

Running barefoot in controlled circumstances can help you improve your natural running form while also strengthening smaller muscles in the feet, ankles and lower legs that are otherwise unused while running most contemporary running shoes. Many elite runners and triathletes regularly incorporate barefoot drills on soft grass surfaces into their weekly routine. However, it’s very important to implement barefoot running sessions in small doses so as not to become vulnerable to injuries caused by an over-reliance on propulsive muscles in the feet, calves and hamstrings or overstressing the plantar fascia and Achilles tendons.

Unfortunately, most contemporary running shoes have been designed for running form that encourages heavy heel striking and dampens the afferent feedback that allows the foot to sense the ground. Newton Running shoes were designed to be an extension of the feet, enhancing ground contact without the jarring impact shock of the road, sidewalk or hard-packed trail below.

Newton Running’s patented Action/Reaction Technology™ encourages natural running or a barefoot running gait and enhances the shock absorbency, leverage and energy return throughout the gait cycle. Newton’s independent lab research shows the system returns up to 28 percent more energy and reduces impact up to 44 percent when compared training and racing shoes offered by leading running brands.

Practicing natural running form can be simple, but it may take time to unlearn old habits and learn proper technique. But it also requires having the appropriate footwear to allow your body to run the way it was designed to run. Once you learn to run naturally, you’ll put yourself in position to run faster and healthier for the rest of your life.

Danny Abshire is the co-founder of Newton Running, a Boulder, Colo.-based company that makes shoes that promote an efficient midfoot/forefoot running gait. He has been making advanced footwear solutions for runners and triathletes for more than 20 years.

October 17th is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a time when people around the world reaffirm their commitment to reducing the burden on the world’s poor. This year, we’re partnering with Trickle Up to raise awareness about global poverty. Trickle Up is an organization that helps people living on less than $1 a day start microenterprises. Trickle Up provides training, seed capital grants and savings services to empower participants to take their first steps out of poverty.

Watch this new video to find out more about how we’re working with Trickle Up to help fight poverty around the world:

Proving once again that he can run down anyone, Crowie smoked the field in the marathon to win the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships with a time of 8:20:21. Crowie came out of T2 in 10th place and more than 12 minutes behind the leader Chris Lieto. Digging deep and throwing down at 2:48 marathon, Crowie chased down such stars as Normann Stadler and Chris McCormack, broke away from Andreas Raelert at the Energy Lab, and passed Chris Lieto at mile 21 to go on to victory. The conditions were tough – hotter than hell and not a breeze to be found. It was an outstanding race – congratulations to all competitors!

This is a little belated, but Newton Running would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Winter Vineki, who finished in fourth place in the 10-year-old age group at last weekend’s IronKids National Championships in Tucson.  She qualified for Nationals by taking 1st place at Ironkids Carmel, IN, this summer as well as taking 2nd place at IronkidsSan Diego.

Winter has raised over $37,000 for Athletes for a Cure, in memory of her father who died earlier this year from prostate cancer. Newton is incredibly proud to support Winter!

And here’s another shot of Winter with her friend Kyle. Kyle’s dad, Dave Deschenes, is one of the lucky ones who was diagnosed at 37 with prostate cancer and is currently cancer free. Kyle races with Winter for Athletes for a Cure. He placed 5th at Nationals for the 12 y/o age group.  Both are big fans of Newtons, Team Winter Oakleys, Athletes for a Cure and Team Winter.

Aloha from Kona! Team Newton is representing in Hawaii, supporting all of the Newton pros and age-groupers training and racing in the Ironman World Championships this week.

For those of you in Kona, here are some Newton activities and events to check out:

Slowtwitch Lounge

Defending World Champion Craig Alexander will be on hand signing autographs on Tues., Wed., and Thurs. afternoons.

Newton Booth – located at St Michael’s on Allii Dr.

On Tues., from 6-7 pm Craig and Natascha Badmann will sign autographs at the booth

On Wed,. from 3-4 pm Michellie Jones will sign autographs

At the Expo we’ll also be selling special Crowie ‘evolution’ t-shirts and Newton tribal socks. Proceeds will go to support the St. Michael’s drug rehab program.

We’re also creating a special commemorative book from the 2009 Ironman World Championships and we’re asking all of the Newton tribe to come and sign the book. We’re hoping to get photos and signatures from everyone wearing Newtons in the race!

For those of you at home, be sure to go to Itunes and download the Crowie Backstage App for your Iphone. Very cool behind the scenes photos, updates and insight on Crowie’s training and racing.

Here are the Newton sponsored athletes we’ll be cheering on:

Craig ALEXANDER                             BIB #1                   PRO MALE
Natascha BADMANN                      BIB #120               PRO FEMALE
Michellie JONES                                BIB #121               PRO FEMALE
Jozsef MAJOR                                   BIB #39                 PRO MALE
Pete JACOBS                                      BIB #161               PRO MALE
Jessica JACOBS                                  BIB #145               PRO FEMALE
Tatiana VERTIZ                                  BIB #1872            Female 18-24
Hans MUELBAUER                           BIB #172               Male 25-29
Jason TUFFS                                       BIB #1089            Male 35-39

…and of course all the age-group triathletes who have worked so hard to get here! Best of luck to all of you!

We’ll try to post more from Kona later this week….