We’re going to be following our friend Kevin Jones for a while. Kevin’s amazing transformation began after attending a Newton Natural Running Form Clinic, Kevin’s quest to retake control of his life began.

This is Kevin’s story (so far).

My story goes like this; my running days started back in 1974 as a freshman at Massapequa High School in New York which then migrated on to my undergraduate days at Santa Rosa Junior College and California Poly Tech State University of San Luis Obispo in California and was finally followed by several years of post collegiate racing.  The competitive running days ended in 1990 after entering Chiropractic College from where I dabbled in a few low key 5K’s during the early 90’s.  By 1995 I had given up running altogether after moving to Oklahoma.  Since then my weight and I have had some serious battles.  Over the past 15 years, I had let my weight approach around the 250 pound range three previous times and each time I finally fought back with a Body for Life style program losing roughly 70 – 80 pounds.  During this period I had intermittently gotten into weight lifting, indoor cardio and outdoor cycling but nothing ever held my attention for long and I allowed life to dictate my activities and not the other way around.  Thus, each success was short lived and the weight had eventually found its way back as if it had never left in the first place.

In June of this past year, I stepped up the scale and weighed in at a whopping 268 pounds reaching a not so proud all time high.  Taking action again was long past due.  So I got busy and developed a plan.  This time it was going to be different from all the others, and I was going to go back to what I loved most of all and decided to make running work for me here in Oklahoma.  Becoming inspired again my new campaign “Fat to Fit at 50” sprung to life.  The long term goals were shedding 100 pounds, regaining my health, being an active dad for my two sons, getting back to near college day racing weight and molding myself into a competitive Masters 50 plus runner.

After attending a Newton Natural Running Coaches Certification late in June of 2011 at the Red Coyote Running and Fitness Store here in Oklahoma City I began my quest to regain my health as promised.  During “Phase I” I Lost 70 pounds in 90 days and maintained that weight lost throughout the remainder of last year.  Now just at or about 200 pounds I am about to embark on “Phase II” of “Fat to Fit at 50″ with the goal of cutting those remaining 35 – 40 pounds and reaching that 100 pound total weight loss objective within the next two to three months.  That is somewhere I haven’t been or seen in about 20 years.  Excited!  From August 1^st through the end of the year 2011 I have run 849 miles, rode 378 miles on the stationary bike, walked 240 miles and rowed 67 miles on the Concept 2 rower.

This whole journey started in a pair of Newton Sir Isaac’s and Distancia lightweight trainers.  I literally beat them to death (LOL) during the weight loss journey, especially the Distancia trainers.  Now I have been training in either the Motus or Distancia S trainers and love them… The wear pattern has improved immensely with the dropping weight and improved running mechanics.  Additionally I am planning on putting the Terra Momentus all terrain trainers to the test in my preparation for running this July’s 2012 Devil’s Backbone, a 50 mile trail race in the mountains around Bozeman Montana being run mostly at or above tree live at an average of 9,500 to 10,000 feet.

2012 will be a year of “Positive Change” as I continue to carve and chisel away at my goals for living a healthier and happier life…   Starting weight for Phase II is officially 204 pounds…  Not bad…  Only a 6 pound gain over the last several months!  That magic number of 168 is not too far off in the distance as I am beginning to see it ever so clearer everyday now…

Newton Director of Education and Research (and rock star World champ athlete) Ian Adamson got this lovely email from Dave B.

Hi there Ian!

I’ve been meaning to write for a little while now to thank you for doing everything you are doing especially with Newton shoes. I ran the JFK 50 Mile for the 9th time this year and this was the first time I didn’t have any blisters on the soles of my feet at all nor lose at least one of my great toe nails! Same socks. I am very thankful for that! What I think is even more amazing is that I even finished – I did a really not so intelligent thing in that I put in just two training runs since Labor Day: one was about 3.5 miles 4 weeks before race day and an 11 miler the following week, then ran the JFK. I finished in about 13:10 which is actually better than I have done in the last several years! I think a couple things influenced that: 1) there were only about 1/3 of the folks there at the 5 AM start and 2) my feet felt fine the whole race. I have worn XXXX and XXXXXX shoes in the past.

Anyway, thanks again for all you do! Hope you enjoyed a great Thanksgiving weekend and that you have a wonderful Christmas holiday season!

Take-Care, Dave

Chiropractor Dr. Lane just posted this video explaining why he recommends Newton Running shoes to his patients and delves into what differentiates our shoes from other running shoes in the market.

Thanks Dr. Lane for the cool demo of the Action/Reaction Technology and explaining the principles behind natural running form!

Before

After - 170 pounds lighter!

Dear Newton Running:

“These are the first newtons I ever owned and I will never buy any other kind of running shoe, ever!

I worked a long time to train and run with a forefoot strike, and these shoe are a perfect match. I just finished loosing 170 lbs, though hard work and dieting, and now I do triathlons.

The Sir Isaac Guidance Trainers are great for my feet, and since using them I run almost a minute-per-mile faster than before. In fact, last month I ran a half marathon and finished in just under 2 hours.”
–Steven

Actor Titus Welliver, perhaps known best for his role as “The Man in Black” in the television series, Lost, is apparently a big Newton Running fan. He’s pictured here sporting the Gravity Performance Trainers.

“Since I began using Newton shoes, all of my injury issues have disappeared and am able to run better. I wear my Newton shoes as everyday footwear as well, to the point that my wife will remind me, as great as Newtons are, they don’t go with a suit.”

We at Newton Running try to not to toot our own horn too often, but we do like to share success stories from Newton customers. In this case, M.D. of Vancouver, British Columbia, found relief from Morton’s Neuroma with Newton Running shoes. Here’s her story:

“Yesterday while shopping for a new pair of running shoes for my husband, a very cute shoe caught my eye, the Newton Terra Momentus. I asked to try them on and fell in love at first wearing. I have been struggling with Morton’s Neuroma in my right foot for over a year and had reached the point of accepting that I would just have to get used to the pain.

As soon as I tried in the shoe, I realized that the point of contact was at the mid foot, thereby avoiding the metatarsal and the neuroma. I got excited. I took a quick jog outside and got more excited and bought the shoes

I couldn’t wait to get to the gym this morning to give them a real test drive. Sure enough, I could do all the high impact moves that I wasn’t able to do before. The only thing that held me back was my own fitness level rather than the neuroma!”

–M.D.

Heather Fuhr en route to breaking the course record at the Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run.

In last weekend’s racing news, the talented Heather Fuhr added another notch to her ultrarunning belt at the Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run in Avalon, California. She sent us this report:

“It was an incredible day on Catalina Island with clear skies and warm temperatures. I thoroughly enjoyed the day from start to finish (OK, maybe the last three miles straight downhill weren’t all that great). I finished in 6:52, second overall, about eight minutes behind the first male finisher, and about 30 minutes faster than the previous women’s course record.  My stability trainers worked perfectly on the trails of Catalina – so thanks for the great shoes!!

Ryan Maloney, a 12-year-old with Type 1 diabetes, won his age group (male aged 9 – 12) at the Stephen Strasburg 5K Run at San Diego State University on Saturday, the young runner’s first time on the podium. In his Newton Special Edition PCF shoes, Ryan ran an impressive 20:56 for the 5K distance. 

He is training for this weekend’s Carlsbad Half Marathon, where he will run as part of Team Glucomotive and raise funds for Insulindependence.org, an organization that inspires and supports people with diabetes in their athletic pursuits.

So far, Ryan has raised $1200 in pledges for Insulindependence.org, with which he has been involved since he started racing at the age of nine.

Lastly, Jarrett Wyatt, 36, of Phoenix, Arizona, who lost an incredible 160 pounds while running in Newton shoes, ran the P.F. Chang’s Rock n’ Roll Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 3:34:26. At the race’s gear expo, Jarrett conducted this interview with Fox Sports AZ: Rock n’ Roll Expo.

We recently received this letter from a retired navy officer thanking Newton Running and the TriSoldier Project for his successful return to running and triathlons.

I received word yesterday that you are going to sponsor the athletes from the TriSoldier Project and I wanted to share my thanks and Newton Running story with you.

I am a 50-percent disabled, retired Navy helicopter-rescue swimmer. Years of cumulative trauma from the rigors of the job resulted in surgeries to my shoulder and hip, which left me athletically sidelined for over five years. But through good physical therapy and persistence, I have resumed running, swimming and biking.

I feel very fortunate this year to have discovered Newton Running! It is amazing what I have been able to do in your shoes. Every race I entered, I have PR’d! From the Bloomsday 12K in Spokane (over 7 minutes off my best!) to the Coeur d’Alene Ironman (where I took 50 minutes off my marathon time!), these shoes have been nothing but phenomenal. They were also instrumental in my training for the XTERRA Trail Run World Championships in Hawaii in December, where I finish ninth in my age group, and among the top-third of the field. Next year I plan on an age-group podium spot, and your shoes will get me there!

I train in the Newton Gravitas shoe and race in the Distancia shoe.  I have found it amazing how many miles I have been able to put on this most excellent trainer! I plan to use them this year in all of my races, including the USA Triathlon Northwest Region Sprint and Olympic-distance qualifiers in my hometown of Coeur d’Alene, ID. See you at the Nationals!

Thanks for your support of the TriSoldier Project. Its Executive Director, Jeff Trout, and his people have been great to us and are truly enabling disabled veterans of all abilities “get back in the game.”  I have nothing but the highest praise for their organization. Between your shoes and their support, we feel truly blessed.

Sincerely,

AW1 Kevin K. McNease (Ret.)

We received this letter from Jarrett Wyatt, who has lost over 160 pounds over the past few years by running in Newtons:

“The Rock ‘n’ Roll 2010 series is all done. I don’t believe I could have done this and stayed as injury free as I did without my Newtons. When I got home Sunday night, I tossed my Racers in the shower with me and gave them a good scrubbing. That particular pair has carried me through more than ten races, and they were looking a tad soiled. Cleaned up beautifully I must say. Funny thing is that when I got back to work Monday, the company threw me a party and I had a brand new pair of Racers in a gift basket. Between Newton and P.F. Chang’s, I am off to a great start to 2011! Thanks again for the support you have shown me.”

–Jarrett

At Newton, one of the most rewarding parts about our work is when we receive emails such as the following, from retired US Army Special Forces soldier Stefan Ray. It takes discipline and unwavering self-confidence to come back from getting your knee blasted with an AK-47. If we can help more people recover from injury and get back out on the road running again in order to make positive changes in their lives we are doing our job right.

I just wanted to thank you for your contribution to the running world. I received a few injuries while serving on several overseas tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo/Bosnia, but the worst injury I sustained was being shot through my left knee with an AK-47. I have always been a strong runner, but this injury put me out for a long time. I was never able to run pain free due to the acl/mcl damage the round caused. I came across Newton Running at my 1st triathlon event this year after 1.5 years off due to the injury and rehab. I bought a pair of the Sir Isaacs and then the Distance racers. I am now running pain-free and believe these are the best engineered running shoes that exist. I have turned about 10 people on to Newton shoes now and they are as happy as I am. I am training my rear off with hopes of becoming a pro triathlete. Had I not found your shoes, I never would have even considered it. I am planning a big race season in 2011 starting with Rohto IM 70.3 Florida, IM 70.3 Muncie, and IM Louisville in hopes of qualifying for Kona. No one or anything stops me when I am determined and I want to thank you for turning my life around. Whether it be racing, training, coaching, or just knocking around, I am in Newton shoes about 98% of the time. (I wear dress shoes to church, sorry!) My injuries have been an emotional journey and I am finally back to normal and now in the best shape of my life.

entrance wound

exit wound

Thanks for sharing Stefan!