I really really love the latest trail shoe from New Balance.... the MT110. I've grown quite comfortable with a fairly low profile, minimal shoe both on the road and trails and the feel of the 110 by far is my favorite. I've gone from the NB 100's, to the 101's (used the 101's in 2 of my MMTR's and the Umstead 100)and now the 110. The MT110 is built on the same last, I believe, as the Minimus line with a 4mm drop from heel to forefoot. Although the shoe generally has the same feel as the earlier versions, this was the most comfortable. I've only taken one run in them, a hard 20 miler this past weekend. I wasn't on overly technical trails but I think they will do really well. The outsole seems a little stiffer and maybe more protection yet I can still feel that connection to the earth below my foot (sorry if that sounded a little corny but the more you run in low profile shoes the more you get accustomed to that "feel").
I didn't wear any socks and absolutely no problems other then my feet were a little cold early in the run on a cold morning. I'm going to give them a try at the Mount Mitchell Challenge in 2 weeks with Dry Max- Maximum Protection socks and see how it goes.
This past week I felt a bit burned out so was really pleased with the 20 mile run I did on a windy Saturday in the MT110's. It is one of my favorite Jack Daniels Q1 workouts. This is how it played out:
2 mile easy warm-up
2 miles hard @ 6:40/mi
1 mile easy
2 miles hard @ 6:34/mi
7 miles easy @ 7:48/mi
3 miles hard @ 6:50/mi
3 miles easy
Total= 20 miles continuous running in 2:31:16 (7:35/mi)
My son Kane at 15,496' elevation outside of Quito, Ecuador
