When New Balance entered the barefoot shoe market in 2011 they did so with the New Balance Minimus MT10 trail shoe with a 4mm heel drop. The shoe proved very popular but there was a clamour of requests from customers saying great shoe but when are New Balance going to come out with a zero drop shoe? As if by magic not one but two zero drop shoes arrived early this year with the MR00 and MT00. So you would reasonably think that the demand from the market is for zero drop shoes?
Well that is what I would have thought. But actually in the UK the 4mm drop shoes have seriously outsold the zero drop shoes in the UK. The MT10 is the king! Looking forward to 2013 New Balance will be filling out the 4mm drop range with new products and more colours. The zero drop range for the UK will become more limited with fewer colours. So in 2013 the New Balance Minimus range for the UK will be 4mm drop and trail running focused.
So what does this tell you about the state of the UK barefoot market? In my opinion three things:
- Retailers in the UK are very cautious of barefoot and have proved reluctant to take zero drop shoes. They see 4mm as a compromise they can live with as it represents less of a threat to their traditional cushioned shoe sales
- Consumers have been convinced that transitioning to barefoot should be approached cautiously (true) and that a 4mm heel drop is a safer option (not my opinion)
- Barefoot seems to be associated more with trail running than road running. Vibram FiveFingers seem to have got the same message and are introducing more trail focused shoes later this year with grippy soles and water resistance. Merrell bought out a Road Glove but the Trail Glove continues to be where the volume is. Maybe people feel that the trail is soft so better suited to barefoot running but I find road is the best place to learn.
I would assume that many readers of this blog are serious barefoot runners and are more interested in zero drop shoes. I also assume that you have junked your conventional cushioned shoes and use barefoot shoes to run on roads as well as trail. Many of you who I have spoken to have two different zero drop shoes to be able to do both. But I think it is interesting that as barefoot running moves nearer to mainstream the concept runs the risk of getting a bit diluted to suit the mass market. New Balance are a large successful shoe company and their New Balance Minimus range will evolve to suit the needs of the volume market.
Excellent article!
As someone new to “barefoot” running I do feel that learning proper technique requires absolute barefoot or shoes as close to that as possible. A friend with 4mm drop shoes is back at the physios…
Is it enough for shoe companies to follow the market? I like Vivbarefoot’s approach of trying to influence the education of the market via the Training Clinic including Lee Saxby. I hope other companies are doing something similar – they ALL ought to IMHO
Hi Paul,
It is an interesting topic for sure. I feel that customers will ultimately vote with their feet. As the whole post-Born-To-Run market matures an equilibrium will be reached and runners will wear what they are most comfortable with. There is a tendency for people to become evangelists and that only ‘proper’ barefoot or zero-drop shoes are the correct way to run, just as some believe that uber-cushioned and supported shoes are the only way to run- the truth is probably more that we, as runners, are all completely different and will,through trial and error, find what feels good for us. We run at different speeds, on different terrain, supporting different weight and height bodies and we all have different technique and running styles. But the fantastic thing about the market right now is the choice,- runners can truly experiment like never before- from platform style Hokas to silicone foot skins to pure barefoot. Its a great time to be a runner, it is almost as if the shoe companies have discovered LSD and are approaching the market with open-minds and radical concepts. The profits of course are important and therefore this free-love approach will be toned down over time, as is the case with NB, when it becomes clear what is selling the best. But the days of national retailers controlling what their customers buy are over, your site is proof of that- I for one wanted a pair of MT10 last year but could not find them here in Sweden so rather than buy what was available here I bought them for you. Customers are more knowledgeable than ever, for better or worse, and will buy what they want. My own journey took me from normal running shoes to Saucony Hattoris to MT10, MT110 to MR00 but I decided that, I too, prefer a 4mm drop, I am not sure why exactly but they feel better when I run- I look forward to next years NB MR10 version 2.0- but as I mentioned at the beginning it is an interesting topic and one that there is no universal ‘right or wrong’ answer for. We are runners and thats the most important thing.
Are the MR00 and MR10 similar sizewise, from a fit point of view?
Hi Lorcan,
The MR10 tends to be tighter across the forefoot due to the strip of rubber. Otherwise the fit is very similar. We find people need to get a 1/2 size bigger than their normal size and if their forefoot is wide even a full size bigger.
Regards
PAUL