New Balance Minimus Minimalist Trail Running Shoe Evolution
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New Balance released an article today about how they went about developing the new New Balance Minimus running shoe. New Balance has been on the forefront of minimalist trail running development for a while. I’ve personally reviewed and enjoyed trail running in the New Balance MT100s and the, not yet released, New Balance 101 Minimalist Trail Running Shoes. I’m excited to see what the Minimus is all about when they are released in 2011.
The article talks about how the running shoe developers at New Balance met Anton (Tony) Krupicka and Kyle Skaggs at a running store in Colorado and heard about how these guys were doing a different type of trail running and ultra-running, in minimalist shoes. These runners are all about stripping down to the bare essentials. To run as natural as possible to increase the most basic primal experience from running. Tony and 
Kyle began working with Senior Designer Chris Wawrosek of New Balance, giving advice and challenging prototypes. Once they got to the product they were looking for, New Balance determined the broader consumer base wasn’t ready for minimalist trail running shoes. Then came Chris McDougall’s book, Born to Run, and the general population was ready for them. However, after New Balance released the MT100s they still felt they were a year or two early because not everyone wanted a flat, flexible shoe. Shoe companies like Vibram and Terra Plana have already been developing running shoes with flat soles and now New Balance is joining the party. I wonder when are the next big shoe manufactures are going to develop a minimalist trail running shoes?
Check out Tony’s inspirational video: