Can't stand those knots in your laces? Have you heard of the
Knoty Boy laces? Yeah, that's right, someone actually designed laces that have knots in for a reason. New Balance has added these laces to their line of accessories.

The laces are elasticized and have knots. In between each knot there is a 1/2 inch of lace. The knots keep the lace from sliding so the shoe never has to be tied or loosened.

Some reviews of the Knoty Boy Laces.

Coming soon, I'll keep you posted.

Like to debate? What do you think motivates athletes these days? This is your chance to be heard by posting your thoughts. Choose your debate from a list of questions.

Check it out at New Balance debate.

Other ways to get involved:

Hey remember when we asked if New Balance was going to support the Tsunami relief effort?

Well, news broke today that New Balance and their employees have raised $400,000 to support rebuilding in that region. Oh and you should know that the goal was to initially raise $100,000. You can read more here.

This previous blog about New Balance lasts spoke about the different lasts that New Balance uses in their shoes.

However, I had a question the other day and I wanted to answer it.

What does the abbreviation stand for in the different lasts?

Here goes:
SL - Straight Last
AL - Athletic Last
CL - Comfit Last
RL - Racing Last
JL - Junior Last
NR - Non-running Last
SC/KC - Soccer Last
SD/KD - Sandal Last

I love my M2001 New Balance shoes. New Balance pushed the bar when they brought out this $195.00 shoe a few years ago. The New Balance M2001 is all technology, but definitely did not have the marketing campaign that the Adidas 1 is being pushed with.

With the release last week of the the Adidas 1, the shoe with the
Intel P4 1.2Ghz which I mentioned before, I really began to wonder!

Is this shoe about being a technology shoe or a marketing tool to get the Adidas name out there?

According to this article, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/WNT/story?id=598034 , only 24 percent of people that purchase running shoes actually run in them, so the technology may only be important to ¼ of the people purchasing running shoes.

Maybe this Adidas 1 shoe is a technical shoe but it also is bringing alot of attention to the Adidas company, who maybe hopes that all this fuss will spread to the Adidas lower priced footwear. Is the Adidas 1 a marketing tool or technology shoe? What do you think?

I mentioned the Finally Wide Cleats by New Balance back in October. I wanted to give you an update on the wide width cleats. They will be available at New Balance stores in May.

New Balance will be the first company to offer cleats in a wide width. There will be three widths and two larger
width outsoles: D width on the regular-width and 2E and 4E widths on the wider bottom. There will be a strength collection, speed collection and a coach’s collection. They will be made in black and white. For a preview you can check them out at the
Finally Wide Cleats Website.

I'll keep you posted on their arrival.

In the meantime, if your looking for a pair of good umpire or coaching shoes, you may want to try these, now available,
M250L. Good enough for the Major League umpires to wear!

New Balance has made an addition to the Men's 991 Line.

They just might be the perfect shoes to cut your grass in!!! The M991GN.

Too green for you? Try one of these other colors in the 991 line.

Have you hiked a thousand miles lately?

Well, Backpacker Magazine did with New Balance Ultra Arch Support Inserts in their hiking boots. They stated that they were happy with very little end-of-day soreness.

These inserts are a great way to upgrade your shoes, sneakers or boots.

I just read this press release that New Balance will sponsor the “Live Your Best Life Tour”. This tour put on by O Magazine is an all day event with Oprah sharing her life experiences and advice on how to live your best life.

I wonder what New Balance will be giving away, tucked inside the gift bag that Oprah will give all her guests. Sure enough it will be something good. The all day event includes a gift bag with products from other sponsors, lunch, and a day with Oprah at $185.00 a ticket. I know there is a bunch of you going to this in April so let me know what was in the gift bag!

New Balance is it when it comes to those of us that need big shoes, wide shoes, small shoes, shoes to help aleviate our foot problems.

But hey what about the girls that just want to have fun. I'm so glad New Balance is getting fashion forward and getting into some awesome shoes that are great to just look good in. These New Balance retro 574 slides from the Spring 2005 line are awesome.


W574MGS


W574MKP

If you’re a hiker, this may just be your boot. The Dunham MWH900RD from the Waffle Stomper Premier Backpacking Collection was Voted "Best Buy" by
Backpacker Magazine.

Dunham MWH900RD

"There are two motivations in sports. Which is yours? For Love or Money".

You can expect to see these New Balance Ads during March Madness on CBS. New Balance really stands behind their beliefs. Once again they're all about promoting amateur athletics.

Hey, wouldn't it have been hilarious if those ads appeared during the Baseball Senate hearings. (Shhhh... I think the answer might have been "money").

So do these people. Tell your story.

I don’t know if you saw the one-time ad New Balance aired on Nov.19 during CBS NFL post game show on Thanksgiving Day. The ad showed bare white text over a blank red screen, the only sounds heard during the ad were the echoes in a gym from sounds of a basketball game.

The text read: “Sports are supposed to bring out our best, not our worst. Sports are supposed to inspire our children, not frighten them…As athletes, as fans, as leagues and companies associated with sports, now might be a moment to ask ourselves: Are the values guiding sports today the best ones?”

Terry Lefton, Editor-at-Large, Sports Business Daily/Sports Business Journal [NSMN Board of Advisors], gives New Balance a grade of a B plus for creativity in this ad. He gave New Balance an A for use of sports as a marketing vehicle. He also stated that he was glad to see New Balance can leverage social issues in marketing which Nike has done numerous times.

I give the ad an A, for making me think about what values I have and want to instill in my children when it comes to sportsmanship. After all, kids copy what they see from the people they respect most. I hope I can be one they respect most, the average guy. I found this quote and it pretty much sums it up:

"Sports do not build character. They reveal it." - Heywood Hale Broun, the television commentator and writer who cast an irreverent eye on the world of sports.

And sitting back and watching some of the kids and parents on my son’s teams, I must admit, this is true. I think the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree!

Check out some other New Balance ads.

What is all this talk about fit with New Balance? Are they making it their mission to make sure your shoes fit? I heard a recently radio advertisement from a local New Balance store that went something like this… “Are for ready to purchase some new athletic shoes? We’ve developed a revolutionary way to make sure shoes fit perfectly. We measure your feet.” Said the announcer.

Hmm, is that a new concept? So I decided to go shopping for shoes. You know what, I went to about 5 stores and none of them asked to measure my foot. Do you think that you know your shoe size? Or was that the shoe size you wore 10 years ago? Or was that the size you wore 25 lbs ago. Or before you had that baby? Hmm, maybe we should expect to have our feet measured to fit, especially if we want our shoes to feel good, after all, isn’t that why we wear New Balance.

Sit and Fit, That Is What New Balance Recommends

Dunham, a New Balance Performance brand, is now making boat shoes for Men in narrow and wide widths ranging in sizes from 7-18. Great news for those of you who need those special sizes.

The Captain Collection of boat shoes has multifunctional outsoles for traction and motion control that allows water to channel away when your shoes are in contact with a wet surface. The upper is made of waterproof leathers that repel water.

Available in 3 models:

Is it love, money, accomplishment or something else? New Balance wants to know your thoughts.

Pink is in for Spring 2005. Now New Balance has made the
Women’s 991 in pink. New Balance also shows off a great array of colors in the 991. To me, the 991 is the most comfortable shoe New Balance makes.

I am really getting inspired by people choosing to train for a marathon to make a
positive change in their life.

This story about the governor of Arkansas stuck out to me because he was outfitted in his New Balance shoes to help him cross the finish line of the Little Rock Marathon after losing 110 pounds in 20 months.

He started his exercise regimen by walking around the governor’s mansion then running down to the corner and then a little further. His doctor referred him to an athletic shoe store that would evaluate his walk and special order New Balance running shoes for him.
Michael Huckabee, Arkansas governor stated that: “Not only did I find out I’d been wearing shoes of the wrong size,” he also added, “but I was introduced to the idea of shoes that actually were comfortable.”

Check out this article, I’m sure it will inspire you!

Many customers are looking for the discontinued M801SN. This is the slide-on New Balance running recovery shoe in navy.

Unfortunately, New Balance will not be bringing this model in the line until September 2005. The new running recovery shoe will be available in a black version and a gray version for Men.

I tried to search for any style of the 801 but found very few of these still floating around online in limited sizes. Some sizes are still available Men’s 7’s and 8’s at A Perfect Dealer.

Sorry, guess you’ll have to go for the New Balance sport thong sandal until the 801’s become available again!

Now if you are looking for 801’s in women sizes you can still get these.

Four-time LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Champion Khalid Khannouchi, who is a featured member of
Team New Balance, will begin his 2005 season and marathon training in Chicago at this year's LaSalle Bank Shamrock Shuffle 8K
.
Last week Khalid announced that he will not be running the London Marathon because he wanted focus on the Boston Marathon, which will be the only marathon he plans to run in 2005.

Khalid is one of the best marathon runners around. He has placed 1st for 4 years at the Chicago Marathon, with a finish of 6th in 2004 after suffering from 24 months of injuries. Hopefully, his focus on Chicago will be blessed with a healthy training season.

The new advertising campaign by New Balance called For Love or Money, will focus on all of its products, including apparel, bags, sunglasses and athletic shoes by using amateur athletes who will be wearing their products.

Bringing positive attention to their brand by using a strategy such as JetBlue and Southwest airlines have used successfully, the anti-airline airlines, New Balance is keeping themselves set apart from their competitors, just like the slogan they have used for year's, Endorsed by No One!

For more on the New Balance advertising campaign, the following are 2 great articles:

I hear many stories of recovered drug addicts and alcoholics. I am hopeful for them but the chances of staying sober are very low. I wonder if these recovered addicts have a greater chance of staying sober if sports are used to aid in their recovery. I hear of many people who use the decision to run a marathon as a turning point in their life. I guess the discipline that it takes to train for a marathon can lead to a new way of living for many.

Recently New Balance outfitted a 5 person marathon team from the Boston Rescue Mission.

The team consists of a corporate community leader and BRM board member, two homeless advocates, and two recovering addicts, Anthony and Erica, who are currently in BRM’s residential recovery program for four months.

Anthony and Erica were involved in running in high school. Perhaps the feeling of hope in doing something that they once enjoyed doing, the friendships developed and pride of being part of a team will keep them strong and healthy in their recovery.

Anthony and Eric, we’ll look for you in the Boston Marathon!

Press release available here: http://www.newbalance.com/aboutus/media/pressReleases/02.17.05
Boston Rescue Mission at http://www.brm.org/index.aspx?sec_id=24&sec_url=

The Adidas 1 I talked about last May is hitting the streets. I still feel that same about that shoe. Here's more.

Hey New Balance please don't put a computer in my shoe.

I know everybody loves this trail running shoe and for awhile now New Balance has been out of stock in the 807's because they were preparing to release the 808's.

Just in case you are looking for that replacement model for the 804, 805, 806 or 807, here it is - New Balance 808.

Available now:

Don't forget to watch the New Balance Games this week on YES Network. For a schedule of times being aired, click here.