New Balance continues to support programs concerning childhood obesity.

According to
MaineToday.com, New Balance awarded the Boys & Girls club and YMCA at the Alfond Youth Center in Maine, $87,000 for programs made up to combat the national problem of childhood obesity.

Other information on Childhood Obesity:

Children in Balance: Tufts Childhood Obesity Initiative

100% childhood obesity by 2044?

Forget those clunky cross trainers. Cross-trainers are known for being heavy and stiff, but not this new model. New Balance just introduced the new 715 cross-trainer. Available for both men and women in 2 color combinations. It has more mesh than your typical cross-trainer, which makes it lighter and more breathable.

The 715 has thick ABZORB cushioning in both the heel and forefoot.
They also have Stability Web, offering midfoot support and torsional stability. This means that it provides support in the midfoot but also offers flexibility in the forefoot.

It is a nice looking shoe, a very young looking shoe, at a great price.

WX715WB

WX715NY

MX715BS

MX715RB

New Balance has updated the 757 walking shoe to the Men’s WW758WB and the Women’s MW758WG.

This model is a lighter weight than the 757. New Balance has also added more mesh to the 758 to keep your feet cooler.

WW758WB

MW758WG

Are you planning on doing some walking this summer? Joining a walking club and training for an event are good ways to stick to your training, meet new people and have more fun. AVA is located in many states through out the US with 450 local clubs. AVA hosts over 3,000 self-guided, noncompetitive walks every year.

Walkers should get acquainted with the American Volkssport Association

Take your pick, one of these New Balance 801 running recovery shoes are sure to make your feet feel good. Two new colors, the W801KP and the W801BS. The W801KP is a pink ribbon shoe, the newest to be added to the
Race for the Cure Pink Ribbon Collection

W801KP

W801BS

Apple and Pixar boss Steve Jobs wears New Balance 991.

New Balance 991... The original classic


New Balance M991GL

The New Balance Women’s 1023 running shoe has been made up in this great new color.

This model comes with Full Footbed of ABZORB Cushioning. This shoe is also very lightweight. The New Balance
W1023WC is excellent for neutral runners.


New Balance W1023WC

Okay Dad, gear up and get some summer activity in this summer. The American Council of Exercise recommends setting a tee time, grabbing a racquet or taking a hike to get some exercise in with your family.

According to this article at i-Newswire.com, “It has been consistently shown that men who exercise regularly are less likely to develop a wide range of diseases and chronic illnesses ( e.g., coronary heart disease, certain forms of cancer, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, etc. ). Furthermore, being out of shape compromises a man's functional capabilities and reduces his overall quality of life.”

And don't forget the importance of wearing properly fit, sport appropriate shoes for your summer activities.

Check these past blogs for some shoe fitting tips.

My son loves to run around barefoot. As soon as I pick him up at school, he immediately kicks off his New Balance shoes and wiggles his toes! He's free!

Nike just came out with a new shoe that is almost like
runnig barefoot. Nike Free 5.0.

Do people actually run barefoot? They sure do, they even have entire races devoted to running barefoot. Check out this website about
barefoot running.

For those of you that don't want to run barefoot and long for a little cushion and support, this review at Zappo's states that the New Balance 900 is like running barefoot!

Hey, to each his own!

M900WY

W900WY

According to this article at
Internet Retailer.com, Forrester Research studied 16 major companies to determine how well their website communicates the brand position of the company and the product line.

These sites that were studied:
Athletic shoe manufacturers Adidas, New Balance, Nike, and Reebok.

Personal computer makers Apple, Dell, Hewlett Packard and IBM.

Credit card companies American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa.

Fast food restaurants Burger King, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s.

Who scored almost perfect? Gosh, I really hate to say… Nike with near perfect scores.

Apple came in second, followed by Dell, Discover, Wendy’s, and Adidas.

New Balance gave students at Carnegie Mellon University guidance on the type of customers it targets and practical design ideas that attract customers to their business. The students then went to work and handed in designs and working prototypes. Lack of exposure to the industry allowed the students to share fresh ideas for innovative running products. New Balance has taken provisional patents on several designs. They also gave the students high reviews on their ideas which included a shoe insole with technology that can track and record exercise according to this article.

This new relationship between students and companies is a new, uncharted concept. New Balance always seems to take a different approach to doing things. This may be what sets them apart from other athletic footwear companies.

Coming soon! New Balance has designed a new line of backpacks, bags and accessories. The backpacks are really neat with lots of
technology. Some features that set these bags apart from others are ABZORB® cushioned shoulder strap material, abrasion resistant N DURANCE TM material, padded music pockets, headphone ports and organizational features. Some backpacks and satchels have padded laptop pockets.

I'll keep you posted as to when they are released. In the meantime, you can check them out at
New Balance Bags.

The Dunham hiking boot 5700BR (brown) and 5700BK (black) has been a very popular model for New Balance. This hiking boot had a 4 year run but is soon to be discontinued. Some websites have this model on clearance. It may be very hard to get a hold of the 5700BK’s but there are still some 5700BR out there. You may want to get a couple pairs if this is a favorite of yours.

New Balance Athletic Shoes Inc. is listed in a new book called “Sports Industry Almanac”.

This book is like no other featuring competitive intelligence, market research and business analysis--all you need to know about the sports, sporting goods, sports marketing, stadiums, teams, and leagues business.

Hundreds of Leading Teams, Leagues and Sports Sector Companies Profiled.

Wide feet and you need cleats? Well, New Balance finally designed cleats for wide feet. Now available in New Balance concept stores.

More cleat blogs:

I know a lot of runners read this blog so I wanted to share this interesting issue of
Runner’s World.

Today, I received my July issue. There was a great article called "Stride Right". This is a major concern with many our customers. Check out this article to find out how your stride may be causing injuries and how to retrain your gait. New Balance also puts it into perspective for you at "Your Foot In Motion"

If you pick up the July issue of Runner's World also check out the "25 Best Running Cities in America". Really neat articles on some great cities.

On June 1st New Balance released their new golf shoe for both men and women. Arriving in New Balance stores this week, these golf shoes are sure to make their mark. The golf shoes come with a 2 year waterproof guarantee. New Balance technology runs throughout this golf shoe . Dryworks waterproof membrane, Visible Stability Web, EVA midsole, Abzorb in heel and forefoot, Dri-Lex moisture management lining and Poliyou performance inserts. The spikes are Champ Scorpion Stinger spikes.

With these golf shoes your sure to have a better golf game, well maybe, but at least at the 18th hole your feet will be feeling mighty fine.

The "Sport of the 2000s" and the fastest growing team sport!!! Do you know what it is?

Lacrosse. Believe it or not, lacrosse is America's oldest game. And I thought it was baseball?

According to this website based on the history of lacrosse, it goes back to as early as the 15th century. The game of lacrosse was developed by North American Indians. Indians played the game for recreation. It was also a game used to settle tribal disputes and to toughen warriors for fighting.

Today it is a fast growing sport that New Balance became involved with last year. Seeing the future explosion of this sport, New Balance purchased the lacrosse equipment company Warrior last year and is a corporate partner of Major League Lacrosse, which is a six-team professional outdoor league. The league has teams in Boston; Rochester, N.Y.; Baltimore; Philadelphia; Uniondale, N.Y.; and Clifton, N.J. The league will also be adding four Western teams in 2006.

Check out: Warrior / New Balance lacrosse products.

Other interesting lacrosse blogs:

New Balance has a contest going for kids about sportmanship asking for kids to come up with the 11th Habit of Good Sportsmanship. New Balance lists the first ten on their
Kid’s Sportsmanship website.

I just heard about a new reality show airing tonight at 9pm on Bravo called Sports Kids Moms and Dads.

I bet after watching these kids being driven by their parents, the 11th Habit of good sportsmanship is to leave Mom and Dad at home. Check it out and let me know what you think.

New Balance promotes sportsmanship: