For the past few hours we experienced a declining hardware issue that turned into a hardware failure inside of our systems. This had an impact on our site performance and while the hardware was replaced we did have intermittent downtime. The good news is that it appears that we now have that issue resolved.

Sorry for the hiccups that you may have experienced folks.

Women's WCT802W
One more discontinued item that is worth blogging about. The Women's Court shoe, the WCT802W. Again, very limited sizes left, but a big savings of $40.00. The original price was $89.99 and is now $49.99.

Sorry guys, we no longer have any 802's available for men, but you may try the updated model, the Men's 803.

- Michele

Good-bye 872, it is time for you to retire.

Bright orange/yellow, you are sure to be missed. Not that you will ever be missed running down any trail in these. It is a great off road trail running shoe but we need to make room for the 873's.

We have limited stock in the Men's 872 and Women's 872. This model have been marked down to $49.99 from $94.99. 45.00 off the original price.

So check them out and see if we have your size because stock in very limited.

Men's 872

Women's 872

Alrighty, I just told you that New Balance increases the number in the series by one when a model is updated. The M891 is now the MR892. The M802 is now the MC803. So what is up with the C and R after the W and the M.

Okay, let's start with the M and W. M stands for Men, W stands for W.

The newest addition to New Balance model coding is the C and R and W and X. The C stands for Court, the R stands for Running, X stands for Cross-training and the W stands for Walking.

So now when you look inside your shoe at the model number, you can tell by the model number what category this model is used for. This way you won't use your running shoes to play tennis. Or your tennis shoes to walk. Because you know that is not a good idea. If you wore your gummy tennis shoes to walk, you would keep sticking with each stride and cause some type of injury.

So make sure you wear the category shoe for the sport you are playing. Now New Balance has made that easy for you to distinguish.

- Michele

Where is the New Balance 642? Is there a new number for this model? Why does New Balance always change the number? Yep, a very touchy subject to some New Balance customers.

You can even read this story in someone's blog about the quest for an old New Balance model and finally settling for the updated version.

New Balance changes the number of a model when it wants to update the model for better performance with new technology or a cosmetic change.

New Balance by industry standards keeps their models in line for the longest period of time compared to it's competitors.

New Balance will keep the model series by increasing the number of the model by going up one number. This is to distinquish that the model is a new model. For instance, it was the 842, then the 843 and now the 844.

Now if I were to say the model change that caused the biggest upset, I believe it would be the updated 991 to the 992. It was the hardest change for New Balance wearers to deal with. I still receive emails from customers still looking for one more pair. I guess after awhile we learn to deal with it but it is hard to break in an old dog.

Which New Balance model change was hard for you to deal with? Tell me why?

I am leaving for Spain tomorrow and will be gone for a week. We are flying into Madrid and then checking out a couple other towns; Santander, Bilbao, and San Sebastian are on the list. As for shoes I’m bringing my Dunham Hillsides (MCR910BR) and my favorite pair of flip-flops, brown leather Chaco Flips. No running with the bulls for me. I’ll update everyone upon my return.
-John

Do you always avoid a cruise because you eat so much and gain so much weight that by the end of the week you feel worse than when you left for vacation?

Well, back in May 2006 in a previous blog, New Balance Partners with Royal Caribbean, I mentioned about a partnership with New Balance and Royal Caribbean on a ship called the Freedom of the Seas. I just read today in a press release that Royal Carribean will now partner with New Balance who will assist with a fitness Vitality program on their newest ship, launching in April 2007 called the Liberty of the Seas. The Vitality program consists of various ways to achieve fitness and well being.

New Balance created the fitness part of the Vitality program. It allows the guests to use a virtual personal trainer kiosk for a vacation fitness regimen as well as a plan for post-vacation. Another offering is a land-based Vitality program in the port of call. New Balance provides self-guided running maps and running courses on Labadee, Haiti, which is the cruise line’s private island destination.

The cruise line also offers an "Eat More to Weigh Less" program, spa treatments, shore excursions, culinary offerings such as the “Squeeze Bar”, a Vitality program lecture series developed by a health and wellness expert for advice on stress and relaxation, weight management, and health and fitness.

Looks like the Liberty of the Seas begins cruising on May 19, 2007. So put on your NB running shoes and have a total mind, body and soul vacation.

- Michele

This is pretty funny. I've seen New Balance and Nike compared before, but never like this. Check out this article, Forget Ducks vs. Winthrop; it's really about Nike vs. New Balance.

Winthrop basketball team wears New Balance sneakers. The school's choice to wear New Balance has become a subject of ridicule according to this article. Out of all sports, I would say that basketball shoes would be the most looked at when it comes to what shoes an athlete is wearing. Did Nike not create that hype? I guess I am not surprised by the lack of support for New Balance, afterall it is not the usual household name when it comes to basketball shoes.

I suppose New Balance has a way to go to earn the same respect as Nike when it comes to basketball shoes. New Balance is just in the beginning of breaking into the team sport industry. I would say that they seem to be on the right track though - after all, New Balance suited up a winning team with what some called "moon shoes"!

And Jerry Brewer, that was a great analogy in this article. Mars Blackmon and Nike or Pluto Nash and New Balance. Moon shoes, Pluto Nash - that was good!

More on this:
It's Gotta Be the Shoes - be sure to scroll down and read the comments on NB.

- Michele

Proud parents, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner both sport their 992's as they watch their daughter Violet hit the swings. This picture was in the March 6th issue of People magazine and also on People.com. The 992 has been out for about a year but is the latest in New Balance's most enduring running series, the 990. I'm a big fan of this line, in fact, in the spirit of St. Patricks Day - I'm wearing the green 991's as I write this.

-John

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Find your pot of gold at the end of your checkout! This 10% off coupon code is good today only, March 17, 2007!
potofgold

Find out how much you know about St. Patrick's Day. Take this quiz.

St. Patrick Day sites, history and more.


- Michele

Hey, I appreciate your thoughts and because you guys go to the trouble of letting me know what your thinking about and what's going on through your comments, I'm going to make one of you "Rich in NB Socks".

Once a month I'm going to send out a 6 pack of NB socks for the most deserving comment of the month. Don't forget to enter all of your info when writing your comment so I can get back to you to send you all of those New Balance socks!

Oh by the way, sorry, I'm keeping the trip to Maui for myself!

- John

Men's MR810BK
Just an update to my blog about the Men's Long Awaited 810 finally arriving. We now have the 810 in black for Men.

Other colors available in the 810 for men is the Men's MR810AT , Men's MR810NV and Men's MR810BR

And the Women's 810's have finally arrived. Here they are. Let me know what you think of these new colors?
I think I like the Men's colors better, what do you think?

Women's WR810AT

Women's WR810BP

I saw an article in the St. Petersburg Times about a Real Age Calculator. and I had to check it out. The idea is that your body may not be the same age physically that it is chronologically. The good news is that my body is 2.3 years younger than my age.

Some of the things that are keeping me young - good resting heart rate, cardio, good sleep levels. Some of the things making me older - cell phone use, driving speeds, lack of flexibility, lack of daily breakfast. The survey only takes a few minutes to complete, and then they send a full assessment via email. Let me know how you all do!

-John

All you baseball fans, I found a great site. Make sure you check out the blog and the chalk talk links.
I think Adam should give us a lesson on throwing a knuckle ball. I can watch a knuckleballer pitch all day long. Batters just end up looking goofy hacking away at the air! Adam, we have to get you in a pair of NB cleats, and good luck in New Jersey.

-John

Do you have a special pair of shoes that you just can't part with?

Are you looking everywhere and can't find another pair?

My all time favorite footwear that I can't find another pair of is the Sabra Negev slippers. They are the best. I don't know what it is but when I come home, I just want to slide my feet into those slippers. I've tried other slippers and I can't find a pair that compares. Let me know if you see any out there, I would love to get my hands on them.



But for real shoes that I wear in my outside world, my very favoirte would be a pair of my New Balance 801 slip ons in black. I love these. I blogged about these before and I keep wearing these. These are just great, supportive hang out shoes that look good with Capris, Jeans or Sweats. The 801's are the best at the airport, just slip them on and off and your outta there. I wear these everyday, I couldn't live without them.

Hey, I'd love to hear your story about your favorite shoes and why they are so great. I heard John was starting a contest with the comments. Something about giving free socks to the best comments? Keep posted for details.

- Michele

New Balance announced today (see press release) that the New Balance Foundation has donated $100,000 to support four New England high schools that are enrolled in Play It Smart. This is the The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame's (NFF) highly successful mentoring program that works to change the lives of at-risk athletes. Over the past nine years over 20,000 students from 85 cities have benefited from Play It Smart.

- Michele

Wanna know what the Hammer Test is? I'll quote the New Balance web site:

"A simple machine pounds a weight into our newly developed cushioning material. This happens over and over, until we find a compound that stands up to the punishment."

It is for ski photographer Frank Petronio who states that his feet have markedly grown outward over the years and now requires a 17 4E.

We currently carry 46 different Mens New Balance models in 17 4E. I was able to figure that out in 4 clicks using our Shop By Shoe Size engine.

Enjoy the rest of the ski season Frank and let us know when you're ready for some new footwear.

Jeremy, thanks for the kind words and thanks for being a loyal customer too!

The Jim Davis interview Michele posted on Monday motivated me to get all of my New Balance out!

So, how many pairs of New Balance do you have? Jim has me beat. In fact, he has my whole family tied!

The credit for making the N out of the shoes goes to my Wife. Thanks Sue! Ok, so we've got 11 pair of New Balance in my house. From left to right starting at the top of the N we have have the:

• Womens 747
• Womens 991
• Womens 801

• Mens 8505 NB Zip
• Kids/Infant 101
• Kids/Infant 51
• and the matching ZB Zip

• Mens 1060 x 2
• and the quintessential Mens 991