Not every one is called a hero every day. For guys like Mark Goldstein it's just par for the course. Mark is a 74-year-old man that has run over 157 races, and is still going. Not so amazing you say, well Mr. Goldstein also started racing at the age of 55. Still not impressed? Well what if I told you that Mark is also a breast cancer survivor. Ya, makes us twenty-something coach potatoes feel a little lazy, huh! With the Race for the Cure fast approaching for many of us, I wanted to highlight some of the extraordinary people that make the Komen race such a life-changing event. Mark, like the other 1,720 men that are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, never even considered it a possibility.  He has been instrumental in raising awareness of the risk of breast cancer in both men and woman and show that one can have a healthy and active life after cancer. Mr. Goldstein has run in every single Komen race in the country, and for his efforts he has been awarded the Suzy Award, been inducted in the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, and was named as one of Running World's Heros of the Year for 2006. Mark has been a member of Honorary Team NB since its inception. Honorary Team New Balance was formed in January of 1995. Designed to celebrate the stories of cancer survival and to spread the word that there is fitness after cancer. We are happy to be part of this event and to have Mark with us. Learn more about Honorary Team NB and the Komen at the links below.

If you've been looking at our site you might have seen shoes described as Neutral, Stability or Motion Control. I thought it would be a good idea to decipher these terms, so you can get the best shoe for you. A "neutral shoe" or one described only as a "cushioning shoe" means that it is made for someone with a neutral walking or running gait -- someone who does not pronate (rolling your foot inward) or supinate (rolling your foot outward).  If the wear on your sneakers looks even on both the inside and outside heel, you are probably a neutral runner. A "stability shoe" is one that helps with pronation control.  This type of shoe is designed with technology such as a Rollbar, TS2, Extended Web, or medial and lateral posts. A "motion control shoe" is one that helps with both pronation and supination.  This type of shoe will have the Rollbar technology combined with the medial and lateral posts. Hope that helps

In April of this year, New Balance launched two new styles to the sport line, the WV650 and WV850. Those are competitive level volleyball shoes. My initial thought when seeing them was a running shoe and a tennis shoe had a baby. I think that may be the best way to describe the tech in these shoes. They have the support, breathability and cushioning of a runner, but with the durability, grip and flexibility that you'd expect from a court shoe. It has gotten some pretty good reviews, and they would be great for teams. Unfortunately no mens styles yet.

I was speaking to a friend of mine about my last blog and he asked a very good question. What do I do with all my retired shoes? Even casual runners and walkers can accrue quite a pile of debunked shoes. The thought of my favorite old 1222 ending up in a landfill makes me cringe so how could I give them a second life. There is the organization Shoes4Africa that takes donated old running shoes and gives them to desperately needy children in Africa. They also sponsor races to raise AIDS awareness. The New York Road Runners will be waiting at the finish line of the ING New York Marathon to collect shoes right off the marathoners' feet for this organization. If your in New York on Marathon Monday bring as many old pairs as you can (*new ones too for that matter). If your interested in a charity closer to home One World Running donates shoes to needy individuals in Africa, the US and Latin America. Soccer cleats are also much appreciated by both organizations as well. These are great charities to sponsor especially for running clubs and school teams. They do ask that the shoes still have a decent outsole and about 100 miles worth of life in them. It is also a good idea to wash them and let them air dry before shipping. Take a look at the organizations sites for more info on donating.

I was checking out some shoe reviews on Runner's World online and I noticed they had a free online training log. I decided to sign-up and check it out. It had all the usual bells and whistles of a usual online log (which is very nice don't get me wrong), but the creme de la creme for me was the shoe journal. Good runners know that you don't keep a shoe until the outsole wears out, but until the midsole starts to loose its support and cushion. That's around 500 miles depending on the person. For some runners that could be a year until replacement for others that's three months. I know marathoners that have closets full of shoeboxes with there purchase dates written on them to help them keep track of when their shoes need to be retired. With this nifty online journal you can list all your running shoes by brand and model (yes New Balance is on there), and as you log your miles it keeps track of how much your running in a shoe and when it needs to be retired. That certainly opens up some closet space for my friends. My favorite feature is the cost per mile. For instance, I bought a shoe for $140.00 I've run 250 miles in it that's a cost of $0.56 a mile. That's a great way of justifying a purchase to your significant other, "but honey it's only .56 a mile!" Judging from our readers I think you guys would like this log, check it out at www.runnersworld.com

I have a friend that has just moved from Massachusetts to Florida and has been having some trouble adjusting her run to the humidity and warm weather. I came across this article by 2000 Olympian Breeda Willis about dealing with warm weather in your run. I thought this would be useful for others in this unusually warm September. Take a look and I hope it helps.

http://www.newbalance.com/events/training/summer_training.php

Recently I wrote about the new bamboo fabrics that are being used for New Balance running apparel.Another exciting new choice for the Fall 2007 collection is coconut products. Now get any thoughts of a Gilligan's Island type get-up out of your mind. This new line uses materials provided by Cocona. The fabric is created by taking  coconut shells that are byproducts of the food industry and extracting their active carbon. This carbon is then blended into other fabrics like cotton, to give it great anti-microbial, wicking and UV protection. In fact, Cocona can block 98% of Ultraviolet light without any chemical treatment to the fabric. I can't wait to get my hands on some of these and give them a test run.

The WRLS7305 is light weight with a sporty look, great moisture control, and features Cocona fibers.

Its not easy being vegan.Besides having to deal with avid meat eaters thinking your crazy from time to time, shopping
takes on a completely new dimension. It's not just about not eating meat or dairy, but ascribing to the vegan lifestyle means not using leather as well.This can be down right difficult in buying quality products in areas dominated by leather, such as wallets, belts and shoes. Well I'm happy to report that New Balance has several styles of shoes that are animal free. Don't rely on a shoe being vegan if it has a mesh upper. A great many shoes use animal products in the adhesives as well. You may not know that some of our best products that you already love are vegan approved. Like the 767, 1223, 1122, and 844. These are just a few ideas to start you off. The general rule of thumb with New Balance is if it is entirely mesh/synthetic and made entirely in the USA it is okay for vegans. Below are some links to vegan sites to help you find resources for other products, and let us know if you have some great ideas for buying vegan shoes.

http://www.veganstore.com/

http://www.vrg.org/

We can all remember that wonderful victory we felt as kids when we first tied our shoes by ourselves. The problem is that we may still be tying our shoes the same way we did when we were five.

Sometimes specialty tying is needed to give the best fit or accommodate your foot's needs.

Here is a great link from New Balance that gives some tips on lacing up for Heel Slips, Toe Problems, High Arches, Wide Forefeet, and Top of the Foot Pain. So check them out and send the link to friends that have similar problems; it makes all the difference in the world in the way your shoes feel. I have a very wide forefoot and narrow heel so the runner's knot that they suggest for Heel Slips is great for me. http://newbalance.com/techcenter/lacing.php.

We wanted to let everyone know that our RSS feed has moved to a new location and is now hosted with FeedBurner. You can pick the feed up from this location.

Too, you now have the ability to subscribe to our Blog via email. Our blog posts will be delivered every morning between 9AM and 10AM. You can subscribe by entering your email address in the sign up form located in the navigation bar on the right.


Lastly, we unfortunately had to disable our Comments this afternoon due to Comment spam. We received over 900 comment spams within an hour. Look for Comments to be re-enabled once this subsides.

As always, your feedback is welcome. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Don't have enough time to tie your shoes? Having trouble teaching your little one how to tie their shoes?

Check out this fast shoe tying trick!

Can you do it? Drop a comment and let me know.

- Michele

When you're thinking of bamboo you may not be thinking of comfy clothes, but the latest fashion in earth friendly clothing is bamboo fibers. I know what you're thinking, how can bamboo be comfortable? From a performance stand point bamboo is great for sports apparel because it is naturally hypoallergenic, anti-bacterial, odor free, UV protective, has great wicking properties, is light weight and breathable. What else could you ask for! Bamboo is also the fastest growing natural resource used for clothing apparel so it is a greener and more sustainable choice. New Balance is excited to release their new clothing line that features this great product. I've tried on some of the shorts which I liked. I couldn't tell any difference in texture between the bamboo shorts and the other shorts I have(which is good because I love the Saba short), but it did wick really well. I would love to hear from anyone that has tried on the new line from NB or has experience with bamboo clothing. I have a funny feeling that we're going to see a lot more of this cutting edge fabric in years to come.


This new WSTT316BK is made of a Bamboo/Poly blend, and is super cute

Happy Labor Day from New Balance Tampa.
Today only, take an extra 10% off your order. Use the following code when checking out to receive your 10% off your order.
LaborDay1
This code is good today only, Monday, September 3, 2007, Labor Day.

- Michele