Merrell Mix Master II Review and Giveaway!

I remember looking at my toes and thinking that I looked stupid.  This was years ago. I had just started exploring the world of minimal running shoes and had bought a pair of Vibram five fingers.  I loved how they felt, but didn't want to wear them anywhere because they were dumb looking.  When Merrell introduced the Trail Glove I was psyched!  Now I could have a barefoot type shoe and not look like a tool.  But what really blew me away about that shoe was the fit.  I had never experienced a shoe that so matched my foot.  It felt like somebody simply put a Vibram sole on my foot.  I ran many miles in those shoes and still have them to this day.

New Balance MT1010 Minimus Amp review

Bryon Powell is such a tease.  He runs irunfar.com and is always getting the scoop on new shoes.  When he posted pictures of the upcoming New Balance Minimus MT1010 Amp's I shot off an email to my contact at NB asking about them.  What I was told was it was built on the Minimus last with the same weight and fit as the MT110's, but with an extra layer of cushioning.

New Balance MT110 Long Term Update

400 Miles and counting.

Since the New Balance MT110 has just started being released I thought it might be relevant to write up a quick update on how mine are holding up.  You can read my original review HERE.  I have used many pairs of shoes this year, but I still managed to put on over 400 miles on this pair that was given to me by New Balance in August.

Before I get to far into this post, let me say again how much I love these shoes.  Until this shoe I have never run 100 miles without significant blisters.  The NB ML1 last which these shoes (and the entire Minimus line) are built upon fit me like a glove.  I wore these shoes for the first 70 miles of the Leadville 100 in August and then the first 50 miles of the Bartram 100 in December (which was my first 100 mile win).  If they had a little more cushioning I would have worn them the entire way.  I'm going to resist gushing about these shoes, rather just show pictures of how they are holding up.  What I will say is that my enthusiasm for this shoe has not waned from my original review.  

And now for the best part.  They are holding up incredibly well.  For a shoe that is almost as light as a racing flat and less than $100 they are an incredible value.  I think that a lot of us have found that lightweight usually equals less durable.  This has not been the case with the MT110's.  I have used them on every type of terrain imaginable.  From the rocky Leadville Trails to New England mud, they have handled everything I've thrown at them.

Side view.  No tears, rips or holes in either shoe.

View of Sole. 

Rubber on bottom shows much less wear than I would expect from a trail shoe with 400 miles on it.

Exposed EVA (blue) shows wear, but doesn't effect performance. 

Heel wear.  Similar to forefoot.

Inside of shoe is in remarkable shape.  For such a lightweight shoe it is amazing that the inside has no rips or tears.

Another inside view

The only area showing any wear.  This is a tiny spot that showed up a while ago and has not got worse.

Honestly, I'm amazed at this shoe.  MSRP is $84.99 as seen on the NB Website. I have paid close to that for an off road racing flat that after 100 miles was destroyed.  I think this shoe presents one of the best values of a lightweight trail shoe available on the market.  For any of you on the fence about this shoe because of concerns of reliability, I hope this helps. 

Shoe Review - New Balance MT110

This winter New Balance posted on Facebook that they were looking for Ultra runners to participate in a focus group.  I emailed back with my running resume and was invited to participate in the group.  A few weeks later I gathered up 4 pairs of running shoes, including one pair of NB's that I modified to drop the heel and headed to Boston for an evening meeting.  

Custom "Zero Dropped" NB's that I made

I didn't know what to expect, but was greeted by a team of NB designers, marketers and executives to discuss what hardcore Ultrarunners wanted from their shoes.  I felt like a dork bringing 4 different shoes, but was pleasantly surprised to see that every other runner brought a minimum of 2 pairs.  Most brought at least 4 like I did.

The folks from NB asked us a ton of questions about what type of running we did, what type of races we did, what types of shoes we wore for what type of races and why.  They asked us about our needs and wants and were genuinely interested in what we had to say.  The Minimus line was just about to be released and many of us wanted desperately to get a pair of the shoes that were unavailable.

I was seated next to Bryan Gothie who is an Outdoor Product manager.  When it was my turn to describe my ultimate shoe I said that I wanted a shoe that was flexible, lightweight, drained well, less than 4mm heel drop and had enough protection to run 100 miles.  Bryan smiled and said, "Wait until you see what we are building for Anton, I think your going to like it". 

It turns out that they were talking about the NB MT110, the next generation of the MT101.  Recently Bryan sent me a pair of the early production MT110s.  I am blown away by what they have produced.  As much as I enjoy my beloved Altra Instincts, these might be the best shoes I've ever worn. 

New Sole with better traction than MT101

I received them the week before Leadville and ran every daily run in them.  The longest run I did in them before the race was only 7 miles but I decided to start Leadville in them and then simply change out of them when they became to "thin" or if I had problems.

Here is the short story...  I ran the first 70 miles of Leadville in them.  I had zero blisters.  That's right, zero.  Long time readers of my blog will know that my biggest problem with running 100 mile races is that I suffer terrible blisters.   I have always said that if I could just find a way to avoid getting blisters I would enjoy these races soooo much more.


Me leaving Twin Lakes outbound (mile 60) having a moment with Amy in my MT110's


The best description I can give for these shoes is that they simply disappear on my feet when running.  I feel like I'm running barefoot, but don't have any of the issues I normally have with "barefoot" running shoes.  I love the way the NB minimus feels on my feet, but the Vibram sole is simply to firm for me to run longer than 15 miles.  I get numbness in my toes and wish I had more protection when running rocky trails.  I know some barefoot guys get all uppity about "feel" with their barefoot shoes, but frankly I think that rocks hurt.  Call me a sissy, I don't care.  I never had to pussy foot over rocks with these shoes.

I have been searching for a perfect balance of barefoot feel and all day protection.  The MT110s have it.  Here are some of the technical specs of the shoes.

Weight - Mens size 9 - 7.7 oz
Stack Height - 19mm Heel/15mm toe
Heel drop - 4mm (duh...)
Rockplate - full (I found the rockplate to be more flexible than that MT101, but still very adequate)
Removable Footbed - no
Traction - 1 million times better than the MT101.
Heelcup - perfect.  Long gone is the semi rigid foam Achilles cutter.
Last - same as the Minimus
Toe box - room to fully splay
Availability - January 2012
Multiple widths - yes!

Minimal Upper, real cushioning and protection!



Nice soft heel cup that dissapears when on your foot.


My only complaint with the shoe was that a fair amount of grit and dirt got into the shoe.  It would be awesome if it had a lasted tongue to keep the grit out.  I found the shoes a tad bit thin for the full 100 mile distance, but that might also be my feet not being used to them.  I would never even consider wearing a traditional barefoot shoe like the Merrill or Five Fingers for a 100, so don't think I'm one of "those guys".

I would call my first long distance (70 miles) run in these shoes to be nothing less than a miracle.  No blisters, perfect comfort, enough protection to go flying down the rocky backside of Hope MT at full pace and incredible fit.   I saw a ton of people wearing MT101's at Leadville.  I felt bad for them.  These shoes are so much better. 

No shoe is perfect, these are pretty damn close.