New Balance MT110v2 shoe review

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have had a love affair with the original NB MT110.  It was one of the most anticipated trail shoe and in most ways it didn't dissapoint.  It was an industry leader for a lightweight trail shoe and it is common knowledge that Anton Krupica called it the best trail shoe he had ever used.  Of course, no one shoe is perfect.  The biggest complaint about it was its durability.  The perforated plastic-like material was prone to tearing open if it came in contact with a sharp rock or stick.  How long they lasted really depended on what type of terrain they were used on.

But despite its faults, it had one very magical aspect for me.  The fit.  It was simply perfect for my foot.  Built on the NB minimus last (NL-1) it was as if the designers snuck into my room, cast my foot, and then built a shoe just for me.  And I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

I have probably gone through 6 or 7 pairs since they first came out.  I love it for runs under 20 miles in the woods, even though I once used them for 70 miles of the Leadville 100.  If I was asked to design version 2, I would try to address a few things.  I would add some better traction.  I would change the outer material for more durability.  And I would add a bit more cushioning for longer runs.  From what I have read by many, my list of desired changes is a pretty common one.

When New Balance first announced and showed this new version a lot of people were surprised.  It looks nothing like the original.  With the different materials, much deeper lugs and a bit more cushioning, it looks like a perfect match for what I was hoping for.  The one thing that nobody understood was the change of last.  The V2 is no longer built on the minimus last.  I questioned that immediately, way before I ever held one in my hand.  I mean, the minimus design is what drew so many of us to that shoe (and the others built on the NL-1).   And it no longer looks foot shaped, it looks like a 1930's dress shoe with a super pointy toe box.

Hmmm....seperated at birth?

But sometimes looks are deceiving.  Unfortunately for me, this time they are not.  When I first put them on my feet, I could feel the tighter toebox immediately.  But as I've learned many times, the first impression standing in my living room doesn't nessisarily translate to how a shoe feels on the run.  So I headed out to the trails and put 15 miles on them.  My notes say: "First run in MT110v2.  Nice shoe, but the toe-box is too narrow." 

There are two areas that bothered my feet on this run.  You can see in the picture above how my foot fits on the footbed of the V2, next to the original version.  The addition of a footbed is another change on this shoe as the original didn't have a separate one.  The skin on the outside of my big toe, where my toenail starts, got "lifted" or sort of "torn" and my pinky toe, which is pretty small and short, again on the outside edge.  You can also clearly see the extra area in front of my foot which creates a dead feeling area at the front of the shoe.  Three days later I took them to Pats Peak to test their traction and see if I had better luck with the fit.  After only 7 miles I ran into the same problems.

Steep climb up the ski mountain.  Incredible traction!

Close up view

Being a bit bummed out, I decided to reach out to Brendan Murray, who I believe was the lead person at NB for the development of this shoe.  I explained that I was happy to see the shortcomings of the original addressed, but could not understand the decision to move to the PL-4 last.  He wrote me a very thorough explanation and then followed up with a phone call to help me explain better. I'm not going to post the entire email/conversation, but here is a small piece:

"Since we already had a 4 mm off-set trail model in our iconic minimus trail 10, we felt that continuing to make the 110v2 in the same fit and nearly the same stack heights would have been redundancy from our stand point and really limit the trail community with choices.  Futhermore talking with our ambassadors such as Tony, and their needs, they were asking for a slightly straighter lasted model in the forefoot - as ones foot needs adjust and change over time.  The idea of using the PL-4 last allowed for the trail runner who was seeking a lightweight trail model which provided slightly more girth in the midfoot and depth in the toe box, that the 10 didn’t, a new option.  The new 110v2 will also provide slightly more cushioning under foot (the trail 10 has a midsole specific stack height of 8/12 while the new T110v2 has a 10/14)."

He also gave me a perspective that I would have never considered.  He stated that although the original was extremely popular with the trail running community, they actually were not reaching the full sales potential based on their market research.  NB actually had a sizable amount of complaints regarding the NL-1 last for this shoe.  There is a visual look of a "hook" shape because of the way the shoe curves on the lateral side that actually prevented a lot of people from purchasing the shoe.  All of these factors led to the decision to change the last. 

Close up of lacing system, which does a good job at keeping the non-lasted tongue in place.

On the few runs that I took, my only problem was the toebox.  I want to like this shoe so badly.  The traction is awesome.  It seems to drain well.  It still retains that excellent balance of ground feel and protection.  They feel fast!  The materials seem like they will be far more durable than the originals.  If this shoe fit the way the original did I would probably have 500 miles on these things by now.

More cushioning than the originals

Here is what I suggest.  Forget these are the next MT110.  Consider them to be a new mountain/fells running shoe.  Try them on.  If they fit your foot shape and you liked the "running feel" of the originals, then you are psyched.  There are a lot of positive features of this shoe.  I just wish they fit me better.

9.8 Oz for size 11 (they fit a bit small, just like the originals.  Try the same size as what you wear in those (1/2 size up)

As a side note I also need to add that I don't like writing negative reviews.  I think that every shoe reviewer/blogger feels a sense of appreciation to any manufacture that has been kind enough to provide free shoes for review (which these were for me).  But I read too many reviews that are flowery bullshit because of that very fact.  I truly believe that the good manufactures listen and with enough feedback, make positive changes for the next version.  Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.  Either way, I don't write these reviews for them.  I write them for you.  I will never stop writing honest reviews, with both the positive and the negative.  Obviously it is only from my perception.  Everybody's feet shape and needs for a shoe are different.  But my goal with reviews is to give exactly that, my opinion.

Call for comments:
Have you tried them?  What's your opinion?  

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. 

Give it to me one more time! - Bartram 100 Race Report

Welcome to middle Georgia!

 On November 30th I posted on Facebook  "I really would like to run 100 miles...soon."   As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was kind of depressed about how my season had ended. Even though I had successfully completed three difficult 100's the last DNF's we what stuck most in my mind. 

I hadn't planned on doing any more races and I had backed way off my training.  As a matter of fact, I wasn't "training" at all.  What I was doing was simply running for the love of running.   For the first time in years, I wasn't following a training plan, and I was falling in love with running again.  Which lead to me posting that I wanted to race again.   I certainly hadn't planned on doing another one, but I wanted a chance to redeem myself.   I was a little bit afraid that I might be biting off more than I can chew, and the possibility of having to endure another DNF would crush me.  But at the same time, I've never been afraid to challenge myself and doing one more race might give me the chance to end the year on a more positive note.

One of my Facebook friends recommended that I check out the Bartram 100 in Georgia, only two weeks away.  Only in it's second year, Bartram is a loop course with the competitors running a 6.25 mile loop 16 times.  The few pictures I could dig up on Google showed nice single track and woods running with only about 300 ft of elevation gain/loss per loop.  After talking with Amy and getting her blessing I decided to go for it.

Hometown feel, its like the Anti-Leadville

I checked in and picked up my race number Friday night and was pleased to meet a bunch of very friendly nice people.  The start/finish line was right next to a covered area with picnic benches and a great place to put my bag of supplies for the race.   I went back into the town of Milledgeville and checked into the hotel.  After seeing that it had a microwave and fridge I went to the Piggly Wiggly and bought dinner and breakfast for the next morning.  After a nice dinner of rice and avocado I retired early in hopes of getting a good nights sleep.

You'd think I'd be able to take a clear picture with an automatic camera.

I arrived at 6:30 the next morning just in time to set up my support bag and be ready for the 7am start.  Since they had an aid station set up about 1/2 way through the loop it meant that all I had to carry was a handheld bottle.  My strategy was to eat a gel at each aid station or every 30 to 45 minutes.  For fluids I would drink the Gatorade that was provided at both stations.  I filled up my bottle, ate a gel, put another in my bottle pocket and was ready to go.

Start/Finish Line on left

Without any fanfare or pretense the RD sent us off and just as the sun was rising we were on our way.  Let me do my best to give a course description.  Since I was so focused on doing my best here I didn't take any pictures, so this is from memory.  After 16 laps of the course, I know it like the back of my hand.

Starting line reservoir

The course starts off around a tiny resevoiur and then bears left onto a hardpacked singletrack.  Shortly the single track goes uphill for the steepest climb in the 6.25 miles.  It is easily run and does not go that far.  At the top it goes left through a field then bears right, all at a slight uphill, through a small cultivated forest.  Next is a junction where you head left for the short out and back section.  This is the place on the course where you can check out how far ahead or behind your competitors are.  After you go into the woods it comes to a dead end where you go around three cones and then head back where you came from.  At the junction you bear left where you follow some powerlines.

Halfway up this hardpacked dirt road it becomes a little hill that goes for about 1/4 mile.  At the top you bear right onto some grassy trails that goes downhill.  This part is a little tricky because what looks like nice soft grass has 2-3" sharp railroad type rocks scattered about.  After it goes down hill for a ways it goes back up.  Again, this incline is easily run.  The trail turns left for a short ways through another cultivated forest where the trees are in perfect rows, like the tombstones at Arlington.  At the end of this section you take a left.  At this point you can actually see the start line strait ahead, but it is still a couple miles away if you follow the course.  This is where the midway aid station is located.  There is a table with gels, heed, gatorade and water.  Throughout the day new surprises showed up on the table, like bowls of Mike and Ike candies.  There is also a porta potty, which I never had to use.

After a left through the woods and a short uphill, the trail turns right and goes downhill thorugh a nice grass trail into the woods.  A short woods section complete with man made bridges eventually puts you out to the last climb of the trail, again, easily run when you are fresh.  At the top of the hill you bear right and go down a long open exposed road where there are more stones to watch for.  Then you take a right back into nice single track trails for a while until you get back to the start/finish.

For the first 3 or 4 laps I was finishing each lap in about an hour.  I knew that there was no way that I could keep up a 16 hour pace, but I didn't see the point in purposely slowing down any since I was running easy and very comfortable.  My fueling strategy was working very well and I was feeling excellent.  I had a feeling early that it was going to be one of those days where I was strong.  I spent quite a bit of time in the early laps talking to Tony Portera.  Tony is from NY and it turns out we have a lot of mutual friends.  He was running very strong and looks poised and relaxed.  He was great company and we frequently reminded each other that we were going out way to fast.  But we both still kept running all the hills...For most of the morning we were running in 4th and 5th place and we couldn't believe the pace of the two front runners.  The leader was putting at least 5 minutes on us per lap!

Eventually Tony said that he just had to purposely slow down his pace so he dropped back a bit.  I started to walk in 4 places, but never for very long.  Just long enough to change up the muscles that I was using.  I decided that my strategy would be to try to not walk any more than I was doing on those laps and see if I could just keep up the pace.

New Balance MT110s

I was wearing my New Balance MT110 shoes with my favorite Wright socks.  This is the exact same combo that I used for the first 70 miles of Leadville.  Again I was perfectly blister free and happy to be so!  I hit the 50 mile point in 8 hours and 33 minutes feeling good, but the shoes were starting to get thin under my feet and my hips were getting very tight.  I decided to do a quick sock and shoe change.  I changed into my Brooks True Grits and took off.  I might have spent 5 minutes at that stop.

Brooks Pure Grit

The sole of the shoe felt much better and offered way more cushioning and protection from the rocks, but it wasn't more than another couple of miles that I knew that I was going to have a problem with the toes on my right foot.  Two of them were rubbing on the top and front of the shoes and I realized that my feet were probably larger than normal due to swelling.  I hadn't anticipated that!  I made a vow to myself at that point that I wasn't going to change for the rest of the race and I would simply stick it out no matter what type of shape my feet were in.  I was super focused on moving forward at all times and and not wasting any time.  I even continued to walk when I had to pee.  It sounds stupid, but looking back at what happened at the finish line (eventually I'll get to that) it was a smart decision.

With my music blasting and the sun setting I continued to put in the laps.  The hardest part was running a 2 mile stretch where there was no place to walk.  Every lap I continued to push myself to not walk in this area even though I was getting more and more tired.

Somewhere around the 10th-12th lap I started to feel very sick to my stomach.  I was completely repulsed by the gels I was eating and by the Gatorade I was drinking.  I knew that I had to eat at all cost but even the though of eating a gel grossed me out.  As I was starting one of the climbs I was completely overwhelmed by a need to throw up.  Damn, I hate throwing up.  My attitude was still good though.  I actually laughed as I stopped and started to dry heave.  I have never puked during a race before and I felt like it was a right of passage.  After three hard heaves the feeling went away.  I didn't throw up.  I have no idea why not, but I kept moving and ate a gel as soon as I could.

As I got to the midway aid station I decided to try a cup of heed.  Most runners I know stay away from the stuff as they say that it bloats them and makes them sick.  At this point I had to try anything other than what I was doing.  I drank a cup and instantly felt better.  It wasn't sweet and it settled my stomach.  I was psyched.  Major problem solved, at least for now.  I dumped the Gatorade out of my bottle, filled it with heed and took off to finish another lap.

When I got the start finish I asked if they had any turkey.  They did and I took off for my next lap with 4 or 5 slices.  My new secret weapon.  Turkey and Heed.  Hey, it worked!  I started to feel very good and was moving well.  I kept putting in the laps and with about 4 to go I asked how far the leader was in front of me.  He was 55 minutes ahead and I was in second place.  I put my head down and just kept hammering.  With two laps to go I asked again how far behind I was and I was told about 35 minutes, but the leader was slowing down.  I told them I was going to make a race of it and took off.

I was feeling good and just doing my best to keep my pace up.  I had the bit between my teeth, but honestly was more concerned about breaking 20 hours than winning.  I could be pretty happy with second place!!  On the last lap I was still feeling good so I decided that I should give it everything that I had.  I ran every single step and all the hills.  About 2 miles from the finish I came upon a runner who was stopped and holding his legs.  I asked if he was ok as I passed by and he said yes.

He didn't look familiar to me.  Could that be the leader that I just passed?  Holy crap, was I in the lead?  I became really motivated to not let him catch me if he was.  I was running scared and flying.  Shortly after I passed a slower runner and his pacer, a person that I recognized as one of the race directors.  They asked me if I had seen a guy earlier with a white jacket.  I said that I had, he was just a little ways back.  I asked if he was the leader and they said no.

I was pretty bummed, but there was no reason to slow down.  Since I was flying, why not finish strong and get the best time possible.  The pull of the finish line was in full effect and as the finish line came into sight I passed another runner who was moving pretty slowly.  As I blew by him I quickly realized that he was sprinting to catch me.  It was the leader!!!  I ran as hard as I could and crossed the finish line before him with a time of 19:19:43.  His time was 19:19:45.  I won by 2 seconds and set a course record.  I still can't believe that after 100 miles only two seconds separated us!!!

I felt terrible for him, but at the same time I had just won my first race!  I tried to keep the tears from coming but I did get pretty misty eyed after.  I was in shock.  I had a very tough time getting to the car when I tried to pack up an hour later.  My left hip flexor was so tight that I couldn't lift my leg to walk!  The next day at the airport I looked like a penguin walking.  My feet were bruised up from smashing on the rocks.

Earlier this year when I DNF'd at the Bear, I learned my most important lesson from all these races.  If you don't want it bad enough then you won't do your best.  I wanted to do well at this race so badly that it was worth the risk of another failure. All week before the race I spent time imagining doing well and erasing all doubt from my mind.  I was focused and driven. When things got tough I was able to push through.

This was a great race with nice people and a real home town feeling.  For my win I got....nothing.  No buckle, no finishers award, no medal.  And that is perfectly alright with me.  The feeling of satisfaction that I got out of it is better than anything anybody could have given me.

Brooks Pure Grit Shoe Review

In March I ran across a post on runblogger.com about the Brooks Pure Project.  As I was training for my Potentially Painful Summer I was contemplating what shoe I would use for tacking all these 100 mile races.  I wanted a shoe that had a minimal upper, less than 4mm heel/toe differential and sufficient cushioning and protection to run 100 miles.  The Brooks Pure Grit grabbed my attention.  On paper it looked like the perfect candidate.

I did everything I could to get a pair of pre-production shoes, but I just couldn't make it happen.   Finally early last month I got my hands on a pair of them.  Because I like lots of room for my toes I normally buy a size 11 in my running shoes, even though my foot measures more in the range of 10-10.5.  I got a pair of 11's and did a few short runs before my run across NH.  The shoes were simply to large for me, but since I did end up wearing them for over 40 miles of paved roads that day.  They turned out to be a really good road shoe with sufficient protection for long pavement runs. 

 A few weeks ago I ended up giving them to my younger brother, who loved them.  I bought a pair of 10.5's which fit my entire foot much better.  I used them for pacing my friend Adam for the last 32 miles of the Pinhoti 100.  I was in them for 10 hours.  I then used them last weekend for a 28 mile run that consisted mostly of pavement, but also had 15 miles of rocky rail trail.

I never encountered anything that technical during either one of those runs, besides some rocky single track at Pinhoti.  So when Pete from runblogger.com asked me to do a shoe review I decided that I better try them for a more technical run to better analyse them.  So this morning I headed out on a 15 mile trail run on the local snowmobile trails to put them through their paces.

I started with a mile of paved roads before I ducked into some of my favorite trails.  The trails were rocky and covered with leaves for the first couple of miles until I hit my first steep climb.  As I continued with the run I threw everything I could at them.  One thing I hadn't tested yet was their ability to drain.  I am glad to report that I ran through every waterhole, stream and puddle that I could and these shoes are remarkable at shedding water quickly. 

Post-run.  Ended up in a swamp buried up to my crotch.  All in the name of testing drainage...

I am a little bit mixed on my feeling on the traction.  I actually ended up ass over teakettle when I tried hit an off camber section.  The side traction isn't awesome.

Unique traction pattern.

I had no trouble with normal climbing and descending.  Over the course of the run I encountered loose leaves, pavement, rocks, mud, sand, water, swamps and nice sticky single track.   I even ended up stuck in a swampy bog up to my crotch.  It only looked like a puddle...

All that being said, here are my personal Pro's and Con's of these shoes.

CONS

Toebox.  I'm not sure if I have unusual shaped feet, but the toebox in the big toe area is very pointed.  It looks like it has been extended, perhaps to fit in the Brooks cameltoe thingy.  To illustrate my point, here is a picture of my feet on the footbeds. Because of the rapid slope of the toebox my outside two toes end up rubbing slightly against the front of the shoe.

I wore socks to spare you the horror that are my bare feet.

Arch support.  I have become very use to shoes that don't have arch support.  As a result I no longer have PF.  The arch support in this shoe has started to aggrevate it.  Not a good thing.

Too much arch support for my tastes.

Nav Band.  It just doesn't do anything.  I do have a low volume forefoot, so perhaps those of you with weird gangly tall forefeet will love it.  For me it is simply a nice place to tuck in the long laces.

Nav Band is too loose to do anything.

Overall Fit.  They don't wrap around my feet the way some of my favorite shoes do.  The New Balance MT110 is still the gold standard which I measure all trail shoes against as far as fit.  The Grits allow my foot to twist in the shoe when side traversing.  Its not severe, but it is still there.

Comparison in shapes.  PG insole, NB MT110, my foot.

PROS

Cushioning.   The BioMoGo sole does a great job of protecting your feet, offering lots of cushioning, while still being flexible.

Great cushioning, low heel rise, incredible draining powers

Minimal heel rise.  The forefoot/heel delta is only 4mm.  This allows a nice neutral mid/forefoot stride.

Drainage.  This is one of the quickest draining and drying shoes that I have ever used. The uppers material is excellent at shedding water.

Overall Usability.  If I could only have one pair of shoes (God forbid) these would probably be the ones.  They have enough cushioning to run 40 miles of roads.  They have enough protection to run rocky trails.  They drain well enough to run in mud and muck all day and they allow for and encourage a midfoot stride. 

I'd really like to see this shoe have less (or none) arch support and a more rounded toebox.  For now, those few flaws aren't enough to keep my feet out of them.

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.