The first thing I noticed about the New Balance Minimus MT20 was the design. It looked almost as if a sock had decided to dress up as a hiking boot for Halloween. I know that sounds a bit freakish, but I must say it came together quite well. Just looking at it, I got two distinct messages. First, it looked like it had enough flexibility and ground feedback to be a great minimal runner. Second, it would likely offer more foot protection than the old pair of aqua socks I was currently running in. Still, I had to wonder if they would run as good as they looked.
When I first tried on the New Balance Minimus, I had literally just gotten done with a little six mile run in my old worn down aqua socks, which were high on flexibility and short on protection. They required a lot in the way of runner concentration regarding footfall and foot placement. Come down on a rock larger than a pecan and send shockwaves of pain through your foot or strike with your heel and seriously jar your ankles, knees and lower back… a great teacher for proper barefoot running technique. But still, aqua socks.
As I laced up the Minimus, I felt a little restriction compared to the aqua socks and it was admittedly a bit unnerving. I immediately loosened the laces quite a bit to avoid cramping and found the toe box to have ample space. I felt a slight raise from the toe to the heel, but it wasn’t enough to bother me or make me want to take them off and my posture seemed to adjust in a couple of steps. Within my first couple of strides in Minimus, I could tell that this a much more forgiving piece of foot gear than a bare foot or aqua sock. They were thin, but provided a little more cushion than true barefooting.
On the trail, the sensation was a bit like going from sleeping on lumpy bit of turf in a sleeping bag to sleeping on that same bit of turf on a foam mat. It smoothed out the rough stuff, but you could still tell you weren’t on a mattress. The light weight was appreciated and having the grip that the Vibram sole provided was reassuring on the loose gravel. What wasn’t helpful was the high, hard tail near the Achilles tendon. They were advertised as a socks-optional running shoe, but after my first ten mile run, the skin at my left Achilles tendon was broken and a little bloody and the skin at the right Achilles tendon had developed one devil of a blister. I wasn’t quite sure I’d be able to keep wearing the shoe. I was tempted to just cut the tail off but opted for socks and even looser laces instead. After the initial ten miler, it took me about another 20 miles total to really break in the shoes to the point that I didn’t feel any binding or burn whatsoever, but overall the experience was pleasant.
The added cushion near the mid foot and heal was a bit of a luxury allowing me to run on harder and more uneven surfaces without bruising. I have about 200 miles on the Minimus now including a 26 miler that I did one Saturday afternoon on the streets of Seattle and its outlying northern neighborhoods and they’ve been holding up quite well. The downside of the shoe however is just a tiny bit too much padding in the heel. I found myself heel striking a little bit during acceleration and then wanting to unconsciously incorporate some heel strike into my regular stride. I would like to see a few more millimeters shaved off of the heel to make heel strikes less enticing, but the rest of the shoe performed very well as a minimal runner. I still run once a week barefoot or in aqua socks as to not unlearn my barefoot lessons, but truly enjoy my Minimus on the trail, and on longer runs. Over all I think the Minimus is a great minimal starter shoe but could stand to go even a bit more… well… minimal.
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