B2R Road Performance Running Shoe Review
Many runners identify Christopher McDougall as the man who
triggered the minimalist revolution … but if you trace the phenomenon back one
barefoot step further, you see that’s not entirely the case.
To be sure, McDougall was the guy who wrote about it. But the guy who actually taught and inspired
McDougall was another character from the Born to Run book – and it’s not the famous ones
like Scott Jurek, Barefoot Ted, or any of the Tarahumaras. Rather, it was Eric Orton, a man McDougall
affectionately calls the Naked Coach.
It was Orton who taught McDougall how to run naturally, and who enlightened him about the evils of modern running shoes. It was also Orton who persuaded McDougall
that he could become an endurance athlete, and who ultimately encouraged him to
try a 50-miler and discover the world of ultrarunning.
B2R Road Performance shoes
And now it’s Orton who is becoming a key player in the natural
footwear movement, with the debut of B2R running shoes. Obviously the company is keen to capitalize
on the connection to McDougall’s landmark book, but B2R is much more than a “me
too” participant in the game. They are
distinguishing themselves by integrating biomechanically sound footwear with
Orton’s extensive coaching background to create an overall fitness program
based on the foundation of natural movement.
More on the coaching aspect shortly – but most of this
review will focus on the shoes. They
aren’t exactly minimal, but they work exceedingly well in allowing the foot to
function naturally. There’s one sort-of
gimmicky element – the split toe, as I’ll discuss shortly – but otherwise
pretty much all the specs are what you’d look for in a shoe that does exactly
what a running shoe is supposed to do, and doesn’t do anything it’s not supposed
to.
From the right angle, B2R Road Performance shoes are somewhat
indistinguishable from traditional trainers, with fairly traditional styling
top to bottom. However, they are made
with very lightweight materials, resulting in a finished product that is a mere
6.9 oz per shoe.
The uppers are a combination of breathable mesh and
synthetic overlays for stability. The mesh
is virtually identical to the material New Balance used for its premiere Minimus Trail shoe, which I compared at the time to the comfort of a soft slipper.
B2R shoes have a similar barefoot-friendly comfort throughout
the upper and insole, and I typically wear mine sockless.
Stack height is anywhere from 10mm to 13mm, with zero drop
from heel to toe in either case. There’s
a removable 3.5mm footbed (I removed mine) outsole on top of a 6mm midsole and
3mm of outsole rubber.
About that outsole … as the name implies, the Road
Performance model is pretty much geared toward street running, but traction is
decent enough to use on mellow trails.
B2R has a Trail Performance model scheduled for release this fall, with
a more aggressive outsole for frequent off-road use.
Now for the split-toe thing: B2R shoes separate the big toe
from the rest of the foot, allowing it to articulate, which supposedly provides
improved balance and increased power transition. I’m not sure I appreciate the significance
here; I think most any shoe with a thin midsole and flexible platform would
provide the same benefit.
On the plus side, split toes also create something of a
gloved fit at the front of the foot, and effectively secures the foot without
unnecessarily confining it. Of course,
the other consequence is that you need special socks; B2R provides two pairs of
crab-claw-looking socks with each purchase, but I was happy to use regular toe
socks on the few occasions I wasn’t completely sockless.
So that’s the shoe component of today’s review … but to Eric
Orton and B2R, “ultimate running” (as it’s described on the website) is about
more than simply shoes – it’s also a combination of adequate training, correct technique,
and proper nutrition. Accordingly, the B2R
system addresses all of these elements through accessory products, in-depth
instruction, and even personalized coaching for its customers.
The entire workout system is designed by Orton, and
revolves around strength training as the critical factor in developing full-body
conditioning, from the feet up into the legs and core and even the upper
extremities. Executed properly, the
result is better running economy, which decreases injury and improves
performance.
B2R’s training package includes support poles, a slant
board, and an instructional video with exercises and workouts that develop
foundational core and upper body strength.
The workouts progress from levels 1 to 3, using most of the same equipment
along with stability disks for higher-level balance challenges.
The workouts look easy, but they’re actually fairly
challenging … and I honestly didn’t do them more than a couple of times. That’s not to say anything bad about them –
it’s just that I barely have enough time to run nowadays, let alone carve out
additional time for supplemental workouts.
The combination of shoes and workouts may be a compelling combination
for runners with more time to devote to it, especially those who are
transitioning away from traditional running shoes – which nowadays seems to be
just about everybody, thanks in no small part to Eric Orton, who you can see in
action in the video clip that follows.
B2R’s Road Performance shoes retail for $100, and the Level
1 training kit retails for $80, both from the B2R website.
“B2R Wear Testing with Eric Orton” (along with a cool tune
by Clutch – click to play):
*Products provided by
B2R.
Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.
triggered the minimalist revolution … but if you trace the phenomenon back one
barefoot step further, you see that’s not entirely the case.
To be sure, McDougall was the guy who wrote about it. But the guy who actually taught and inspired
McDougall was another character from the Born to Run book – and it’s not the famous ones
like Scott Jurek, Barefoot Ted, or any of the Tarahumaras. Rather, it was Eric Orton, a man McDougall
affectionately calls the Naked Coach.
It was Orton who taught McDougall how to run naturally, and who enlightened him about the evils of modern running shoes. It was also Orton who persuaded McDougall
that he could become an endurance athlete, and who ultimately encouraged him to
try a 50-miler and discover the world of ultrarunning.
B2R Road Performance shoes
And now it’s Orton who is becoming a key player in the natural
footwear movement, with the debut of B2R running shoes. Obviously the company is keen to capitalize
on the connection to McDougall’s landmark book, but B2R is much more than a “me
too” participant in the game. They are
distinguishing themselves by integrating biomechanically sound footwear with
Orton’s extensive coaching background to create an overall fitness program
based on the foundation of natural movement.
More on the coaching aspect shortly – but most of this
review will focus on the shoes. They
aren’t exactly minimal, but they work exceedingly well in allowing the foot to
function naturally. There’s one sort-of
gimmicky element – the split toe, as I’ll discuss shortly – but otherwise
pretty much all the specs are what you’d look for in a shoe that does exactly
what a running shoe is supposed to do, and doesn’t do anything it’s not supposed
to.
From the right angle, B2R Road Performance shoes are somewhat
indistinguishable from traditional trainers, with fairly traditional styling
top to bottom. However, they are made
with very lightweight materials, resulting in a finished product that is a mere
6.9 oz per shoe.
The uppers are a combination of breathable mesh and
synthetic overlays for stability. The mesh
is virtually identical to the material New Balance used for its premiere Minimus Trail shoe, which I compared at the time to the comfort of a soft slipper.
B2R shoes have a similar barefoot-friendly comfort throughout
the upper and insole, and I typically wear mine sockless.
Stack height is anywhere from 10mm to 13mm, with zero drop
from heel to toe in either case. There’s
a removable 3.5mm footbed (I removed mine) outsole on top of a 6mm midsole and
3mm of outsole rubber.
About that outsole … as the name implies, the Road
Performance model is pretty much geared toward street running, but traction is
decent enough to use on mellow trails.
B2R has a Trail Performance model scheduled for release this fall, with
a more aggressive outsole for frequent off-road use.
Now for the split-toe thing: B2R shoes separate the big toe
from the rest of the foot, allowing it to articulate, which supposedly provides
improved balance and increased power transition. I’m not sure I appreciate the significance
here; I think most any shoe with a thin midsole and flexible platform would
provide the same benefit.
On the plus side, split toes also create something of a
gloved fit at the front of the foot, and effectively secures the foot without
unnecessarily confining it. Of course,
the other consequence is that you need special socks; B2R provides two pairs of
crab-claw-looking socks with each purchase, but I was happy to use regular toe
socks on the few occasions I wasn’t completely sockless.
So that’s the shoe component of today’s review … but to Eric
Orton and B2R, “ultimate running” (as it’s described on the website) is about
more than simply shoes – it’s also a combination of adequate training, correct technique,
and proper nutrition. Accordingly, the B2R
system addresses all of these elements through accessory products, in-depth
instruction, and even personalized coaching for its customers.
The entire workout system is designed by Orton, and
revolves around strength training as the critical factor in developing full-body
conditioning, from the feet up into the legs and core and even the upper
extremities. Executed properly, the
result is better running economy, which decreases injury and improves
performance.
B2R’s training package includes support poles, a slant
board, and an instructional video with exercises and workouts that develop
foundational core and upper body strength.
The workouts progress from levels 1 to 3, using most of the same equipment
along with stability disks for higher-level balance challenges.
The workouts look easy, but they’re actually fairly
challenging … and I honestly didn’t do them more than a couple of times. That’s not to say anything bad about them –
it’s just that I barely have enough time to run nowadays, let alone carve out
additional time for supplemental workouts.
The combination of shoes and workouts may be a compelling combination
for runners with more time to devote to it, especially those who are
transitioning away from traditional running shoes – which nowadays seems to be
just about everybody, thanks in no small part to Eric Orton, who you can see in
action in the video clip that follows.
B2R’s Road Performance shoes retail for $100, and the Level
1 training kit retails for $80, both from the B2R website.
“B2R Wear Testing with Eric Orton” (along with a cool tune
by Clutch – click to play):
*Products provided by
B2R.
Get updates as soon as they're posted! Click here to subscribe to Running and Rambling.
Check out the Running Life book for a collection of our most popular columns.
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