My wife got me a pair of the New Balance MRC5000 racing flats for Christmas. I had narrowed my search for a lightweight racing flat down to these and the Adidas Adizero Hagio.
The RC 5000s are one of – if not the lightest, racing flats on the market. It weighs in at 3.2 ounces (that is for a size 9 mens shoe I believe). That is bedroom slipper light. Flip-flop light. Footie pajama foot light (I don’t have footie pajamas, I promise). You get the picture – they are ridiculously lightweight.
New Balance MRC5000
For as minimal as these shoes are, they are put together very well. There is almost no stitching in the shoe to cause any abrasions if you run sockless. The sole of the shoe is a light foam with little knobby tread things attached. You can see what I mean in the photos. There is also a channel cut out of the center near the heel to cut down on weight. I am a little bit leary of the tread wearing down or coming unglued. We will see how it does as the miles add up.
I took the shoes out for a 6 miler over the weekend and you can really feel a difference in the weight. There is a 4 to 6 oz. difference between these and my other shoes. That doesn’t sound like much, but it was noticeable. The thing I noticed was that when I broght my stride back down to the ground, you really can not feel the weight of the shoe at all. The tread gripped well and had enough cushioning that it did not feel like my feet were slapping the pavement. After the run my legs still felt 100% fresh.
These will be my new 5k-10k race day shoes. I don’t know how long the tread will last so I will limit use for speed events. Articles I have read indicate a life expectancy on these shoes to be around 100-150 miles.
My wife ordered these from Running Warehouse in size 13 per my insructions, but they were a little too big. We sent them back for a pair of 12.5s which fit well. The website says order a half size small, but my reading comprehension skills must need a tune-up. Service from RunningWarehouse.com is top-notch. The price was just under $100.
I will update this review as the miles add up. Here are the technical specs:
Weight: 3.1 oz (size 9)
Stack Height: Heel (16mm), Forefoot (11mm)
Available Widths: D=Medium
How It Fits (based on width D)
- Sizing: Fits large, purchase 1/2 size smaller than standard running shoe
- Heel: Medium to narrow
- Midfoot: Medium to low volume
- Forefoot: Narrow to medium
- Toe-Box Height: Low
- Arch Structure: Low
- Shoe Shape: Curved
heyy, how do these hold up on the trails? I want to get them for cross country, but not sure how they will hold up on dirt. Hows the traction off pavement too? thanks a ton! -Jesse
I think they would be OK on packed dirt or fine gravel, but there is not much sole under your foot, so you feel everything. I am using mine for road running exclusively. They also are not rated to last very long and I would think trails would shorten that shelf life.
Do they really run large? I’m usually an 11 across the board.
They run about a half size down than normal. So if you are an 11, try a 10.5.
Hey Runningdad:
I’m primarily a 5k-10k runner and LOVE the lightweight racers. I do run an occasional 13.1 and I’m curious if you have or would ever wear these for that distance.
Thanks,
T
I don’t see a problem with running 13.1 miles in them. As long as you had some 10 mile runs in them and were comfortable and confident. I have gone for 6 or 7 miles in mine and had no issues. But personally, I like my Skora Phase for longer runs where I still want to feel like I have on a racing flat.
The NB MRC5000 doesn’t have a super long life span – 100-200 miles from what I have read, so I have saved them for races of very short distances to get the most out of them.