2018 New Balance 1400 Shoe Review
Despite never running in the New Balance 1400, I’m familiar with it. The New Balance 1400 has been a favorite shoe for several of my coworkers who prefer racing marathons. It won’t be my marathon shoe (which is still undecided), but it’s been good to do long runs and workouts in.
The New Balance 1400 is a great racing flat for anything from the 5k to the marathon. It’s been around for several updates and designs as well. I’ve tried on the shoe (as I like to do with every shoe), through each version but never run in it until now.
New Balance 1400 Fit:
I wear a size 10-11 wide in running shoes, and the 10.5 womens is fine. Often times I need to just scratch women’s racing flats and go to a unisex/ men’s shoe because of my foot width. The women’s 10.5 is fine.
Other bonuses of the 2018 New Balance 1400 include minimal seams and overlays. The engineered mesh of the New Balance 1400 includes less weight, less rubbing, which equals a faster runner. It also gives the New Balance 1400 airy feel. There is only so much actual cushion you can remove from a flat, so many companies are removing as much stuff from the top as possible.
Also included in the fit of the New Balance 1400 is an update to the tongue. While I did not run in the previous version of the New Balance 1400, but I know the tongue bothered several people. Many people said it bunched up or caused irritation.
The updated tongue is more similar to the New Balance track spikes. I suppose if Emma Coburn and other New Balance professionals like the tongue of a shoe, the common folks like us can too.
New Balance 1400 Ride:
There isn’t much to say about the ride of the New Balance 1400. The New Balance 1400 is light, responsive and reacts with the ground. The material used, is called “revlite midsole.” It’s durable yet responsive. Combined with the blown rubber, it’s much more responsive than fresh foam (like in my favorite New Balance trainer the 1080).
Interesting and somewhat unique of the 2018 New Balance 1400 is that is has a 10mm drop (many flats have between 0-4). You don’t really feel the difference and to be honest, if no one told me I would never know. I have preferred the New Balance 1400 recently for long tempos and longer runs. I’ve done some short 400s too, but longer runs seem to be my favorite.
Finally, something to note is that the New Balance 1400 responds well in the rain. When a racing flat is not good in weather, it can be a shock come race day and you don’t have a good shoe. (Some shoes that don’t respond well to rain include the Nike Fly and Brooks Levitate). I’ve raced A LOT of road races in the pouring rain including Shamrock, Atlantic City, and Broad Street. If I didn’t have a good racing shoe that day, I now know this is always a faithful weather backup. In fact, one of my better photos in the shoe is in bad weather.
2018 New Balance 1400 Conclusion:
In all I like the New Balance 1400 for workouts and races. In bad/wet weather I believe I am more likely to use the shoe because it has more traction than the Nike Fly and many other flats.
Current Rotation:
Workouts/Racing: Nike Fly, New Balance 1400
Daily Runs: Brooks Glycerin, New Balance 1080, On Cloudace,
Long Runs/Faster Runs: Hoka One One Cavu, Underarmour Sonic
Looking to learn more about running shoes? In my ebook I talk about why you need a good running shoe, the anatomy of a shoe, neutral vs stable, and even myths of running shoes.
Questions for you:
What is your staple racing shoe? Have you tried the New Balance 1400?
Do you change shoes in the weather?
I have an older version of this shoe and it is TERRIBLE in wet weather! Good to know the sole was updated.
Keep wanting to try the NB 1080 and then perhaps this one. How do they compare?