How Newcomer Norda Made the Ultimate Running Shoe for Trail Racing With 005

There's an arms race happening in the field of trail running footwear. The theatre of engagement: Western States, UTMB, and a string of other elite trail running events where a win can propel any runner to glory—via grueling effort of course. The competition is equally fierce behind the scenes, where R&D departments vie to make sure their brand's shoes end up on the podium. In Big Outdoor, the little guys seldom win. But Norda, a newcomer to the fray that launched in 2020, continues to punch well above its weight with sleek styling and innovative materials no other company is using. If the 001 turned heads, the all-new race day ready Norda 005, with the world debut use of Vibram Megagrip Elite, is poised to break barriers.

The Norda 005 is the brand's fourth shoe ("We skipped the four—the five was just too fast," Norda Co-Founder Nick Martire tells me). Yet already, the 005 has accompanied Jason Schlarb to third place at the Hardrock 100 race, Jean-François Cauchon to a first place finish at the Québec Mega Trail, Rich Lockwood to first at the Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, and Matt Seidel to third place at the JFK 50 Mile. How does a company that debuted its first shoe less than five years ago achieve so much so fast?

"Our vision is always the same: It's the lightest, fastest, strongest, most durable. That's what performance is about," says Martire. Matching those standards to a race-ready design necessitated raising the bar on the ingredient list. Like Norda's other shoes, the 005 has an ultralight, ultra-durable Bio-Dyneema upper made with an adjusted weave that's more breathable and allows for more water drainage. It’s also extremely durable—something the brand has become well known for.

Though for the all-new 005, this racecar's engine is what's underfoot. "It's all about the midsole," says Martire. The 005's is made of Arnitel, a branded version of thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE) foam. Norda sources it from the same factory that makes the so-called super shoe foams for the likes of Adidas and Hoka, but they came with a unique request. While most shoe companies use a blend of foams to create a particular feel and ride, Norda wanted 100% unblended foam. "I'm talking to the best factory in the world and they said, 'You know, we've never done 100%, we don't even know if it's possible,'" says Martire. It was. And after about a year, they figured it out.

Using Arnitel allowed Norda to reduce the overall amount of foam in the midsole in a time when most race day trail shoes (and road running shoes as well) are getting taller and taller. More foam, more rebound; so the general idea goes. But Norda’s not buying it. "In trail, there's a lot of sensations that happen, they send signals to the brain," says Martire. He wanted to preserve those, and the 100% Arnitel midsole let them reduce the 005's stack height—it's 28.5 in the heel and 21.5 in the forefoot—without losing out on propulsion. Martire says that in tests, the 005's rebound clocks in near the top marathon shoes out there. And, while many race shoes come equipped with a carbon fiber plate for extra spring and stability, the 005 accomplishes this without one.

Below the midsole, Norda managed to secure another secret ingredient to supply the 005 with grip worthy of the most rugged conditions runners encounter on trails: an all-new outsole from Vibram called Megagrip Elite. Vibram's little yellow outsole badge has long been a sign to hikers, climbers, skiers, and others of stability underfoot, and Megagrip is the Italian company's best-known offering, especially among trail runners. Megagrip Elite ups the ante. A first.

"Megagrip Elite is the latest performance compound from Vibram, targeting professional and elite-level trail runners," says Lawrence Anastasi, strategic account executive at Vibram. "Megagrip Elite provides measurably increased effective grip on the typical terrain found in ultra trail races around the world, especially in steep terrain and wet conditions."

When Norda got wind of the Megagrip Elite, the company decided to do a test. Special versions of the Norda 001 were made for their athletes with Megagrip Elite and sent them out into the wild, with a request for feedback after six months of running and racing. "One of the early races of the year was MIUT in Madeira," says Martire. "Apparently it rained all night at that race and a couple of the athletes said to us, 'We did not slip on wet rock once.' They were like, 'This stuff is crazy.'"

Even with that burly bottom, the 005 is one of the lightest trail racing shoes available—an 8.5 weighs 214 grams. But it's also exceptionally durable. Some of the same materials that led to speed on a course can be short-lived and give a shoe a one-and-done quality. But Martire sees durability as a responsibility; if Norda can make a shoe that's good up to 500 miles, they will. "We call it a race days shoe," he says, and athletes running in protos have already proven the shoe can handle a multi-race load (and then some).

On launch, the 005 is the only shoe with Megagrip Elite, and the only shoe to combine it with 100% Arnitel and Bio-Dyneema. It all comes down to the design and the materials. "Every single one of them from top to bottom are like from another planet," Martire says. "I mean, they're the most advanced technologies that exist."

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