Running toward the future. Naturally.

CounterKicks continues its Running Now interview series with Ian Adamson, Newton Running Director of Research and Education. Ian chats about the current state of the natural running movement, how shoes have mangled your feet, what Asics won’t do, and why Newton is already living in the future.

CounterKicks: Tell us your background.

Ian Adamson: I was born in Sydney, Australia and moved to the United States in 1991. I was a professional adventure racer for 13 years. I ran track and cross-country all through school at national level, with a few state-level records in middle distance. I was also a barefoot runner through college. I was 10 years as a biomedical engineer and earned a master’s in sports medicine which was part of my segue into becoming a professional athlete.

I was personally involved with the Nike Free project in the early 2000s. Then I came across Newton at the Bolla Bolla Running Expo Memorial Day Weekend in 2007. They ended up sponsoring one of my events and I saw that there were only seven people working the company. Given my background and having worked in the design departments at Nike and Salomon for most of 13 years, I suggested that they might use my help. So I filled a job description as a technical advisor and ever since then I’ve worked for them. Now I’m the Director of Research and Education at our headquarters in Boulder, Colorado.

CK: What’s your workday like?

Adamson: My workday is divided between our education program, clinical studies and scientific work that includes interfacing with independent studies at places like MIT, Mayo Clinic and Harvard, overseeing our extensive patent portfolio, and some work on product development. I was previously Head of Product Development and still have a hand in it. Typical workdays are 6 am to 10 pm, seven days a week, although I’m backing off a bit to spend more time with my wife.