By way of a what I like to think was a ‘welcome to the neighbourhood’ the people at Teva invited me for a run with them on Hampstead Heath to celebrate, not actually my moving in round the corner, but the launch of their new shoe.

Teva are an outdoors footwear brand and you’re probably more familiar with their sandals which seem to be mainly worn by people on their Gap ‘yar’. But they’ve just spent several years designing, prototyping and refining a running shoe – and it looks quite nice.

The name Tevasphere comes from the heel of the shoe which is round, like a tennis ball. Teva says that this spherical heel lowers the user’s point of contact with terrain for a more natural point of impact and more efficient transition. The other obvious feature is the ‘pods’ on the midfoot which are designed to offer arch support.

Teva’s research suggests that even runners that have trained themselves to run on their forefoot or midfoot are prone to heelstriking once they get tired over longer distance. So while the shoe is ideal for someone like me who lands on the heel to midfoot, they might just appeal to forefoot runners for longer runs over rough ground.

Lacing them up for a three mile run I found that the tarmac wasn’t the best place for them – or at least not my feet in them. I’d be happier in my road shoes on roads (no big shock there). But once we turned off the path onto the more uneven ground the shoes were in their natural habitat and showed what they were designed to do.

On a muddy day on the Heath they made my feet feel secure with no sliding around, and running downhill (possible because of he rounded heel) seemed more natural. They’ll definitely be staying by the front door for getting lost on the muddy paths on Hampstead Heath and staying pretty muddy in the process.