Talkback: Skechers Gorun

All brands start somewhere and diversify.

Different market, but Nokia started out as a paper mill.  

Mike Dickins wrote (see)

Poor - a fashion shoe, like all Skechers.  Shame on RW for even entertaining this on their site.  What next - Nike Shox?

Wilkie wrote (see)

Mike Dickins wrote (see)

Poor - a fashion shoe, like all Skechers.  Shame on RW for even entertaining this on their site.  What next - Nike Shox?

Have you tried them, Mike? 

Have bought a pair and they are a great shoe.  Don't let the branding put you off.

I actually bought them direct from a Skechers store in Birmingham. I was surpised by the service.  The staff member was very knowledgeable about the product and asked all the right questions.  They did not try to sell it to me as a fashion shoe but as a genuine running shoe.

It seems Skechers are very serious about the entering the market, seeing that they have trained their staff.  Most impressed.  You don't get that from your local high street retailer selling running shoes.

after putting 100 odd miles in them i have to agree with Ish, they are without doubt the most comfortable shoe ive worn, very very light, very responsive, 

the bump or lack of heel is very noticable at 1st but not in a bad way, perhaps since i run with a midfoot strike anyway, if you heel strike then you might have some issues transitioning to this shoe, I dont even feel it anymore when i run in them, they just feel like a minimal shoe similar to my old kinvara's. or nike free.

It's a serious shoe and i think finally sketchers (or should i say the man behind the nike free range they employed to design it) got it right on this. they have a surprising amount of cushioning whilst still giving you a lot of feedback from the road, you do feel the surface underfoot much more than regular shoes, I will say though, unless you are a 5ft3 skinny elite runner with perfect form you probably wouldnt want to use them for much more than a half marathon, they (for me at least) are very much a middle distance shoe. 

They do however fall down when it comes to running steep down hills, most of the time its fine but on one of my routes there is a pretty steep drop for about 100 yards where it's almost impossible to avoid coming down on your heels, But there are few races that include such steep gradients (in fact ive only seen it before usually on a trail/off road run where you wouldnt choose these anyway) so it not likely to be a problem for most people.

the only other possible negative is grip, i 1st ran in them after rain and they dont have the same grip as my nimbus, i didnt expect them to tbh but it was pretty noticable, i'm far from a fast runner but on wet ground i found myself taking some sharp corners a little more carefully, it's not bad though, i didnt feel like i was going to slip or slide at any point, my friend who bought them too usualy runs in Nike Lunaglides and she said they are much better than the Nike's in the wet, in the dry its no problem at all, very good grip.

This is obviously not a shoe for everyone, its name will never get a great deal of support from a lot of people, but if you midfoot strike or are looking to change your form a bit, and want a very lightweight and fast shoe, give them a try, or at least dont write them off. you only need to read around the internet to see even the most critical skeptics have changed their minds on them.

Thesae are very good shoes for serious running, well done sketchers (who I would never have looked at previously). In addition to all the positives above, there is one big plus for these - they were the only serious light weight / mid foot running shoes suitable for running in sockless that I could find that are sold in very small sizes, from a 2 up.  And available in half sizes - so in addition to the  size 2, we have also bought a size 2.5 for later. As they are a great triathlon shoe, these will be used in the UK national triathlon finals (children), in a few weeks, hopefully to good effect

Wilkie wrote (see)

Mike Dickins wrote (see)

Poor - a fashion shoe, like all Skechers.  Shame on RW for even entertaining this on their site.  What next - Nike Shox?

Have you tried them, Mike? 

I don't think he has.

I have a pair. I bought them for long road training runs. Can't comment about the grip as the only problem I had was on astro turf which isn't good for grip anyway. I only use them for LSR on the road.

I don't find them fast, I have other shoes that are much faster, they are also not quite so comfortable on runs over 15 miles as they are on shorter runs (but not tempo runs). Possibly the womens shoe fits differently to the mens. They do feel like slippers when you put them on though. i have very wide feet so I do put shoes under a lot of strain. That they have held up where others have failed says a lot methinks.

It sounds like I'm picking more holes in them than there are.

tempted to give them a try - what is the sizing like? I'm a 9.5 in Brooks/Asics

buy your size, they are true to size, 

thanks - i might just give them a go.. if only i could choose which colour.. hmm