Durability Update on Skechers Go Run2

There has been a bit of discussion on the Interwebs about Skechers as a brand.  As I have said in previous posts here and here, I love my Skechers.  Once I get myself past the fact that Skechers were the shoes that my sainted Grandmother wore to go "Mall Walking" with her cadre of octogenarian walking buddies, I'm good to go in them.  Makes me feel a bit nostalgic even, wearing the same shoes that... wait a minute.  No it doesn't.  Let's just change the subject, shall we?

The other hang-up that I have with buying Skechers is the nagging feeing that I am cheating on my really, really wonderful locally owned running store by buying my running shoes at the mall (sorry Gear Running...).

Apart from those things, I'll just say that I love me some Skechers shoes.  I've put 400+ miles on one pair of the Go Run2s, and loved them.  Like loved, loved them.  I did four half marathons in them last year, including one trail half.  Now that the Go Run3s are out, and a pair has made its way to my house, I thought I post about the durability of the 2s - with Skechers being a pretty new entry into the performance shoe market, I can vouch for not only the general awesomeness and comfortability (yeah, I said it) of the shoes, but their durability as well.

Although I've been doing nearly all of my running lately in the GR3s, I have done two runs this week in these GR2s, and they are still awesome.  (My new puppy, cute as he is, chewed the laces on the new kicks, and I haven't replaced them yet.)  I'd probably still be happily running in these 2s if I hadn't gotten the 3s.  The cushioning still felt fine, even compared to a new pair of the 3s.


The physical part of the shoe is really, really great.  I'm a pretty solid midfoot striker, and I'm on the bigger side of running folk (about 190 pounds, and 6'1" [6'4" with the afro]*).  The tread on the bottom, which Skechers has made out of what they call Resalyte**, has held up very well.  Even 400+ miles in, they are still very grippy, and surprisingly good looking, with only a few spots that are beginning to be worn down:

New Go Run2s (left), older ones at 125 miles (right)

425 miles in (these are the same ones as
the left above).  Not too shabby, eh?

The uppers have also been very sturdy.  I have had no rips, tears, or other malfunctions, I'm happy to report.  Structurally, they have been fantastic.  The only knock on the uppers, durability-wise, is that the colors have massively faded.  One of the things that I initially got me interested in the GR2s was the color schemes - several of them were loud and obnoxious, which I liked.  The pair that I have put the most miles on is the yellow/green color way, and really not that bright anymore, and not just from the dirt and crud that accumulates on my runs.  The color didn't come off on my socks or anything, like some other shoes are wont to do, but they are faded:

compared to:

All told, though, the Go Run2 is solid, solid shoe that I have really enjoyed.  I just got the Go Run 3 (initial thoughts here), and I'm anxious to give them a try, and see if I like them as much as I have liked the 2s.

* If you get that movie reference, please leave a comment.
** Skechers says that Resalyte is a "proprietary, lightweight injection-molded compound with memory retention."  So yeah, there's that.

Skechers Go Run3 Initial Review

I’ve had my eye on the new update of my beloved Go Run2s from Skechers.  It was a serendipitous combination of gift money from Christmas, a nice coupon code for Skechers.com, and 400+ miles on the ol’ GR2s that gave me the go-ahead to get a new pair of shoes.  Okay, I’ll be honest.  I didn’t really need a go-ahead.  I’d get a new pair of running shoes if the sun comes up.  Or it sets.  Or if the water goes down the drain clockwise (counter-clockwise if I’m traveling south of the Equator).  You get the picture.  At any rate, it seems like the universe aligned for me to get myself a new pair of kicks.

But I digress… I ordered myself a pair of the new Go Run3s (GR3s).  Here are some initial thoughts, before I put some miles on these bad boys.

To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about the colorways for the new models.  There are five, and they are pretty dark.  I’m not really one for black shoes – the only black things in my wardrobe are my wedding/funeral suit, my running pants (from Sporthill – review coming soon) and my old lacrosse uniform from college (still fits – AWWW YEAH!).   Long story longer, the colors really didn’t do it for me.  I liked the colors of the GR2s – bright and obnoxious.  These are not them. 

I initially ordered the black and reds, thinking that they were the most badass of the bunch.  I ordered up a size 13, thinking that the 12.5s that work so well in the GR2s could use a bit of an upsize.  When I got them, they were definitely too big.  I returned them to the Skechers store near my house (I’m lucky to have one about 10 minutes from chez moi).  I traded them for a size 12 in the blue/green style, which I still wasn’t thrilled with, but was an upgrade from the red/black.  I think that they are growing on me – the neon laces help.

One thing that I really like in a running shoe is a lack of a stiff heel counter.  The GR2 has basically no heel counter – it more of a integrated ‘strap’ that functions like a sandal strap on the back, if that makes any sense.  

The GR3 has a bit more structure to it, but not so much that it’s by any means rigid.  The Skechers logo gives it more form, but it’s still pretty flexible and giving.  Jury is still out whether this is an upgrade.  Stay tuned.

Another interesting addition is the pleather that is all around the toe box.  Not sure how I feel about it – the stiff, ribbon-y kind of edging in the GR2 was good, I thought.  Maybe the pleather is supposed to dress the GR3 up a bit, but for me it seems a bit unnecessary.  I wonder if it will be to stiff in the cold, cold temps here in Minnesota.  I guess I’ll have about 4 months to find out…

The toe box has been changed as well – the GR2 has a simple stretchy mesh that I really liked – it gave my toes plenty of rom to play out and move around, without feeling sloppy.  The new toe box is a mesh with an overlay, that kind of makes me think of the Altra Instinct.  Again, not sure what purpose it serves, other than to spiff up the aesthetics of the shoe.

A couple of other thoughts – there are an additional pair of liners in the box, but it’s not super clear why there are two sets.  After poking around on the Internets, I discovered that the insole makes the shoe an 8mm drop.  Not sure why Skechers would want to make their shoes into an 8mm drop – maybe they are courting the non-minimalish crowd, or maybe trying to make th3 GR3 more attractive to higher distance runners, who might like a little higher drop for a marathon maybe?

The tongue is also a change from the GR2s - the tongue in the 2s was a more padded, traditional looking and feeling tongue.  The tongue in the 3 is more of an thin ultra-suede fabric tongue, without much padding.  It, like the tongue on the 2s, is attached on both sides, under the eyelets, which I really like.  No tongue slippage. (Ooh - that sounded a bit dirty somehow.  Who knew that a review of the Go Run3 would get a bit racy?)

Finally, I really like the fact that Skechers kept this iteration of the Go Run shoe vegetarian (not that any shoes eat meat – although some do shred feet, which is kinda the same thing…).  I try, as much as possible, to use as few animal-based products as I can, and I appreciate that Skechers has continued this in their Performance line.

Now I’ve got to go out and get some miles on these babies.  I’ll post a more in-depth review after I’ve had a chance to put some miles on them.

New Year? Get some goals!

Well, yeah.  I guess it’s that time of the (New) year again.  Normally I'm not big on making New Year’s resolutions.  And it’s not because I think I’m perfect just the way I am.  I’m not THAT guy.  Sometimes I wish I were, but that’s a whole other story.  Since I’ve been running (somewhat) seriously for better than a year now, I think that it would be good for me to set some running goals for the coming year.  I got 4 half marathons in last year, which I feel good about.  One of them was even a trail half, which was cool. 

Soooooooo, in no particular order (because that’s how I roll), here are my goals for the this running year:

1.  Run two full marathons: I’m planning on one in the spring, and one in the fall.  I’ve actually already signed up for the first one – the Med City Marathon in Rochester, MN on Memorial Day weekend.  It’s a small-ish race, and form all of the reviews that I’ve read, it seems like a fun, easy-going weekend.  Plus, they have a kids’ marathon, in which the kids run 25 miles in the months leading up to the weekend, and then run the final 1.2 miles on the Saturday.  Both of my kids are up for it, so it’ll be a fun weekend all around.  Plus, we found a little waterpark hotel in Rochester for us to stay in.  The second full marathon that I’m aiming for the venerable Twin Cities Marathon, which runs literally 2 blocks from my house. (Well, not for the whole 26.2 miles.  That would mean something like 645 laps of my block, which would be sort of boring.  Although it makes me think of this story that I read once…)
2. Run 1200 miles:  I’m also setting out a mileage goal for the year, which I haven’t done before.  I’m gong to shoot for 1200 miles this year, which, if the calculator ion my hope is working (and I have every reason to believe that it is), means I’ll need to average 23 miles a week.  Seems doable, especially if I’m going to train for two marathons.  Plus, the upside is that I will handily beat The Proclaimers.  The best they could do is to walk 1,000 miles.
3. Run a 5K with each/both of my kids: Boy is 12 and Girl is 8.  Each of them, with a bit of training, could easily run/walk and very likely run 5K.   We’ll pick races based on the swag, of course.
4. No injuries: Well, this kind of goes without saying.  I’ll take a bit of luck to go along with a sensible running plan, added to a day a week of cross/strength training (WHAT?!?!?!?!?) to get this one.  I hope.

That’s it, kids.  What do you have cooking for goals, running or otherwise?