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.