Shoe Review: Skechers GOrun

Posted by on Apr 11, 2012 in Reviews

Skechers GOrun Men's Red Package

Recently Skechers made a splash in the competitive running landscape with its sponsored Olympian – Meb Keflezighi. Meb not only finished first at the 2012 Olympic Trials in the marathon event, he also won it with a new personal record - wearing Skechers GOrun! Prior to Meb’s victory, I know many people, myself included, used to associate Skechers with casual, budget foodwear. Although one can still argue today that perhaps it wasn’t the shoes that resulted in Meb’s stellar performance – one inescapable implication here is that Skechers is getting aggressive and ready to take tackle the performance running shoe market.

I wrote a review of the GOrun detailing its features and sharing my running experience with it. What I would like to elaborate here in addition are my observation and thoughts on its sole in the following 3 categories:

1. GOimpulse Sensors

The main idea behind the circular protrusions at the bottom of the GOrun is proprioception. In theory, these independent cylinders are designed to offer an enhanced sensory feedback under the foot to supplement GOrun’s philosophy of natural running. Although I find the sole does offer that responsive road-feel as advertised, I’m not entire sure if this is due to GOrun’s thin and stiff sole – or these sensors are truly functional.

2. Durability

After 120 miles of running in the GOrun, I’ve noticed only a slight bit of wear on the outsole, particularly in the medial side of the foot underneath the big toe and arch. There is also some plastic deformation in the forefoot area, which I suspect is predominantly caused by the way I run. The  high-abrasion rubber pods (red dots) hold up very well to show almost no wear or deformation.

After 120 miles of running. Notice the difference in durability in the forefoot area and the high-abrasion sensors.

 

3. Thickness

In general, I like the “rocker” design of the GOrun not because it corrects or alters my foot strike – I’ve always been a midfoot striker. But rather, I find the added thickness of the sole in midfoot area to be ample in cushioning. My own measurements revealed the distribution of thickness of the sole is 10 mm in forefoot, 19 mm in midfoot, and 14 in heel. However this could also serve as one of my few complaints (the other being minor irritations in the upper) about the GOrun. To me, the pronounced thickness in the midfoot area exerts more impact force under my arch than that of flat soles – especially near the end of a long run. My speculation is that perhaps the rounded sole rather counteracts the natural collapsing mechanism of the arch. Additionally, this effect is amplified by the relatively hard, stiff midsole material.

Going Foward

After some conversations with Skechers, I was glad to find out that they are receptive of criticisms similar to mine; they are thus making appropriate modifications in their upcoming models in the GO line. Let me give you a small preview of these shoes.

From what I’ve been told, Skechers is preparing to launch 2 models soon to offer more variety to accommodate different runners and help with their transition to natural running. The first shoe is the GO bionic, which features a zero-drop in heel and a lighter weight than the GOrun. The GO bionic will be more “minimal” than the GOrun and extremely flexible in that it resembles the Nike Frees I recently reviewd.

Skechers GO bionic side profile

Skechers GO bionic flexibility

Skechers GO bionic bottom

On the other hand, Skechers is also adding a more padded shoe called the GOrun Ride for those seeking a higher and thicker alternative to the GOrun. The GOrun Ride will have a 4mm drop from heel to toe, a bulkier sole over all, and a heavier weight.

Skechers GOrun Ride Side

Skechers GOrun Ride Front

Skechers GOrun Ride Bottom

These GO bionic and the GOrun Ride are to be released in summer 2012 to join the already fierce competition in the scene of  natural or minimalist running footwear. Stay tuned for my review on these shoes. For more on the GOrun, please check out my other post on iRunnerBlog.

What do you think of my article about the GOrun? Would you consider giving it a try? What would you like to know more about the GO bionic and the GOrun Ride? Please share this post and leave a comment below.

Author Bio: Kevin Lu is an engineer. He received his B.S. and M.S. in biomedical engineering from NJIT. Science, technology, and running are Kevin’s passions. In his spare time, Kevin trains for and participates in races of various distances. His recent PRs include: 20:58/5K, 1:39:33/half, and 5:48:22/50K. In addition to Beyond Distance, Kevin also writes for iRunnerBlog as a columnist. Find out more about Kevin here and follow him on Twitter.

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  • Oriel

    Got the Gorun Ride this summer and love them! I am 50 years old and start running again about 4 months ago after a long break. I lost do far about 12 pounds and feel great. I do think my skechers help me archive my goals they are so comfortable and no pain after the the run. Before I got the I had pain for days after joggings now I am pain free! Love them! GoSkechers!

    • http://www.BeyondDistance.com/ Kevin

      Thanks for sharing! Those pain-free runs are the BEST. I am about to publish a review of the GOrun Ride in the coming days!

  • Sinead McDermott

    I have a flattened arch and I walk on one side of my foot, so I find the arch and side support to be nothing short of revolutionary. The GoRun is so comfortable that I am now almost entirely unable to wear anything else. I can imagine, though, that if you had normal feet it would be a little painful.

  • Nmirza

    Nice shoe but it was very uncomfortable for me after three weeks. So I took it back and got the Shape Ups and Now i am much happier.

  • Albert

    Training for a 50 miler have four long runs in with the Go Run Ride.  Love the wide toe box and think the shoe is a winner.  I bought another pair to alternate with.  This is going to be my go to training shoe. There is enough cushioning that I consider it a functional trainer.  I’ll consider racing in the original Go Run Model.  My suggestion to Sketchers is to keep the wide toe box.  Lots of runners need it and few light weight shoes offer it.

    • http://www.BeyondDistance.com/ Kevin

      I second your suggestion about the toe box, Albert. It’s one of the reasons I like the GOrun. Depending on the race course and terrain, you might want to stick with the GOrun Ride. Having run in both the GOrun and GOrun Ride, personally I’ll probably use the GOrun Ride for longer runs beyond the marathon distance. Their toe boxes (and uppers in general) are very similar – if not identical. I am writing a review of the GOrun Ride to be published here soon.

  • Nmirza

    I got a new pair of Go Run shoes after usingthem for a few dat=ys my fore foot and two of my small otes went into  a stiff ball and the pain has been like a burn in my fore foot padding under my toes.
    I am finding the shoes very uncomfortable.

  • richard

    I bought some and I have mixed feelings.  They are comfortable for walking and general use, but I have not yet tried them for running.   In any event, my main running is sprinting, which I think will be a good use. They are extremely comfortable, and yet there is this lump under your foot, like an exaggerated arch support, that just does not go away. and I like arch supports in my tennis shoes and running shoes.  It’s just too big.

  • Rose

    I just bought a pair of go run skechers. I am very disapointed. I tried them at the store but on rug surface I could not feel how high it made my arch feel. I ran with them expecting a similar feeling as the vibram 5 fingers but instead wound up with very sore feet. I like everything else about the shoe. Too bad. Their add was misleading in my opinion. And, now…they are just another pair of shoes occupying space and useless to me…..

    • http://www.BeyondDistance.com/ Kevin

      Thanks for sharing, Rose. I agree with you that the GOrun is nothing like the VFF. Similar to your experience, the bump under the arch caused some soreness when I ran hard or long the GOrun initially. I think this shoe is more suitable for those with normal or high arches (I have very high arches).

      I’m sorry that the GOrun did not work out for you. Maybe you can wear it as a casual athletic shoe because it’s still very light and flexible compared to many shoes – if you can adjust to the bulge in the midsole…

    • Nmirza

      I took mine back beacuse I had the same issue and got another pair that work better for me.

  • Hshawjr

    The Go Bionic look pretty intriguing, especially the way that they put flex points in the forefoot for the toes. I don’t know if they will work, but it is a shoe that I will want to look at closer. The pictures give the shoe a higher look than the 19mm, I wonder if any of the places up here in Central Maine will carry them?  Something I should check out on the Sketchers website

    • http://www.BeyondDistance.com/ Kevin

      Thanks for reading, Harold. As far as I know, the stack height of the GO bionic is 11.5 mm. I can’t verify until I get my hands on it. But I know it’s gonna be lighter for sure.
      In terms of retail distribution, I haven’t seen Skechers in running special stores – and I reside in one of the biggest retail areas in the US. However, all Skechers stores should have these shoes. I think Skechers stores exist mainly in major shopping malls. Also some other smaller retail chains and sporting goods store carry Skechers.