If you’d told me 3 years ago that I’d be running, legitimately running, in Skechers, I’d assume you’d been visiting a coffee shop in Amsterdam once too often. Even a year ago, I’d not yet tried my first pair of Skechers running shoes and I was still resigned to being on the more skeptical side of the previously Kim Kardashian represented brand. I mean, we’re talking about Skechers, right? This was a fashion and lifestyle brand. They didn’t make running shoes, at least not running shoes that anyone took seriously.
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Well, that was then. Now I sit here writing this and work desperately to extricate my Skechers GOrun 3 clad foot from my mouth.
If you recall, a few years ago Skechers was hit with pretty hefty damages from a lawsuit that claimed that its rockered Shape-Ups did pretty much nothing to support the company’s claims of butt toning and firming. The shoes in the case had a rocker that was a predecessor of the cult classic MBT shoes. Once the ship had sailed on the lawsuit (with Skechers on the wrong side), it appeared as though they still saw merit in the basic design. This time however, they were smack in the middle of the natural running movement and their rockered running shoes were born.
OUTSOLE / MIDSOLE
Since these two parts of this shoe are inextricably linked, the best way for me to talk about them is together.
Skechers’ Resalyte cushioning is a really interesting substance. While most companies are working on proprietary variations of EVA foam, they decided to sort of scrap that and mix rubber with foam to create a super cushy and resilient hybrid material. On the GOrun 3 the outsole is chock-full of flex points along its length giving the shoe a very flexible ride which adds to its cushioning since it allows the foot to move as it wants relative to the structure of the shoe.
Then there’s that rocker, or as Skechers calls it, MStrike. I’m a midfoot/forefoot runner. When I first saw the shape of this shoe and the technique it was aiming to promote, I laughed out loud, but not for the reasons you might
think. What got me was that is almost all of their advertising, the models were doing some sort of crazy, over striding thing that was so entirely antithetical to proper running technique that I had a hard time taking it seriously (the marketing of this is an entirely different thing that I’ll try not to get into here). I mean, if you’re going to market for a specific style of running, it should also appear that way in the advertising. However, eventually I was able to separate the advertising from the product.
The shape of the shoe is meant to put the apex (inverted) of the rocker at the ideal midpoint of the foot – where the foot “should” make first contact with the ground. At first this certainly takes a bit of getting used to. Since I already land midfoot, there wasn’t too much of a stranger feeling. At most, it felt like my heel was just kind of hanging there with nothing under it. Technically, this is kind of true since my gait resides almost exclusively at the front half of the rocker. To be honest, I don’t mind the shape at all. Add to that the fact that the shoe has a 4mm drop and it’s really right in my wheelhouse.
There’s no real “outsole” to speak of. The outsole and midsole material is the same save for the GOimpulse Sensors. These little dots of rubber are strategically placed to maximize wear at the most impacted parts of the shoe. They’re also meant to provide kind of a guide for the ideal track of the foot while it’s in contact with the ground. Interesting in theory but for me they serve mainly to provide durability.
UPPER
Previous iterations of this shoe have had some, shall we say, interesting looks. With the GOrun 3 there’s almost a sleek and simple appearance to the shoe. It sticks well to one general color scheme and with its construction, fits right in.
Starting with the interior of the shoe, the sock liner is integrated and doesn’t come out. That being the case, there also aren’t any edges or instability issues that could plague those who like to go barefoot. The interior of the upper itself is very comfortable and it seems as though much of the approach to making it so is by way of soft and supple materials. Nowhere is that more evident than with the tongue. When people have a hard time running barefoot in a particular shoe, much of the issue comes from the tongue. Sometimes its the way in which it’s attached and sometimes it’s the material. In the case of the GOrun 3, the material is a SUPER soft and supple micro fiber and its connection to the rest of the shoe is well constructed but hardly evident by feel.
The mesh overlay give the shoe plenty of breathability and is substantial enough to keep out debris.There is no real heel counter at all. The midsole does come up a bit around the heel cup to add some stability but there’s certainly nothing rigid. However, with their “Varilock” lacing and their lay flat laces that have never come anywhere near undone for me, the heel holds its own. Rounding out the upper (literally) is the very well designed toe box. Skechers nailed it with this (more in the fit section below). Well done.
FIT
The GOrun 3 was a spot on fit for me. There was ample room throughout without being sloppy. As I mentioned in the fit section above, the toe box has fantastic room both side to side and vertically. I could see the possibility of someone feeling as though it’s a bit too roomy if they haven’t laced things up properly but that’s simply a matter of taste. The sizing was also right on.
RIDE
The trick for me with this shoe was to let go of preconceptions. Whenever I review something, I do it objectively. I let the product, and its plusses and minuses, stand on their own. The ride of the GOrun 3 from a mechanical standpoint is really quite nice. Of course it does encourage a mid foot landing. However, if you’re a dedicated heel-striker (why?) the rounded heel and rockered shape makes for a quick weight transition to the midfoot, leaving the heel landing as more of a proprioceptive action than anything else.
If I could change one thing about the ride, I might make it a touch more firm. I know that that’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I’d like a tad more spring rather than cushion. That said, the ride of this is really nice and the wide based outsole makes for a good amount of stability all the way around.
OVERALL
At 6.9 ounces (men’s size 9) this shoe is light. There’s pretty much no extra “stuff” on the shoe and this really does a nice job of keeping the weight down. The price is also REALLY nice. While at only 55 miles in the shoe I can’t comment too much about its long-term durability, I can say that $80 is a fantastic price for a shoe that offers as much as this one.
From opening the box, to putting them on, to running for the first mile or so, I had one thing running through my head: “But, they’re Skechers.” Once I got past that, this shoe really impressed me. Its weight, fit, ride and construction is legit. Yes, they’re Skechers. Maybe it’s time to put that aside.
Review by Brandon Wood
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