WHY AM I LOOKING AT “ULTRA” SHOES?
Early in 2014 I found myself in a running transition. I was feeling
burnt out and banged up after a hard year of road racing and a fall marathon
flop. More and more I was out on the trails running slow and easy and just
trying to get the love back. In early February, I decided to target a local trail
50k on March 1st as my first race over 26.2 miles.
Once I had something on my calendar I began to obsess about
what gear and shoes I would need to complete this longer race. Will I need to
carry water? Will there be snow on the ground, etc.
I had a lot of road running shoes in my closet and a couple
pair of Inov-8 Roc-Lite trail shoes which I had found to be stiff and not very
cushy for longer runs. Good shoes for rocky or muddy terrain, but I couldn’t
see wearing them in a 50k on the relatively tame singletrack and crushed gravel
course I would be racing.
The Nike Air Pegasus, now in it’s 29th iteration,
has been my workhorse shoe for the last 18 months or so. But it didn’t seem
appropriate for the trails and mixed terrain either.
Enter the Skecher’s Go Run Ultra. I can’t tell you how I
even found the shoe online. I think I searched “Ultra” shoes and got a list of
shoes with “Ultra” in the name. In any case, I was skeptical of the Skecher’s
name (they made those ShapeUp grandpa shoes, right?) but intrigued by the story
of the Go Run Ultra shoe. Did Skecher’s really have a “Performance Division”
that tested and toiled over shoes for
runners? Did Skecher’s care enough
or see enough sales dollars to invest in making a serious shoe for ultra
runners?
Well, apparently they do. And they’ve done their R&D
quite well on their first version of the Skecher’s Go Run Ultra.
WHAT IS THE GO RUN ULTRA? IS IT RIGHT FOR ME?
For starters, the Go Run Ultra claims to have 65% more
cushion than the Skecher’s Go Run Ride. Great, but I’ve never worn the Go Run Ride
so let’s start there. After a little reading, the Go Run Ride seems to be the
closest thing to a neutral cushion trainer in the Skecher’s lineup. And I
always go for a neutral cushion shoe. I don’t need “support” shoes, which
generally offer pronation control in the form of some rigid material on the
inside of the shoe so you don’t “over-pronate.” And I don’t need super
lightweight or minimal shoes because I’m 6-4 and I weigh in around 160 lbs. Yes, I'm a tall, skinny dude.
So here in the Skecher’s Go Run Ultra we have a neutral
cushion shoe with lots of extra pillowy goodness and a fairly aggressive tread
which should go from trail to road to gravel without missing a beat.
Categorically this seems to put the Skecher’s Go Run Ultra in
the relatively new “Maximal/Maximum Cushion/Fat Shoe” category. Whether this is
a backlash to the barefoot/minimal movement (take that Vibram Five Fingers with
your creepy toe shoes!) or just a response to the growing popularity of
ultradistance running, or a little of both, I’m not sure.
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| I always run with the insole in for about an 8mm drop. The drop is 4mm with insole removed. |
But as a 35-year-old runner who puts in 80-120 mile weeks on
a regular basis, I’m open to some extra cushion. And even the relatively low “drop” of the
Skecher’s GRU doesn’t scare me off. The shoe itself has a 4mm drop and the
insole adds another 4mm for a total around 8mm.
I’m used to the traditional 12mm drop in the Nikes, so at least I won’t
be moving down to a zero drop shoe such as an Altra, which does scare me (and
my achilles tendons) a bit.
The first shoe that comes to mind when you consider the
concept of the “Maximal/Max Cushion/Fat Shoes” is the Hoka. Hoka is also the
originator and 300 pound gorilla in this “Fat Shoe” space.
I’ve admittedly never worn a Hoka, but I’ve had two friends
waste their ankles wearing Hokas in technical trail races. They both seem to
think the very high stack (Hokas almost look like a platform shoe) was mostly
to blame. That’s right, I’m dogging Hoka purely on anecdotal evidence. The good
news about the Skecher’s GRU is the stack height is much more reasonable than
the Hoka models and the softer and more aggressively lugged outsole on the GRU should
offer a more stable, non-ankle-busting ride. (I invite Hoka to send me a pair of size 14 shoes
to test.)
THE GOOD
In a world (movie announcer voice) where a good pair of
shoes is now almost always north of $100, one nice surprise is the Skecher’s
GRU retails at only $80. That’s about half the price of many Hoka models. And with the 25% coupon code I was able to
find online for www.Shoebuy.com, these Skechers were a super value.
I was in shoe lust before they even arrived, figuring up
dollars spent vs. miles I could run in the GRU. Could they really be so
versatile, so cushy, so exactly what I was looking for?
In short, yes, these shoes deliver in nearly every way. I
didn’t sit down to write a love letter to the GRU, but there are very few flaws
to be found. For “Fat Shoes” they even have a svelt, muscular look.
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| Inside view of the shoe: the contours of the outsole and two different colors of outsole foam reduce the visual bulk. |
The weight of the shoe is much less than you would expect.
At just 9.1oz for a men’s 9, they somehow pack a lot of lightweight cushioning
into the shoe. They look a bit bulky, but it seems they look bulkier than they
actually feel on your feet.
The toebox is wider than that of my Nikes but not as wide as
an Altra. I have pretty average foot width and the toebox allows for natural
toe splay, which is something I didn’t even know I would enjoy until I did a
few 25-milers in the GRU. The wide toebox should also accommodate the swelling
of the feet you would encounter in a longer trail or ultra race.
The cushioning is very plush as promised. The GRU’s help you
roll over rocks and roots while still being able to feel what is under you, to
an extent. However, the GRU’s don’t make you totally immune to feeling the
rocks under you like shoes with a shank (my Inov-8’s) would do. I’m ok with
that though because what I get in return is the confidence to grip those rocks
and roots, push off and feel like you still get some spring back from the shoe.
Which hasn’t been my experience in trail shoes with a more hardened rubber
outsole.
The M-Strike technology (which is essentially Skecher’s bump
in the midfoot of the shoe that propels you forward) is definitely noticeable
when you first wear the shoes, and it did feel a bit funny at first. But after
a few runs in the GRU, I didn’t even notice it even more. I also didn’t
experience any calf soreness or other aches which I thought might be a symptom
of the M-Strike propelling me forward.
I had enough confidence in the GRU that I wore them for my
50k after only owning the shoes about 2 weeks. And while I raced that 50k in 5
degree weather, I second-guessed a lot of things (including my sanity), but my
choice of shoes wasn’t one of them. The GRU kept my feet warm and comfortable and
even the little things such as the laces (they stayed tied) and the tongue
(stitched in place) performed very well. And I was lucky enough to win that
race. Coincidence or Skecher's magic?
THE BAD
I’ve put about 250 miles on these shoes and worn them about
half the time on the road and the other half on trail/gravel.
The main negative I have noticed is the outsole does seem to
get shredded pretty quickly on the roads. But 250 miles in, I would expect some
wear to show. I am only used to getting about 350 miles out of each pair of my
Nike’s before my knees tell me it’s time to update my shoes, so I’m excited to
see how many miles I might get out of the GRU before they are shot.
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| Outsole comparison of new shoe and one with 250 miles, about half of that mileage on the road. I'm a mid to forefoot striker, so the back half of the shoe shows little wear. |
Another issue I’ve noticed on warmer days is limited
breathability in the upper. I tend to have sweated through the shoe in the area
at the bottom of the tongue (where the shoe flexes) rather quickly. So I would
like to test them further in rainy or creek stomping conditions to see what
kind of drainage they provide. This will be a key test for those that truly
intend to run longer ultra races in these shoes.
FINAL WORD
I’ve been wearing the Skecher’s Go Run Ultra every other day
(alternating with my Nike Air Pegasus 29) but I find myself wearing them more
and more lately. In fact, I would see no issues with making them my primary
trainer.
The GRU would be a great shoe for just about anyone but
especially for heavier runners, those that run higher mileage, those that run
trails and ultra distances, those who like a great value. I would stop short of
wearing them for road races because they just may be too cushy and add
to that late-race sensation of your feet sinking into the pavement.
Outside of running, these shoes are just plain comfy to
wear. If you send a pair to Mario Batali, he might just trade in his Crocs.
I have already bought my second pair and have them ready to go.
So Skecher’s, listen up! You’ve hit the nail on the head
here with the Go Run Ultra. Don’t ruin this model by tinkering too much!
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