similar to the sockliner in the

[Labi1995]

Another reality about my desire to see greater market acceptance of lightweight, less-structured footwear became clear to me after I started teaching again a few weeks back. When I look at college students on my campus, Nike is by far the most popular brand of athletic shoe on their feet, and the Nike Free Run seems to be a big hit among the 18-22 year old crowd. None of them are wearing Saucony Hattoris or Merrell Trail Gloves. I was very Nike Air VaporMax Femme skeptical about the Nike Free Run Nike Air Max 2017 Femme when it first came out, but after trying it I found that despite the deceptive marketing about it being a “barefoot” shoe, I actually liked running in them. Whereas Nike is already top dog in the athletic shoe market, Skechers is going to have a really tough time breaking into the serious running market. However, their shoes will wind up on shelves of stores where a lot more consumers shop, and could be an impetus for further innovation in the lightweight/flexible shoe niche. If they can use their production scale to put them out at a low price, it might also lead to price reductions from competitors – I think a lot of the so called “minimalist” shoes out there right now are vastly overpriced.Anyway, I decided to put aside my reservations, and agreed to have them send me out a pair of the Go Run shoes. I was pretty certain that Nike Air Force 1 Womens I wouldn’t like them given their unusual Nike Air Max 90 Womens midsole design – the sole is thickest under the midfoot – but I was determined to keep an open mind.In fairness, the box was turned inside out, and the shoe in the image above is not the Go Run, so this may just be a generic box used for preproduction samples, but I can assure you that the guy in the image is not landing on his midfootHere’s where things get interesting. After the initial contact about trying out these shoes, I received an email from Kurt, the technical lead involved with their design. Turns out that he was a long-time Nike employee, and was involved in the Nike Free project (though I don’t run much in the Frees these days, the Free 3.0 was my first “minimal” shoe and a longtime personal favorite). This was a nice change from my usually interaction with shoe companies Nike Air Max Classic BW Dames (where I mostly talk to PR folks), and Nike Air Max 95 Femme it’s the first time I’ve actually been directly in touch with someone involved with the design and construction of a running shoe for a large shoe company. Kurt has been surprisingly open and honest about the challenges that Skechers faces in the performance running niche, and it seems that he and a few others were only fairly recently brought in from places like Nike to build Skechers offerings and reputation in this area.My initial impressions when I first put the shoe on were mixed – the uppers are really, really nice, but I wasn’t crazy about the feel of the rockered sole. The best analogy I can provide is that it feels like a pair of Newtons with the forefoot lugs transplanted to the midfoot – there is a distinct sense of upward pressure just in front of the heel. This can be attributed to Nike Air Max 95 Dames the fact that the midsole thickness Nike Air Max 98 Mens is 14mm in the heel, 19mm in the midfoot, and 10mm in the forefoot. They feel quite strange, and a bit uncomfortable, to stand or walk in (same goes for Newtons – I can only run in them).After collecting some initial thoughts, I sent the following email off to Kurt to share my first-wear feelings:They just arrived today, just opened up the box and tried them on. Here are some initial thoughts just from putting them on and walking around the house:Upper is excellent, love that there is very little structure to it, and the nearly seamless internal lining is fantastic. Definitely seems like a shoe that could be used sockless (my preference). Very reminiscent of the Nike FreeThe built in sockliner is nice, very similar to the sockliner in the Saucony Hattori.I like the design of the tongue, and the Nike Air Max 97 Womens fact that it is stitched to the Nike Air Max 90 Dames upperToebox is plenty roomy for me (wearing the size 10’s, which give me about a thumb’s width of space in front of my big toe), though some of the more minimalist runners may prefer more width up front. That being said, most hardcore minimalists probably won’t run in a shoe like this, so it may not matter much. I suspect that’s not your target market anyway.