Wednesday, June 11, 2014

REVIEW: SKORA Fit Running Shoes


I have been looking forward to writing this post for a while now! You see, for the past few weeks I have been trying out the newest running shoe in SKORA's arsenal, the Fit. If you follow me on Instagram you may have already noticed, seeing as my shoes end up in a lot of my posts :)


Kyle, the Social Media Coordinator, had reached out to me back at the end of April about giving their new shoes a trial run and of course I jumped at the opportunity. (I mean WHO would turn down free running shoes?!)


I had to wait a couple weeks to start wearing them once I received them (talk about temptation... new running shoes that I couldn't wear right away), because I was at the tail end of training for my FIRST FULL MARATHON (and I didn't want to change anything up before the big day). And it has been a few weeks since then because obviously I didn't want to post a review until I was able to try them out for a while first. At this point I have run in them multiple times and have hiked in them as well. I have to say, I really like them!





When Kyle originally touched base with me, it was after I had run my first trail race (which I ran in my Brooks PureConnects2). He noticed that I liked the minimalistic shoe and suggested I give their newest model a try. The Fit is designed for comfort, speed, and agility.


One thing that I liked even before I received them (okay, there were multiple things, but we will get to that in a second), was that the website walks you through how their shoes will fit. You are able to select the brand, model, and size of your current shoe and it will recommend (complete with pictures of a top-down view, an arch view, and a 3D model) what size you should order in SKORAs - HOW HELPFUL?! Just click the "Show me how it fits" link in the Sizing area on the shoe page and fill in whatever information you have and it will suggest your size in SKORAs.

Source

Now, when you look at my SKORAs you can probably see another aspect I liked even before receiving them - THE BANGING COLORS! If you know me, you know I love me some bright colors. So when picking out my Fit shoes, you know I went with the Florescent Pink/Cyan/White option. I have gotten many comments on them thus far, from a kid telling me I had "swag" to an older gentleman telling me they were "too colorful" (but what do old, crotchety road bikers know anyway?!). They are definitely BRIGHT and I think they fit right in with my personality :)

From my Instagram {CarleeMcDot} when I wore them out
during National Running Day. 

I have been running in these barefoot, actually, and LOVE it. It is like they are more of a second skin or "sock" than a shoe. They are super lightweight and stretch where you need them to. The asymmetrical lacing helps to remove pressure on the top of your foot (read that as "more comfortable") and encourages natural motion and control (check out their passion to "Run Real"). And even when running in Southern California heat, these shoes breath well (especially since I'm not wearing socks to soak up the sweat, ha). PS I'm hoping the antimicrobial insoles will help cut down the stink that sometimes creeps in, particularly when going barefoot in a shoe.





So far my longest run in them was a 6 miler, but I definitely can see these being a regular in my rotation for short to mid-distance runs. Personally I might not do more than 15 miles in them, just because my body tends to need a little more cushion once I start hitting higher miles (I normally switch to my Brooks Ghosts for distances over 15 miles), but it looks like there are folks doing Ultra Marathons in SKORAs, so don't let my body's needs sway you from trying to push the limits of these shoes. For as lightweight as these shoes are, I was not expecting as much cushion and comfort as I got.

Another Instagram shot of some of my Tools of the Trade.

In full disclosure, I did want to mention that about two days after my first run in these shoes I noticed a blister on the end of one of my big toes. Since I had worn different shoes between the run and finding the blister I can neither confirm nor deny that it appeared from wearing these shoes (but if it did, it might have been my feet building up a tolerance for running without socks). [How Law & Order was that statement?! You can tell I thought at one point I wanted to be a lawyer, huh?]

Even so, I would definitely suggest giving SKORAs a try!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love doing speed work in my Skora Phase shoes! Unfortunately, my colors are just white and blue, so I am totally jealous of yours. Seriously though, a great company with a great product.

EB said...

The fitting option on the website is pretty awesome. Glad to hear they work so well for you!

Kyle said...

Wore my Fits today! Glad you're enjoying your pair :)