Skechers GoRun Ride 5
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| Skechers GoRun Ride 5 Photo Credit: Skechers.com |
The Skechers GoRun 5 is a Neutral daily trainer. Men’s 9 weighs in at 8.4 oz/238grams, 6.7oz/190grams for a women’s 7. Retail $95. The shoe includes a removable sock liner. I mostly left the sock liner in as it made the ride a little more comfortable. The offset is 4mm without the liner, about 6mm with it in. Stack heights per Running Warehouse are 27mm at the heel and 23mm at the forefoot with sock liner in. 20mm at the heel and 16 at the forefoot with it removed.
I’m a big fan of the Skechers GoRun 4 and the GoRun Road Ultra. I have not run in previous versions of the Ride. They are both shoes that work really well for me for very different reasons. I was hoping that the GoRun Ride 5 would sit right in the middle of those two shoes and bring the best of two worlds together. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite hit that mark. First run in them they felt really stiff, and though they’ve loosened up over a few runs, they haven’t really grown on me.
Upper and Fit
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| Skechers GoRun Ride 5 Photo Credit: Peter Stuart |
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| Skechers GoRun Ride 5 Photo Credit: Peter Stuart |
Midsole and Outsole
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| Skechers GoRun Ride 5 Photo Credit: Peter Stuart |
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| Skechers GoRun Ride 5 Photo Credit: Peter Stuart |
The sole of the shoe is similar to both the GoRun 4 and the GoRun Ultra Road in that there are a bunch of circular dots of exposed EVA and a few of those dots have a harder, more durable rubber on them. One really good addition is the more durable rubber on a section just under the ball of the foot. It’s the section that wears down most quickly for me on the GoRun 4, and it’s nice that it’s more protected here. The shoe also feature the “M-Strike Technology”, promoting a mid foot strike. There are three harder rubber sections on either side of the bottom of the mid-foot.
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| Skechers GoRun Ride 5 Photo Credit: Peter Stuart |
The GoRun Ride 5 looks more like a beefed up version of the GoRun 4 than the next step in Go Run Ride.
Ride
The GoRun Ride 5 started off surprisingly stiff. It has worn in a bit, but is still a stiffer shoe than I would like. What I love about the GoRun 4 is that it is pretty minimal, but feels soft on the road and is pretty forgiving. The Ride 5 feels stiffer, firmer and ultimately less forgiving. I found it less enjoyable the longer run I did in it. Strangely, I went out for 15 miles one week in the Ride 5 and 19 the next week in the heavier and ostensibly stiffer Go Run Ultra Road and enjoyed the Ultra Road more. The Ultra road rolls better through the transition for me and has a lot of rebound off the road. The Ride 5 just doesn’t give as much energy return. That said, if the GoRun series has been a shoe you liked but feels like not quite enough shoe, I think the Ride might be really good for you. It’s a nice shoe, very neutral and rides fine, I just don’t find it too exciting. I also wonder if it might suit a slightly heavier runner than me.
Comparisons
GoRun Ride 5 vs. GoRun 4 and GoRun Ultra Road
While it would seem that the Ride would fit smoothly in the middle of these two and be just a little more shoe than the GoRun and a little less than the Ultra Road (which, IMO, would make it a terrific swiss army knife)—it’s not. It’s a little stiffer and firmer on the road than the GoRun 4 and it’s not nearly as cushy as the Ultra. Having those two other shoes in my rotation means I never really want to grab the Ride 5.
GoRun Ride 5 vs. New Balance Zante
The Ride is heavier and firmer than the Zante. Fit is a little more forgiving and there’s more under the forefoot on the Ride
GoRun Ride 5 vs. New Balance Vazee Pace (review)
Ride is heavier and less flexible than the Vazee. They feel kind of similar to me at slower speeds, but the Pace disappears when I speed up, while the Ride doesn’t.
Ride 5 vs. Brooks Launch 2 (review comparing Launch 2 to Launch 3)
The ride feels a bit firmer than the Launch. The Launch has a smoother transition, but they aren’t totally different shoes to me. May be the most similar of these comparisons.
Editor's Note: Peter has not run in previous versions of the Ride. We compared the GoRun Ride 3 and 4 here.
Conclusions
Ultimately the GoRun Ride 5 is right down the middle for me. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. It’s a fine shoe, and if you feel like you need a little more shoe than a GoRun, it may be perfect. The ride is polite, it’s decently snappy if you increase tempo in it and the fit is good. If I want to go fast I’ll stick with the GoRun 4, If I want to relax and plow through comfy miles I’ll go with the GoRun Ultra Road. The Ride isn’t a bad shoe by any means, it’s just not an exciting shoe for me.
Score 4.0 out of 5
-0.5 for ho hum ride
-0.5 for stiffness.
The GoRun Ride 5 was provided at no charge to Road Trail Run. The opinions herein are entirely the author's.
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Peter Stuart's Running Bio
My running career got off to a slow start…in high school I was told I ran like a race walker and was thus relegated to race walking on the track team. I got back into running about 15 years ago and then into triathlon. Triathlon really rekindled my love for running, so about two years ago I hired a coach and really focused on the half and full marathons. I broke a bad habit of putting in tons of moderately hard miles (and no easy or hard ones) and after plateauing at 3:25 (with some disastrous marathons in there), this past year I brought my marathon under 3:00 and my half under 1:25. Along the way I’ve developed a bit of a shoe problem._________________________________________________________________________________
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Men's here
Women's here
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