@skorarunning FIT: The 900 mile exit interview

I recently had to retire my first pair of Skora FITs. At just over 900 miles, they finally suffered a failure that compromised the “structural integrity” of the shoe. Yes, that’s right, shoes wear out. But at 900 miles, I feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of a pair, don’t you? (Disclaimer, the shoes I’m talking about were advance samples provided to me free of charge to review, so more accurately I should say I feel like I’ve gotten the manufacturer’s suggested retail price out of them). The big running shoe companies all tell you to abandon your shoes at 6 months or 300-500 miles. That recommendation is primarily based on the compression of the thick wedge of EVA foam they use to cushion the shoe. In shoes with minimal (IMO, adequate) cushioning, you can pretty much wear the things until you actually perceive a failure – not based on a guess.

My FITs had a job to do for me as a runner: provide as little interference as possible, while ensuring comfort and control during my marathon road training and racing. My full-blown review of this shoe can be found here. Let’s talk to the FIT on the way out the door:

Tad: Did the job match your expectations?

FIT: Definitely. Your marathon training and racing are what I’m made for.

Tad: Do you think you met my expectations?

FIT: Yes, I’d say so. I can tell you’re a minimalist runner who strikes the ground naturally with the mid-foot, which meshes well with my zero-drop design. I put in 900 miles, giving you lightweight cushioning and staying out of your way. That’s pretty much what you asked me to do when I started. I thought we worked well together – also, you didn’t usually run me on consecutive days, which I think contributed to my longevity.

Tad: Did you feel like the work you were doing aligned with your personal goals and interests?

FIT: Yes, I’m an all-purpose training shoe, built for a wide variety of surfaces and light enough to race in. Like Frank Shorter says, running fast is more fun than running slow!

Tad: Did you have the tools and resources you needed to effectively do your job?

FIT: You bet, I brought all that with me. Here’s my resume.

Tad: Describe the workplace environment.

FIT: Almost all outdoors, pavement and concrete, I saw all four seasons. Thanks for taking me to the track occasionally!

Tad: What do you feel good about accomplishing in your job and in your time here?

FIT: I was thrilled when you asked me to run the Boston Marathon with you after a few weeks of training. I appreciated the confidence you expressed in me at that distance and I know how much the race meant to you. Other than that, we put in a lot of training miles together. As you know, there’s just no substitute for wearing out the rubber:

Tad: What factors contributed to your decision to retire?

FIT: Well, as you know, the place where the airmesh upper connects to the sole separated:

That was on my right. If I say so myself, there wasn’t an identical failure point on the same outside face of my left – in fact there wasn’t even one developing. However, there was an area developing on the inside of my left:

This is basically what I looked like on the right side for several hundred miles before the hole appeared. I don’t feel like this compromised my function at all up until the very end, which is why I decided to hang it up.

Tad: What are your future plans?

FIT: Well, I’d like you to re-use my insoles in your FORMs. They’re a little bit thicker than the stock FORM insole, so you might like a bit more cushioning on occasion: