By Sean Gallimore, The Internet’s Foremost Adult Onesie Expert at WeRateOnesies.com
Physical activity is hard. Finding the energy to exercise on top of an already busy schedule is difficult for pretty much everyone. The first thing I want to do when I get home is lie on the couch, and fortunately for me, I have very few post-work responsibilities. For the majority of the time, I can plunk myself in front of the TV with no interruptions. From what I gather from friends, coworkers and my family (namely my big sister), I should cherish these pre-children times as I will have a very different lifestyle once little ones arrive in my life.
When I get to visit with my big sister and her two cubs, I get a sneak peek of parenthood, and I perform my uncle duties to the best of my ability. Uncle duties include but are not limited to: reading to the little ones at bedtime, keeping my sister up with the cool kids’ lingo, carrying tired and heavy children, beating the hard levels of Super Mario, giving airplane rides, playing hide-and-seek, tickling, getting wooed on my sister’s blog, occasionally changing diapers, lifting heavy objects or reaching things on high shelves and providing general comic relief.
As I said at the start, physical activity is hard. Finding the energy to go for a walk can be tough, but pushing a stroller or carrying a baby while walking is even harder. As an uncle, when a certain nephew decides he can’t walk anymore it is my duty to carry said nephew. I’ve been told it is considered, “bad parenting” to just leave him behind. Apparently it’s dogs that are able to navigate home safely on their own, not young children.
If I’m walking, and especially if I’m carrying small but surprisingly heavy children, I appreciate having supportive and comfortable footwear. In recent years, my go-to walking and multipurpose shoe has been the Skechers GoWalk. Yes, I said Skechers. The same Skechers that Britney Spears was rocking in the 90s. Skechers is still around and producing some amazing shoes that really agree with my feet.
I purchased the original Skechers GoWalks a few years ago, and I’ve been completely hooked on Skechers ever since. Walking in them is like walking on pillows. But better. Because you don’t look insane, because you don’t have pillows taped to your feet. GoWalks slide on easily, and you don’t have to deal with tricky laces. Luckily, the shoes actually look nice too.
The lovely people at Skechers were nice enough to send me a new pair of GoWalk 4s. This is my third pair of GoWalks after my original GoWalks and my GoWalk 2s. One might say I have a GoWalk addiction. I asked my doctor about it, and he said, “You can’t keep coming here and talking about your shoes.”
My original GoWalks logged many miles and are now retired and serve as my backup summer shoes at my in-laws’ home on the Sunshine Coast. The GoWalk 4s have joined my GoWalk 2s in my current rotation and are getting heavy use. Any time I’m out for a walk or pretty much any time I don’t require dress shoes, GoWalks are on my feet. I love that I don’t need to wear socks with them and that I can toss them in with the laundry if they get dirty. They’re amazing for my usual childless routine, and they are up to the challenge when I’m performing any uncle duties. I absolutely love them, and I will definitely be rocking future iterations of the Skechers GoWalks when I’m trucking around cubs of my own.
Despite my affinity for sitting, I manage to stay relatively active. I’ve run a marathon, three half-marathons and three Tough Mudders (fun fact: there was a wheelchair rickshaw involved in 2013 and 2014). I’ve run in different types of shoes from heavily cushioned (for recovery runs during marathon training) to more lightweight, minimalist style shoes in recent years. I’ve worn Brooks, Nike, Adidas and Asics. I had never found a shoe I was completely satisfied with—until now.
Usually, when my runners are at the end of their life, I look for something different. Luckily for me, Skechers has started producing high-performance running shoes. At first I was very skeptical. Could Skechers make a running shoe for serious runners? I found out quickly that Skechers running shoes are being very well-received by running shoe experts. Just check out the reviews for the Skechers GoRun 4s and Skechers GoRun 5s. Meb Keflezighi won the 2014 Boston Marathon wearing a pair of Skechers GoMeb Speed 3s, so Skechers isn’t messing around with their performance runners. Amazing athletes are doing amazing things in Skechers runners.
I now own both GoRun 4s and GoRun 5s thanks to the lovely people at Skechers. I won’t pretend that I’m capable of writing a better review than the experts at Running Shoes Guru. Please check out their website for a thorough and expert review of all types of runners.
I will say, these GoRun 5s are the most comfortable runners I’ve had the pleasure of running in. I’ve been using the GoRun 4s since June 2016. I bought them as a reward for myself after the 2016 BMO Half Marathon. On average, I run three times a week for about 5–8 km when I’m not in race training. If I’m ramping up for a half marathon, I’ll run four to five times a week and up to about 20 km when it’s getting close to race day. An issue I’ve had with lightweight shoes in the past is that they don’t last long. They’re light because there isn’t much material there and they break down quickly. The Skechers GoRuns are not only light, but they have proven to be very durable.
I’ve been running in my new pair for a few weeks now, and I am thrilled with how they feel. For my foot shape and running style they are perfect. They felt great right away—no need for any “breaking in.”
These shoes will be perfect for another, more physically demanding uncle duty that I’ve been known to perform: taking Cub out for a run in the stroller so he can fall asleep. With my big sister expecting twins next year, I’ll need to keep training in my GoRuns so I am up for the task of taking two cubs out for a ride at once!
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