Saucony Kinvara 6 - My Racing Shoe in 2016

After 3 full years (2013 - 2015) of wearing Skechers Performance Shoes (Skechers GOrun 1, Skechers GOrun 3, and Skechers GOmeb 3) to race in 15 full marathons, and  8 shorter races, it's quite a challenge for me to switch to another brand in 2016. 

  • 2013:  Skechers GOrun 1 and  GOrun 3 
four full marathons, one 25 km race, one 16.8 km race, and two 10 km races
  • 2014:  Skechers GOrun 3 
six full marathons and two half marathons
  • 2015: Skechers GOmeb Speed 3 
five full marathons, one half marathons and one 10 km triathlon event
  • 2016:  Skechers? Adidas? Saucony Kinvara? Newton? Asics? New Balance? Nike? Mizuno?





First of all, please let me share with you my love hate relationship with Skechers Performance Shoes! :)


My Love Hate Relationship with Skechers Performance Shoes

I decided to try out Skechers Performance Shoes more than 3 years ago due to its mid foot technology and upon recommendation by my Ironman cousin Chan Jun Shen who is also in the 2ndSkin Team sponsored by Skechers. 

Also, in the early days of of running, I used to encounter running injuries. Knee pain  has been a common injury and at one period I had to stop running for minimum 6 months.

Trying out Skechers's mid foot technology was also my learning journey to change from heal landing to mid foot landing to avoid any future leg injuries.

Skechers has been serving me very very very well! And I love Skechers shoes very much! 

Additionally, I have been having very unforgettable wonderful memory with Skechers.
  • Skechers GOrun 3 helped me to break Oprah Winfrey's 4:30 record at my 5th full marathon attempt in 2013 (Taipei Fubon Marathon 2013)
  • Skechers GOmeb Speed 3 helped me to dip below 4 hours (sub 4) at my 12th full marathon attempt in 2015 (Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2015
I am very grateful to Skechers helping me to improve in my running and preventing injuries. In fact, I am still wearing my Skechers performances shoes to train these days. 

But when the wear and tear comes, and when I need to start looking to buy new pair of Skechers GOrun or Skechers GOmeb Speed shoes, that's where by big headache begins! 

I can't find my shoe size US 9.5! 

In fact, I bought all my Skechers shoes in either Taiwan or Hong Kong due to no US 9.5 shoe size available in Malaysia. My first pair was a US size 9.0 which I bought in KL. But it caused bruised toes. So I bought half size bigger ever since, which means I needed to buy from overseas.

And strangely enough, this is THE ONLY REASON ( no US 9.5 shoe size in Malaysia) why I had no choice but to look out for other brands!

There you go - my only "hate" relationship with Skechers! They don't carry my shoe size in Malaysia! So sad!!

Since I have this boring personality of sticking to something working without wanting to change to something else, this has somehow forced me to look out for other brands after visiting Skechers stores countless times! 

Anyway,  when one door closes, another door opens!! 


And Why Saucony Kinvara 6? 
Saucony Kinvara 6

Because I see another mighty runner Yew Khuay who has been wearing Saucony Kinvara for years and achieving sub 4 after sub 4 after sub 4 after sub 4 after sub 4 after sub 4 after sub 4 after sub 4........... :) And I'm inspired!!

Therefore, I have decided to try out wearing Saucony Kinvara 6 in my first race this year (Twincity Cyberjaya Marathon) due to the wear and tear of my Skechers GOmeb Speed 3. (Note: I will still wear my old Skechers shoes for my training.... still love them... ha!ha!)

So far, I have also raced in 2 full marathons with Saucony Kinvara 6 (Twincity Cyberjaya Marathon and Kaohsiung Mizuno International Marathon in Taiwan). And both times I have had good wonderful experiences too. In fact, I have also achieved personal best times. 

In October last year, I wrote a shoe review comparing my newly bought Saucony Kinvara 6 with Skechers GOmeb Speed 3.

If you are interested to see my earlier post on Saucony Kinvara 6 & Skechers GOmeb Speed 3 shoe comparison, you can read it by clicking here. 

This time around, I am just going to write down my additional own experiences with Saucony Kinvara 6 after 2 full marathon races and why I 


3 key reasons why I will continue to wear Saucony Kinvara 6 to race for the rest of 2016

Reason #1 
Cushioning with "massage" feel & promote faster recovery

Initially I didn't like the "cushioning" of Kinvara Saucony 6 because I'm so used to the "barefoot" running feeling already. Besides, Saucony Kinvara 6 is slightly heavier than Skechers GOmeb Speed 3.

But after wearing it for sometime, especially in marathon distances, the cushioning has become quite comfortable for the battered feet! :) And it didn't feel heavy too!!

My feet felt as if there is someone massaging it during running!! :)

And after the 2 recent full marathons, I felt that my recovery time was shorter and faster! Amazing! I have never felt like this before after any marathons - less pain and faster recovery! Anyway, I am not sure if my feeling is correct. I will test out this "theory" in future marathon races again. :)



Reason #2 
Wider toe box minimizing bruised toes


I was pleasantly surprised that after running 2 full marathons in Saucony Kinvara 6, I didn't even have any signs of toe pain, black or bruised toes. I was so happy! 

I believe it's due to the wider toe box of Saucony Kinvara 6. I'm grateful for it!

Reason #3
Bouncy Feeling with Push Factor & Energy Return

Foam material used by Saucony Kinvara 6 provides continuous cushioning and boasts around 60+% energy return that adds  likely underfoot feeling.

When I run, I could feel the bounciness of the shoes. 

And the design at the underfoot is excellent providing a "grip" like feel at the toes. 

This means when I want to run forward, Saucony Kinvara provides SOLID BOUNCE AFTER LANDING,   GOOD "GRIP" WITH MY TOES TO "PUSH" ME FORWARD, and  or course, the ENERGY RETURN effect

The whole running experience has given me the feeling that I can RUN WITH LESS EFFORT TO ACHIEVE SAME RESULT.

I believe Saucony Kinvara 6 promotes Efficient Running. May be that's why I feel less tired too at end of last 2 marathons.



In Summary

I only mentioned about all the GOOD. How about the UGLY?

Well, there is only one. 

The only setback I have found so far - my shoe could get a bit wet after 42 km. May be it's due to the cushioning material. 

But there are more advantages vs the little "wetness" end of race.

My decision?

Yes, yes yes! I will still continue to wear Saucony Kinvara 6 to run races for the rest of the race season in 2016. :)

And Of course, for training, I will still wear my "worn-out" Skechers performance shoes until one day they are no longer suitable even for training. 


For previous shoe reviews, you can click here.

Written on 12 March, 2016.