What could possibly be more exciting than chatting about shoes?! And if you know me, you know that I am serious. Rarely do I find anything as fascinating as I do shoes! (Imelda and I are BFF’s. For reals.)
Anyway…moving on. I was fortunate enough to be asked to meet up yesterday with Alena and Kevin, a local Denver rep and a marketing rep for Reebok. They took some time out of their afternoon to meet me at a local Sports Authority so that we could chat about their running shoe line.
Kevin and Alena. Oh, and Peyton Manning.
You see, I’ve been wicked curious about companies like Reebok that are quietly moving into the running scene. Obviously, Reebok isn’t like Brooks or Saucony in that it doesn’t primarily make shoes for running; in fact, it is a smaller area of their reach. However, I do appreciate that Reebok is trying to establish a price point that appeals to the consumer who may not have a million zillion dollars to spend on running shoes. I mean, these prices are pretty reasonable, yes?
Awhile back, Reebok was kind enough to send me a pair of the SmoothFlex running shoes. If y’all follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen my “traveling gnome” pics of my shoes!
Get it? My SmoothFlex are like the gnome that pops up everywhere!
Reebok has also been excessively patient with me and big feet. My feet have decided to grow ridiculously fast, and I can’t seem to figure out what my current shoe size is! I started in an 8 and when that was too snug, I bumped up to an 8.5. After trying them out this weekend at the Denver Oyster and found them to still be snug, Alena offered to send me a size 9. Big foot over here!
Because of my excessive foot growth and the bizarre behavior of my ridiculous left knee, I still have yet to go for a legit training run in the SmoothFlex. However, I did all of my running at the Oyster in them, and aside from the tight fit, I found them to be pretty darn comfy.
The bottom of the shoe has 34 of those little nodes that provide increased ground contact while the big grooves allow the shoe to be wicked flexible. Wanna see?
Additionally, the upper of the shoe is made of a breathable mesh that I actually really like. I can attest to the fact that it dries quickly! I wore these stand up paddle boarding during the Oyster, and being as graceful as I am, I fell in the lake near the beginning. My shoes had almost completely dried within 30 minutes which was key. Wet feet = no bueno.
The heel-to-toe drop is substantially more than I am used to at 11mm. However, this is fairly standard for regular running shoes and is probably ideal for athletes who don’t want to go the minimalist route. The heel cushioning is also fairly normal, and provides a good chunk of protection for all of us (!) who are heel strikers.
Jordin Sparks wasn’t there yesterday. Darn.
Would I want to use the SmoothFlex as my go-to marathon training shoes and run 10, 12, and 17 milers in them? Nope, I’ll probably be sticking with my Brooks Pure Cadence. However, I don’t think they’re intended for that purpose. If you’re a recreational runner who likes to throw in a bit of jogging with all of your other athletic endeavors, I think these shoes would be a great choice. Plus, at $79.99, I definitely think they would be worth a shot!
I was provided with these shoes from Reebok via a FitFluential campaign. All the other opinions are all me!
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Do you have a go-to cross training shoe? What is it?
This one is just for me….anyone else as obsessed with neon colors in shoes as I am? Did you SEE those orange laces?!
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