I recently ran the Hartford Marathon (my third marathon ever and first this year) in these K-Swiss Tubes 100. I was stupid and barely trained for it. Just couldn’t find the motivation. The two weeks previous to the marathon I didn’t run a single mile. Within the 6 months prior I only ran two 13.1 milers, one 4.5 miler and a few hills. No, I’m not joking. Yes I was that stupid. I did do about 300 miles on my road bicycle including a 100 mile bike race, so that helped I guess.

I ran my first 2 marathons in my Mizuno Wave Rider 13s (recommended to me by marathon sports) and loved them!! I was torn between running in those vs. my new K-Swiss Tubes. The K-Swiss Tubes are slightly heavier than my Mizunos. The Mizunos are faster, have GREAT cushion, and fit BEAUTIFULLY, don’t get me wrong. Though heavier, I think the K-Swiss cushioning is better at injury prevention.

Come race day I decided I would “go out in style” and wear my stylish K-Swiss instead of my Mizunos (which I love to death, ran my first two marathons in, and still feel are quite stylish). I planned on running as far as I could tolerate and then alternating walking, running and stretching. At the 17 mile mark (4 more miles than I had done in the previous 11 months and 17 more miles than I had done in previous 2 weeks) I felt too sore to keep running consistently and started my walking, running, and stretching. Once I finished my shins were a bit tender and my left knee hurt a bit, but much less than I expected. Knee pain was mostly gone next day. I feel that these injuries would’ve been much worse if I wore my Mizunos, because my body wasn’t prepared for the impact/strain. I’m glad I chose to run it in the K-Swiss.

In terms of Durability, after having run a total of 40-45 miles on pavement in them, the shoes show almost no signs of wear. I’m impressed!

The Tubes 100 are definitely no minimalist shoe. I’m giving POSE running a shot and ready to start in some light shoes with almost no cushioning (as recommended by Dr. Romanov). I’m planning on getting the Saucony Originals Bullet very soon and the Mizuno Wave Universe 4 when I can afford. Because I’m switching to a minimalist style, I’m retiring these shoes from running but will enjoy them for fashion and at the gym.

For those injury prone runners who land heel first, I would hands down recommend these shoes over any I’ve tried in the past. For those running their first marathon heel first, I would definitely recommend using the tubes 100. Perhaps 3-4 weeks prior to the race, start working these shoes into your proper training routine. Again, they’re great for protecting against impact and cushion is very substantial and elastic (bounce back)… but not the fastest or lightest shoes.

I love them so much as they’e very comfortable and they look so good. Strangers on the street walk up to me and ask me where I got them. That’s never happened before with Nike, Adidas or Reebok. I guess the fact that you won’t see 8 out of 10 people wearing these shoes make them much more attractive.