This is the word on the street, still waiting official announcement, but Kara will be joining Meb as the new face of Skechers' ProSpeed line of running shoes.
Skechers is becoming a big player in this game and is making a big push to try to gain market share in the lucrative high end running shoe business.
That contract Meb signed must have been for BIG $.
I wondered how long it would take for this rumor to start.
If this actually happens, I will never doubt again, no matter how stupid the rumour sounds.
Just one day wrote:
I wondered how long it would take for this rumor to start.
I was thinking the same thing. What also seams to be strange is how many good reviews those GoRuns are getting by competitor.com and the rest of the publications...They seam to be making a huge push for a portion of the running market share, and it's going to take a Meb/Kara team for anyone to take them seriously.
Yeah, doesn't seem possible with those weak-ass numbers. WTH? I thought they just made crappy, cheap shoes.
Its what we call 'working it" for possible ad revenues.
The shoe may be good or bad , they ( publications ) are not going hammer a shoe to hurt a new possible revenue stream.
Pete Larsen, of runblogger (who writes nicely unbiased reviews) actually liked them as well (with some reservations).
This thread may not be a joke after all. The Skechers people have been emailing us a lot recently as Meb's race last week was his first in their shoes. I saw this thread and reached out to their PR person and asked if it was true that Kara Goucher had signed with Skechers.Their denial made me think it might actually be true as it said:
Skechers' PR wrote:
We can't reveal plans for new endorsements until they are 100% signed, but I’ll definitely keep you posted on SKECHERS news!
If there was no negotiation going on, wouldn't you just deny it totally?
That denial to me would be consistent with Goucher having agreed in principal to a deal, told Alberto and is now working out the final details of the contract.
Either that or the Skechers people are brilliant and smart enough to ride the free publicity while it lasts.
But I'm leaning towards the first option.
Oh my God...
I just committed to believing every rumour that gets posted on Let's Run.
yes you did. i read it.
you heard it here first, common believes this.
I actually heard that she signed with pay less shoes and will wear their new speed heel that is designed for women to race in AND wear with a nice skirt after the race.
So sketchy Skechers might be planning an ad campaign to have Brooke Burke and Kara Goucher mud wrestle in their Skechers?
The timing of the environment change only makes sense if there was a contract issue. Even if they hated Portland, you would figure they would wait until after the OT. I'm guessing that Nike decided to cut Kara's contract significantly, and the Gouchers decided to jump. Either that or somebody like Sketchers offered them a lot of money to jump.
If the Gouchers left Nike, they would have to leave Salazar.
If this is true, I bet that she only took the deal to help tone her butt. I heard those Shape-Ups work wonders!
With free shipping maybe we should all order a pair and give 'em a try!
http://www.skechers.com/info/go-run
Seriously though, they only have 3 lame testimonials on the website... and Meb's quote is about a 10 mile tempo.
I can see it would be worth it to them to pay big $$ to get "all American girl next door type" recommending them.
Just hope she doesn't get injured trying out an unproven shoe.
Meh, it's just shoes. Your body will adjust.
That denial to me would be consistent with Goucher having agreed in principal to a deal, told Alberto and is now working out the final details of the contract. [/quote]
Um, PRINCIPLE?
Kara will sign with Skechers. It is a better situation for all involved. Nike did not want to increase her contract and Skechers was willing to pay big bucks for someone on the down slope of their career. Kara and Meb are big names to Skechers and will help their marketing but not so much to Nike. Nike will use they money they saved from Meb and Kara to sign more up and coming runners that reach their target market better(high school kids). As far as Kara goes, she gets the pay day she wants which will help their real estate situation, they can move back to Colorado to be closer to family(important for the kid), and now has more freedom to train when, where, and how she wants to.