I was very lucky to have a pair of Saucony ProGrid Guide 7’s sent to me from Saucony to try out. I was very successful in the Guide 6′s so I was excited to try the 7’s. I had bought the Triumph 11’s and ran in them for a short period of time so this review is a little bit of a comparison.
Like I said in my previous review of the 6’s I was very happy with what the Guide shoe had to offer. When I went to the local running store to get a new pair of shoes I thought it was an opportunity to try something new. You never know what magic shoe might be out there. I tried the Triumph and the Cortana (Saucony shoes work for me so that is where I started). I felt like the Cortana was a little too minimalist for me. My foot felt like it was working too hard to land properly. It was a very fast light shoe but I have found that I do better in a stability shoe. I liked the Triumph because it felt like a very well constructed shoe that had stability characteristics but was helping me work towards a more natural/less assisted run. I took home the Triumph and ran in then for about a month. I had two small issues. First the height of the shoe on the inside of my ankle felt too low so my ankles got tired easily. Second, the combination of a more flexible upper and the super cool stretchy laces made finding the right tension/tightness difficult.
Guide 7 on left, Triumph 11 on right
Now, there was nothing wrong with these shoes. I really like them other than the fact that they weren’t the right shoes for my feet and running style. Luckily, Saucony sent me the right pair, the Guide 7s.
Once I got into the Guide 7’s I had a better understanding of what my foot need and that is what Saucony calls a guidance shoe. When I ran I could feel the shoe guiding my foot to the proper placement (more midfoot than heel strike) when it landed and supporting it through the whole motion. It had just a touch more stability of the Triumph, and I needed that. It also supported me better in my ankle and immediately I could feel the difference.
Here is the description from the Saucony website,
“The Guide 7 is the ultimate training partner, providing stability with flexibility in a lightweight package. PowerGrid provides responsive cushioning from heel to toe. A fully decoupled SRC crashpad minimizes impact, and the redesigned medial support system creates a smooth transition to midfoot. A flared forefoot design adds support during toe-off allowing the runner to spring forward efficiently and powerfully. Added flex grooves ensure the shoe moves with the runner with comfort and responsiveness. All hail Guide 7! Weight: 8.6oz./244 g (Size 8)”
In my opinion, the Guide 7 is more of a classic running shoe. Less frills for simple straight forward running. The upper is made of a couple different materials so that keeps the shoe from being too stretchy. It maintains it’s form well and encases my foot without being too tight or loosing up as I run. Like the name implies and I said before, it guides my to a proper midfoot landing and an efficient take off as well. It is the shoe my running and my feet needed.
The Guide 7 sounds like a shoe I need to try. I’ve always liked Saucony. I have issues with shin splints because I tend to over pronate, so I’m not sure if the Guide 7’s would be good or not, but it couldn’t hurt trying I guess. Just curious though…how do you get Saucony to send you shoes to try out? I wanna do that!