Actually, I quite liked them but for the pice tag and the tongue. If they were a bit cheaper, they'd be a good trainer before switching to something more expensive (like Inov-8 or Salomon) for a race. Similarly I liked the Inov-8 Evoskin for the whole barefoot experience. So while there are more dominant brands already in both niches, that doesn't mean that people won't buy them or even prefer them for some features.
the nike red rocks 11 would fall into this category - very popular trail shoe apparently
Coniv-8 not knowingly evidenced to improve performance