Brooks Womens’ Cascadia 10 Trail Running shoe- tested and Reviewed

I love to run both on the road and trail in a moderately cushioned, neutral shoe. I am an experienced runner, have tried lots of shoes, and know what I like. Long story short if you don’t want to read any further- I like the Brooks Cascadia 10s.

After doing my road racing training in Brooks Launch 3’s this year, I decided to switch over from my normal trail shoes to the Brooks Cascadia 10 trail running shoes to see if they were comparable in support and comfort. These shoes have been recommended to me from friends and I was eager to test them out. I love to run trails whenever I can, and I am not a minimalist runner. I like stability in my trail shoes, aggressive treads and cushioning.

I have since put in over 150km on the trails and can say I really like these shoes. At first I felt like my arches had less support (I have a medium to high arch), but have since adapted to the feel of the shoe and have no complaints. This is a really sturdy shoe with a rigid sole. It handled well and gave good traction on everything from rock, hard-packed dirt, to roots on the trail. I wore this shoe on everything from short trail runs on hard-packed gravel, to long, challenging trails runs. The longest run I did in this shoe was a half-marathon trail race. This is a trail running shoe and not meant for road running due to its aggressive tread and sturdy sole. I found there was a good amount of cushioning, and as predominately a heel striker when I run, I appreciated the BioMoGo technology Brooks uses to adapt the shoe to your stride. The shoe is best for someone with a neutral stride, with medium arches. I found the shoe fit snug on my heel and I had enough room in the toe-box. The upper mesh helped the shoes dry out on wet runs and in wet conditions. The drop from heel to toe is 10mm, which is pretty standard (ie I didn’t really notice it, it felt natural). I found this shoe fit true to size.

I did notice that this version of the shoe is no longer available; Brooks is now on to the Cascadia 11. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I bought these shoes while on sale. Not very helpful now, for you dear reader! My bad. While I can’t speak from experience, I read that the change to the new model is a redesigned forefoot for improved durability. I don’t think this would change the fit of the shoe, however. I would be interested in continuing to run in this model, and look forward to testing the newest version.

Do you run in the Brooks Cascadia? What do you think of the shoe?