I was fortunate enough to win the Brooks credit through this year’s Team Running Free Lottery. I’ve run in Brooks Glycerin before, and did enjoy them, but, have typically stuck with Hoka and Topo in the past, as the lower drop works well for me. While scrolling through Running Free’s website, I was super excited to see that Brooks now has a few lower drop options available. In the past, I found that most Brooks shoes were 10+mm in the drop department. But, they now have several options in the <10mm range!
Glycerin Max comes in at 6mm and 10.5 ounces
Ghost Max is at 6mm and 10.8 ounces
Hyperion 2 at 8mm and 7.1 ounces
Hyperion Max 2 at 6mm and 9.1 ounces
I tried on the Ghost Max, Hyperion, and Hyperion Max 2 in store, and decided to go with the Hyperion Max 2. While in the store, they felt great on my feet. Perfect fit for me (true to size), felt like good padding in all of the right spots, without any unnecessary padding / weight. And of course…it’s a beautiful looking shoe (in my honest opinion).
Sadly, I’ve been dealing with a knee issue for a lot of this season. So, I’ve had to cut back on my running quite a bit. But, I did finally get a chance to test these out recently, and WOW! So nice. They felt light on the feet (definitely felt lighter than 9.1 ounces), and quite snappy, despite being a max cushion shoe. I’m sure that the speedvault plate helps with the snappy feel. I’ve run in several CF plated shoes, and it’s not the same feel as those, but, it definitely did feel like it helped keep a quick cadence / smooth transition. The shoes are very breathable, with lots of mesh, and minimal overlays. I did not find any hot-spots, or any discomfort at all. Even when breaking them in. They honestly felt great, right out of the box. The shoe looks a bit narrow (compared to a lot of Hokas), so, I wondered if they would feel unstable. But, they did not at all. I never felt like I was at risk of rolling, or mis-stepping. Again, the speedvault plate might help in this department as well.
I would say this is a really solid option for Tempo runs, or race day up to Marathon distance. They might even be fine for longer distances than that. But, personally I wouldn’t choose any plated shoe for Ultra distances (just my own preference). Overall I am really enjoying this shoe a lot. Again, I can’t say how happy I am that Brooks is getting into the lower drop market. I will for sure be buying more Brooks shoes in the future!
