Man this forum really sleeps on Brooks. Between their Hyperion line and the very affordable Launch 11, they are my making the best shows for me these days.
Hi -- for years, my everyday shoe was the Brooks Launch (I had at least one pair of every iteration from 4-10), and I liked the Hyperion Tempo as my race shoe.
The Tempo has been discontinued, and I hate the Brooks Launch 11s. The toe box seems narrow, and while they were fine for shorter runs, the first time I took them over 20 miles, I ended up with a black toenail. :( Also, the heel is wearing down quicker than previous iterations.
After the bad experience with the 11s, I haven't tried the 12s.
In the past, I've tried the Brooks Ghost, but those felt huge on my feet. I didn't care much for them either, but they didn't hurt. My trail runner is currently the Brooks Cascadia 16, which I love.
Any suggestions? I've had good luck with Brooks in the past, but I'm willing to try other brands.
Usage: Training for marathon+ (first 50k approaching), mostly on road and treadmill
Feet: My feet are wider, and I think I have a normal foot strike. I have struggled with plantar fasciitis in the past, and got a stress fracture in my right foot last year (although I believe this was due to a hiking incident, not running).
Feel: I \*think\* I like a firmer shoe, but I'm open to suggestions.
Budget: Any
I've typically run in Brooks Ghost in the past and some Adrenaline GTS. Recently moved over to a new pair of Launch 11's since my previous shoes were fairly worn and more or less transitioned to my daily work shoes. It's only been a handful of short easy runs so far but I've been satisfied with the Launch so far, so I'll throw in a second recommend for those as well! I also hate the blocky, obnoxious clunky trend of so many of the new shoes today.
I also got back into running recently and find sooooo many shoes have just too much squish. I have the brooks launch 11, definitely more squish than my old shoes but I really like them
I really really like Brooks. They would be my #1 pick BUT they're so expensive. They're priced at a premium. They seldom go on discounts, and if they do, it's for years old stock to clear space for newer models. They're so niche/aloof/different, and they don't seem to care (it's like a vibe). New balance is not that different. Both suck at selling (I really like NB too).
Asics, Nike is different. They're priced competitively and often go on discounts. It's almost as if they did a market survey and know how to sell well. Very approachable (vibe).
Most runners (that I commonly see) wear Asics, Nike, adidas. These 3 big brands. Very few wear outside of these brands, yes there are those wearing brooks, NB, puma, Saucony, salomon etc.
Personally, I always "feel" like I'm getting better value with Nike and Asics. Yes, this might not apply to where you're at. When you say affordable launch11, I'd compare it to Nike and Asics, and their comparable models would be even more affordable or their higher models easily found on discounts. And brooks would seem like "we don't care, we know what we've got, only serious runners need apply" vibe.
Just how I feel. I love their shoes though (bought them when on rare discounts).
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SUPERBLAST 2
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Marathon workhorse, but loud and clunky at slow paces.
andrewparker915
