Hello Brooks Running Shoes

I’ll never forget a phrase I heard when I started marathon training last year: “Don't be tied to a brand.” I heard this during a shoe clinic Team in Training provided for participants during my first season with them. At the time, I was quite new to the sport and Nike was the only brand I’d ever known.

Truth be told, I have been a very loyal Nike fan for many years and scoffed at the idea of mismatching my gear. As I got further into my training, I started to become more exposed to different brands and suddenly realized why we advised not to stick to just one. What I found was that not one brand fit my every need. While I preferred to stick to one brand when putting on an outfit, I found that I just felt more comfortable in one brand for different things. I like the way Nike pants feel on me, Champion shorts give my legs the right amount of coverage, Brooks Running shirts are more flattering on me than other brands, and to this day have found that I run my best races sticking to my black Nike hat. As much as I hated wearing all sorts of different logos at one, it’s just something I had to learn to understand.

I’ve slowly started to open myself to trying different labels. In a previous post I talked about how much I love Brooks reflective gear. It’s light; it’s stylish and just seems to have more reflective selections than other brands. So I decided I would give their shoes a try. Hello Glycerin 8 DNA’s, you make me feel like I am walking on a patch of puffy clouds on beautiful spring day. Yes, I just compared my new Brooks shoes to walking on a patch of puffy clouds. They feel fantastic.

Brooks Glycerin 8 Women's Shoe

The shoe features Brooks custom cushioning called DNA which changes with your individual stride. The pad in the shoe responds to the amount of force you put on it delivering a specific amount of cushioning based on your step, weight, pace, and environment.

I figured I would break them in on our last team run before the LA Marathon. They felt fantastic! I have flat feet and sometimes feel too much support when I buy anything labeled "motion control" or "stability" however, this shoe has just the right amount for me even though they're listed under the "neutral" section.  I wore them with my Nike pants…yes, perhaps a fashion faux pas but it's marathon training not fashion where you sacrifice comfort just to look good.


What are your thoughts on wearing different brands during a run? Do you mismatch for comfort?

(Don't forget to check out the Brooks outfit giveaway)