Brooks Glycerin 9 Running Shoes Reviewed
Before answering this questions, it is worth taking a moment to look at what the Brooks Glycerin line is targeted at. The Glycerin series is a neutral trainer. It is designed to support runners without specific form or stride issues. You will not find the extra arch support and pronation correction of the Brooks Beast. The focus with the Glycerin is on providing a plush, comfortable platform for high-millage runners without specific foot or form issues.
Just like the Glycerin 8, the Glycerin 9's main claim to fame is the Books DNA '" a cushioning material designed to respond with varying degrees of resistance depending on the force applied by the each foot fall. In the past, many runner reviews have commented that the DNA material grows more comfortable after several miles of running and is more suited to longer runners.
With the Glycerin 9, Brooks has extended the use of the DNA material to the full length of the mid-sole. The other major change in this version is to the tread of the shoe, Brooks has added what they call Omega grooves in the sole to make shoe more flexible. Don't expect to see anything like the dramatic grooves of the Nike free or similar minimalist trainers. As shown in the comparison photo, the change to the sole in this iteration is small.
Not surprisingly, these small tweaks have not made a huge difference in the overall feel of this generation compared to the Glycerin 8. The additional DNA material has little effect on the comfort level. The Omega grooves do make for slightly more flexible feel, but the core platform, arch support, and shaping remain the same as previous generations.
This however, is not a bad thing. The Glycerin 8 was a Runner's World Editors choice in their category and have been well received by runners. In forum reviews and the author's personal experience, the most common complaint with the Glycerin line is that they tend to wear more quickly than comparable trainers in other brands. The additional DNA material may help to resolve this, but it's to early to tell with any certainty. Runners who are happy with Glycerin will find this a painless transition when the 8th generation falls out fashion and becomes hard to find, but there is no compelling reason to upgrade and no "killer feature" for those looking to change from an existing trainer.
The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content.
Published by David Hamilton
David Hamilton is professional and amateur runner. He has been working in the technical industry fro nearly a decade. View profile
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