Brooks says it was No. 1 in speciality retail in Q4 and also the #1 shoe for sub-3 marathoners in Shanghai

Longtime Brooks wearer here. They deserve it. Great shoes. Quality apparel too.

RTJ sponsorship paying off.

Hyperion Elite range have been the poor cousin of racing flats in recent years. Credit to CJ and co running so well in such poor quality equipment as they really have been putting themselves at a disadvantage wearing Brooks flats. Would be curious to know how much quicker they could run in better quality racing shoes similar to former Hoka pros who switched and ran super PBs immediately afterwards.

I think this is obvious to anyone who actually runs. Soooo many Ghosts and Adrenalines out there. Comfy, solid trainers that last forever. What more can you ask for?

Thankfully now their racing shors use peba, so they're at least real supershoes now.

Anyone run sub 17 in brooks adrenaline gts?

Agree, ghosts are the shoe that beginners runners pick. Brooks does a great job with being accessible at many different outlets. Once that beginner develops, they see that brooks shoe they first started with and keep buying.

Interesting. Several times I’ve tried them on in running stores and never came close to wanting a pair.

To each their own. Every foot is different.

Weird comment. The Adrenaline isn't designed to be a 5k racing shoe. It's an everyday trainer. The Hyperion or Launch would be better for 5k road racing.

Brooks is a great case study in customer loyalty and corporate self-awareness. They know their customer, they design for that customer, and when they change a loved model for a new iteration, it's an evolutionary step - not a radical overhaul. People that run in Brooks keep coming back because of that consistency.

They are the Toyota of running shoes. Reliable, dependable, a bit boring, but they offer great value for the customer seeking these traits.

Just shows how much of an uphill climb Nike has to regain their status in the space, if they ever will. People have moved on to other brands, and they make good shoes! So why go back?

Great way of putting it. My only complaint as a long time Brooks wearer is they keep jacking up their prices. 25 years ago, I could get the Adrenaline for $85. Now it retails for $155. It's insane! Although to be fair, shoe prices have gone up across the board.

Run specialty retail is on the way out. They have expanded within a shrinking sector. That should serve them well if they can deliver to Zappos and have a good direct-to-consumer presence.

$85 in 2000 is $163 in 2025

Brooks should sponsor a mall walking influencer team called the Brooks Boomers. They can post about things that have changed they don't like and refuse to understand why.

DTC is not the most successful model for footwear. Even Nike, the footwear titan has reversed course and is redirecting focus to specialty sales in the U.S.

Nike executed DTC poorly with terrible UE.

You'll be complaining too when comparable shoes are $250, whippersnapper!

People have been predicting the death of run specialty for 20 years and it hasn't happened yet. There are literally hundreds of independent run specialty stores across the US (Fleet Feel alone has about 300). The number is down from 10 years ago, but seems to have stabilized. I suspect most of that decrease is due to the collapse of Jackrabbit.

I literally got a bone reading this. Perfectly said.