THE BROOKS BLOG

Silvia Ruegger, Canadian women’s marathon record holder and eighth-place finisher in the 1984 Women’s Olympic Marathon, talks about how footwear needs can change over time and how shoe technologies have affected her running.

>>Read Sylvia’s full statement here.

Sports medicine doctors will tell you that foot structure takes place up until the age of eight, so later in life we can only strengthen muscles and ligaments through foot strengthening exercises. This can prevent or speed up the healing of certain injuries, or allow some individuals to change the level of support they need in a shoe, but to do this requires time and discipline to make a gradual transition to less support.

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One of the other things that we experience as we get older is issues with metatarsalgia—pain under our metatarsals. With structural changes in our arches, there is added pressure that gets placed on the metatarsal heads. Without the benefit of structure under the arch and help to alleviate the pressure underneath the metatarsal heads, many of us find it impossible to run. Similarly, as we get older, some experience a receding of the fat pads underneath the metatarsal heads. Now even the natural cushioning that was in the foot is no longer there. We are appreciative of shoes that help cushion the forefoot and help us transition.

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I began running before footwear companies were really incorporating support technologies into shoes. I overpronate quite significantly on one side, was injured for two-and-a-half years, and unable to run at all, because shoes at the time were not posted. As sports medicine footwear technologies progressed, I had an orthotic made to help my overpronation, and I chose shoes that addressed overpronation with posting and other support technologies. If I try to run in a shoe with less support, I begin to feel my old injuries again. I am very grateful for the advancements in technology that footwear companies have made. They have allowed me to run injury free.

Wow! I just read through all the comments on Jim’s recent blog post …what an amazing conversation we’re having on running. I love to see all of this passion and energy around our sport and what we care the most about at Brooks: the run.

As a career long R&D guy, this is particularly exciting to me as it gives my team more opportunity to learn, grow, and explore new methods and technologies that will ultimately allow the runner to run farther, faster, more efficiently, and healthier.

Many of you have asked about research (or lack thereof) regarding the benefits of shod vs. unshod running. One way or the other, show me the proof, right?! Well, while no one has been able to prove whether running with or without shoes causes more injury, we at Brooks have been and will continue to develop and conduct prospective and retrospective studies around running injury prevention. We’re dedicated to reducing running injury risk and have aligned ourselves with some of the top researchers and universities from around the world to help us tackle this. These types of research projects take some time, but we’re making progress and we expect to make some big strides forward this year. Be sure to stay tuned for updates and keep us posted on your thoughts, comments and suggestions!

Keep Running,

Pete

The Switch 3 for Men and Women has it all: Good looks, great price, and just the right amount of support.

Here are the updates:

• Overlays : Dialed-in wrap through the arch and a higher mudguard improve the fit and offer better arch support.
• Midsole : Grooves on the midsole sidewall enhance articulation for a natural heel-to-toe transition.
• Heel : A more assertive heel bevel provides a smooth lay down.

Who should wear the Switch 3?

This is a perfect shoe for runners who want mild support in a good-looking shoe at a great price. The Switch 3 sits in Brooks’ Guidance category, a sweet spot for runners who don’t require the full-on stability offered by shoes in our Support category, but need more support than is offered by our Neutral shoes.

Guidance category a perfect fit, but you want something cushier? Try the Ravenna for Men and Women .

January 22, 2010

An Open Letter to the Running Community ,

For many of us, running is an inseparable part of our lives—we need it. When we run, we improve our health, relieve stress, achieve personal goals, compete, raise money, and have fun. On any given weekend, check out a running event in any city across the globe and you’ll be inspired by runners spanning ages, speeds, motivations, and goals—each with their own stories. At Brooks, inspiring everyone to run and be active is our reason for being.

Given the passion felt about our sport, it’s easy to understand how everything about the run is actively studied, critiqued, debated, and questioned—including shoes. People strive to run faster, longer, healthier, more efficiently, and injury-free mile after mile, and they’ve traditionally looked to their footwear to deliver that. But many people have recently questioned whether running barefoot is better, so we feel it’s time for Brooks to join the public dialogue.

Let’s call a spade a spade. We make running shoes: High-quality, biomechanically mapped, performance running shoes calibrated for runners’ unique needs. We hope runners buy our shoes and we’re confident they’ll enjoy them. But this isn’t about selling shoes. And, quite frankly, this isn’t even about running barefoot.

So what are we talking about here? First and foremost, we’re all talking about running, and that’s a great thing because we believe to our core that running is a positive force in our world. We want everyone to run and be happy. But to get there, whether you should run barefoot is not the great debate. We are all unique. The focus should be on how you run and train, and then finding the right shoe that addresses your unique biomechanical needs. "The Perfect Ride for Every Stride," as we say at Brooks. Let’s look at a snapshot of the running population:

• At one end of the spectrum, we know there are runners who lack foot strength leading to severe pronation. They may strike heavily and need a great deal of support to run injury- and pain-free. We hear repeatedly from them that the Brooks Beast "saved their lives."

• At the other end of the spectrum are the biomechanically blessed (and/or conditioned through training) who have natural healthy gaits and enjoy great efficiency. These gazelles may wear shoes, they may not.

• The vast majority of runners (including this middle-of-the-packer !) fall in between. And for us, we strongly believe most of our mileage should be logged in a performance running shoe, not barefoot . For us, supportive, cushioned footwear is not only beneficial, it also plays an essential role in delivering a comfortable, injury-free running experience.

Elsewhere on our Web site, you’ll find a robust discussion on this topic (or you can view it as a downloadable PDF here ) from our Brooks footwear team. We also asked people we respect in the running industry to chime in with their perspectives on the barefoot running discussion. These experts include accomplished runners, coaches, researchers, doctors, and specialty running retailers, who see more runners (and their feet) each week than many of us see in a lifetime.

Join us in this conversation and be active in your decisions. We were all born to run. But the ultimate goal, of course, is to keep running for the long haul.

Run Happy,

Jim Weber
President & CEO
Brooks Sports, Inc.

We are on a roll! Runner’s World has given the new Glycerin® 8 with Brooks DNA its prestigious "Editor’s Choice" award in the Spring 2010 Shoe Guide in the March issue—on newsstands February 2, 2010.

The award was announced during the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2010 in Salt Lake City, UT, at a Brooks-sponsored industry gathering (i.e. a Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series-themed cocktail party!) on Thursday evening, January 21. Warren Greene from Runner’s World made the announcement. A giant banner was unfurled. And the cover band rocked on!

>> See the Men’s Glycerin® 8
>> See the Women’s Glycerin® 8
>> Learn more about Brooks DNA

T6 Racer (6.1 oz, Unisex): Our lightest racing flat is great for the biomechanically efficient runner. Hyperpod construction on the outsole gives this shoe maximum flexibility, while a minimal socklike upper keeps it light. Ford Ironman World Champion and new Brooks-sponsored athlete Chrissie Wellington won her third consecutive world title in Kona last year in Brooks T5s—setting a new course record in the process. Many members of the Hansons-Brooks ODP team, including Brian Sell, sport the T6 when they race. The new 2010 color (shown here) debuts 2/1.

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Green Silence (6.9 oz, Unisex): The Green Silence is our most environmentally sustainable competition shoe. Like the T6, it has flexible hyperpod construction in the forefoot and minimal overlays. A wider based aids stability. Post-consumer recycled materials, BioMoGo midsole, water-based inks, and non-toxic dyes are just part of the package we’ve put together in the Green Silence. Learn more about the Green Silence here .

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Racer ST4 (8.6 oz, Unisex): Light enough for the 5K, but sturdy enough for the marathon, the Racer ST4 is the racing flat for those seeking added support. A Diagonal Roll Bar (DRB®) in the midsole and a rigidity piece (DRB® Accel) on the underside midfoot add stability and encourage correct body alignment. The new 2010 color (shown here) debuts 2/1.

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Launch (Men’s 9.3 oz, Women’s 7.5 oz): The Launch is substantial enough to be included in our neutral training category, but minimal enough to be considered by those who want a light shoe for tempo runs and races. Compared to the other shoes in this list, the Launch offers a greater energy return enhanced by its highly resilient midsole and sockliner. The outsole provides constant ground contact and also includes blown rubber in the forefoot for added grip. The Launch has received kudos from Brooks ID members, elite runners, and was awarded "Best Debut" by Runner’s World in its Winter 2009 Shoe Guide.

>>Unisex and Men’s weights are based on a Men’s size 9. Women’s weights are based on size 7.

>>NOTE : Women ordering Unisex racing shoes should size down 1.5 sizes.

We’ve received a lot of inquiries lately about the heel-to-toe ratios and midsole heights in our racing and running shoes. The difference between a shoe’s heel and toe midsole heights is the offset, also called the heel-to-toe ratio or heel-to-toe drop. Here are the stats:

T6 Racer: heel (20mm) to toe (8mm) = 12mm offset

Racer ST4: heel (22mm) to toe (10mm) = 12mm offset

Green Silence: heel (18mm) to toe (10mm) = 8mm offset

Launch: heel (22mm) to toe (11mm) = 11mm offset

Glycerin® , Ravenna , Adrenaline™ , etc.*: heel (24mm) to toe (12mm) = 12mm offset
* and the rest of our everyday training running shoes

Going through these old photos is a lot like looking through the high school yearbook. You cringe, you laugh, you reminisce—you realize that they were right when they voted you “Most Likely to Succeed.”

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Adrenaline™ GTS 1: 1995

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Adrenaline™ GTS 2: 2000

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Adrenaline™ GTS 3: 2002

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Adrenaline™ GTS 4: 2003

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Adrenaline™ GTS 5: 2004

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Adrenaline™ GTS 6: 2006

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Adrenaline™ GTS 7: 2007

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Adrenaline™ GTS 8: 2008

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Adrenaline™ GTS 9: 2009

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Adrenaline™ GTS 10: 2010

With the recent release of the Glycerin® 8 , Brooks introduces a new cushioning system called Brooks DNA. Materials Engineer Derek Campbell lets us in on this new technology and what we can look forward to in it.

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What motivated you to reinvent the cushioning system?

Several years ago we recognized the need to make our cushioning systems more adaptable to the ever-widening range of body types and training levels of the runners who use our products. Working from the mantra "A Perfect Ride for Every Stride" we searched for technologies and designs that could improve performance and at the same time make the experience of running more enjoyable. We also wanted to find ways to embody the concept of Running Responsibly that guides our design and development. Current cushioning solutions in the running industry were too inefficient in process, materials, and assembly. We wanted to find a better way.

Brooks DNA is a "non-Newtonian liquid." What does that mean and why is it good for running shoes?

Non-Newtonian liquids are simply materials that do not have a linear relationship between stress and response. Many materials in your daily life have a linear response to stress but a surprising number don’t. Examples include ketchup, Silly Putty, quicksand, and concentrated starch solutions. Brooks DNA reacts in a non-linear way by providing a firmer structure at high stress and a more conformable one at low stress. In other words, when you are walking or don’t weigh very much you get soft comfort. When you are running you get the support you need, the proper dispersion of impact energy, and good resilience or energy return.

What kind of underfoot feel can a runner expect from DNA? When DNA responds to a foot strike, is the response firm or soft?

There are two aspects of underfoot feel that Brooks DNA enhances. As mentioned before, a shoe with Brooks DNA will feel comfortable and conformable when standing or walking. When a person begins to add more energy, such as in running, the underfoot feel will be more resilient, returning energy to you, and feel slightly firmer. Soft when you want it and responsive when you need it. We also recognize that different runners have different preferences in underfoot feel and don’t want to have to make manual corrections to get what they want. That’s where the value of a truly adaptable material comes to the fore. The second aspect is transition. This is the smooth movement of the foot between impact and propulsion. Because of the design and structure of Brooks DNA, the transition of shoes using this technology is much more efficient and comfortable.

Does Brooks DNA affect the expected lifespan of a shoe?

Brooks DNA is a highly durable material that does not affect the expected lifespan of a shoe. In fact, it much more closely matches the other materials in the shoe than other cushioning technologies.

Brooks has been making an effort to become more environmentally responsible. How does DNA contribute to that goal?

Brooks DNA was designed from its conception to meet our Design for Environment goals. It cuts the number of different materials in our cushioning system down from four to a single one. It uses less steps in the manufacturing process to make and requires less volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) to bond into our shoes. The material itself is also completely recyclable in our manufacturing process to eliminate waste.

What makes you Run Happy®, Derek?

Getting outside in clean air in a beautiful place and leaving the stress behind without having to worry about what my footwear is doing.

The Wire is our premium distance spike for the competitive athlete. We’ve pulled out all the stops for our newest track spike so this baby is nothing but GO!

Here are some of the features you can expect:

• Extremely light at only 4.8 oz.
• Sock-like upper conforms to your foot for a flexible, snug foot capture
• 5 spikes strategically placed for maximum grip with minimum weight
• Spike plate made from flexible, environmentally friendly Pebax® Rnew

>>Learn more about The Wire.