Brooks Glycerin 12 Review

Suggested Retail Price: $150
Weight: Men’s – 10.9 oz. / Women’s – 9.1 oz.
Running Shoe Category: Neutral
Heel to Toe Drop: 10mm

The Brooks Glycerin 12 neutral running shoe is one of the hottest shoes on the market, and there is good reason for this. Brooks has always been a player in the running shoe market, but they were just one the many options to choose from at your specialty running store. About 7 years ago, Brooks decided to put their big boy pants on and go after the running market in a big way. While marketing often leads to increased sales in the short term, product innovation is what will make your brand the super star in the long run. Today, when most people look at the wall of shoes, Brooks is often one of the first shoes people pick up.  And at the top of the neutral running shoe category for Brooks is the Brooks Glycerin. This shoe is has best in class written all over it and all that time with product innovation is starting to pay big dividends for Brooks, which is well deserved in my mind.

Brooks Glycerin 12 Running Shoe Fit

Brooks Glycerin 12 Running Shoe Upper

The Brooks Glycerin 12 is one of the most comfortable neutral and stable running shoes on the market.  The second you put this running shoe on, it feels like your feet just took a couple steps through the pearly gates. The material on the inside of the upper is silky smooth creating a little love triangle between your feet, socks and the Glycerin 12. The lacing system is traditional in relation to most running shoes, but it works, it keeps your foot snung in the shoe and in place.

Brooks Glycerin 12 Toe Box

The toe box of the Brooks Glycerin 12 is setup to fit a regular sized foot in the D width option, but if you have a very skinny or wide foot, Brooks also offers options in a B (men’s) 2A(women’s) for narrow feet and 2E(men’s) D(women’s) for wide feet.  After a number of 20+ mile training runs and a number of 5-10 milers in the Glycerin 12, I found no signs of hot spots or unusual friction between the foot and shoe.

Brooks Glycerin 12 grey vs 11

Compared to the Brooks Glycerin 11 (Review here) the upper design changes are minimal. I see a couple more ascetic looking changes, but if the 11 has worked for you in the past, you won’t really see any fit changes in the Brooks Glycerin 12. In both the Brooks Glycerin 11 and Brooks Glycerin 12, the designers use a 3D fit print overlay to keep your feet in place providing a nice clean foot strike with the ground.

Running Shoe Outsole and Midsole

Midsole

The Brooks Glycerin uses a new EVA material which Brooks calls Super DNA. This material provides 25% more cushion than its predecessor, Brooks Bio MOGO.  Compared to the Bio MOGO, I find this material to be much more consistent in it’s cushioning as the MOGO would get hard in spots of the midsole and it would feel a little funky on your foot at times.  The Super DNA is extremely comfortable on the foot strike and it offers plenty of rebound or spring every time you push into your next foot step. For longer runs, the Super DNA really shines.

Brooks Glycerin 12 Super DNA

The Brooks Glycerin 12 continues to use the segmented crash pad that run the entire length of the shoe. As you can see in the photos, the EVA is this shoe is segmented in areas allowing for an optimal foot strike with the ground for runners that run heel to toe. To stay consistent with previous models, the Glycerin 12 keeps its 10mm heel to toe drop which for traditional runners is the standard.  As someone who’s been running in Brooks Glycerin’s for nearly every model they’ve made, I find this heel to toe drop to be very comfortable for all my mid to long distance training runs. On shorter runs or speed workouts, I’m ok with a lower drop shoe.

Outsole

Brooks Glycerin 12 Running Shoe Outsole

The outsole on the Brooks Glycerin 12 provides all the grip and traction that one could ask for in a road running shoe. One thing that I have noticed in the Glycerin 12 vs. the Glycerin 11 is that the midfoot has a little more material in the middle of the shoe in both the midsole and outsole rubber. The wear in the outsole rubber has been consistent between the Glycerin 11 and 12.  I tend to supinate a little and I find that I wear through the rubber on the outer edge of the foot quicker than the rest of the shoe, but that’s to be expected.

To be consistent with the midsole, there are a total of 7 separate sections of outsole rubber.  This is to allow the shoe to flex as you move from heel to toe as you go through your stride and foot strike. Overall, I find this to be enough flex, but I don’t feel like it’s too much flex where my foot could be working harder than I want it to.

Final Thoughts

Brooks Glycerin 12

The Brooks Glycerin 12 continues to be at the top of the neutral running shoe pyramid in my mind.  At a weight of 10.9 ounces, I am amazed at how much cushion and foot stability this shoe provides. Two big toes up for the Brooks Glycerin 12!  For more information, please visit BrooksRunning.com