Comparison: Brooks Ghost 4 vs Brooks Glycerin 9

Ive been lucky enough to get the opportunity to run in both the Brooks Ghost 4 and the Brooks Glycerin 9. Both very popular neutral shoes from the brooks lineup. Ive reviewed both in the past Brooks Ghost - An Allrounder & Brooks Glycerin - How far is too far. This time I wanted to compare them and give my thoughts on each in comparison for the benefit of those who havent had the chance to run in both.

Welcome ladies and Gentlemen to this Neutral Shoe Championship bout. In the Blue corner we have the Brooks Ghost 4, a favorite of many, and a real good all-rounder. In the red corner we have the Brooks Glycerin 9, a long standing staple, and built to go the distance. I’ve seen both of these shoes in action, they are both outstanding, we should be in for a real good match up. I don’t expect an early knockout, this one will go the full 12 rounds.

Let’s get ready to Ruuuuuumble!

Round 1 - Weight

The Ghost plays to one of its traditional strengths and leads off with its weight, 320g in the Men’s size 9. I’m not so sure that was a good call, the ghost has put on a few grams in the last few years from its early lightweight days at 303g- The Glycerin counters with its 343g a 14g drop on last year. In my mind the difference between the weights of these shoes is now too close to really make any effect, but I’m not sure how the judges will see it.

Round 2 - Cushioning

The Glycerin brings out its big guns, the full length DNA, a great move. This non-Newtonian liquid helps provide custom cushioning, softening when you apply less force i.e. when you’re going slow and firming up as you speed up. But the Ghost has some DNA of its own located in the two primary strike zones the heel and the forefoot. Both shoes have more than enough cushioning to take you comfortably to the end of a long run, But high volume runners might appreciate the extra cushioning of the glycerin especially for those back to back weekends.

Round 3 - Flexibility

The ghost impresses with its flexibility, this has become a hallmark of the ghost series and the Ghost 4 is no exception, It has great forefoot flexibility. Unfortunately lack of flexibility is something the glycerin 9 has been criticized for by some. And it’s true the Glycerin doesn’t have the same flexibility of the ghost. I’m a big guy and have no problems flexing the Glycerin, I don’t see this as an issue but others might.

Round 4 - Styling

Both of these shoes have somewhat reserved styling, you don’t have the loud colors of some of their lightweight cousins. However the Ghost 4 does appear to be ever so slightly more aggressive with some marking that if you really use your imagination could resemble flames on the toe box and an upswept overlay that extends from the midfoot to the heel cup. The Glycerin eschews such frivolities for a very stable looking midfoot wrap.

Round 5 - Fit

This is a hard one to call as Fit is so subjective. Personally I found the toe box of the Glycerin 9 to be a little more open and unrestricted than in the Ghost, The overlays on the ghost come up higher and are a little more restrictive for the toes. The glycerin also feels a little plusher around the ankle collar, and in the tongue, although the Ghost 4 has made significant inroads in this area. For fit I have to give it to the glycerin.

Round 6 – Outsole and Heel

Turn these shoes over and both are very similar in the layout of the outsole, both shoes segment the forefoot area into 4 main bands with omega flex groves between them, These are slightly more pronounced on the Glycerin. In the heel area both have the caterpillar crash pads. The Glycerin sports a slight bevel to the back of the heel, while the ghost’s heel is flat throughout. 

 

Round 7 - Durability

This one is a hard one to call for me, I’ve not seen either of these particular shoes run to exhaustion. I do have an earlier version of the Ghosts in my current rotation that has seen 1200km’s and is still in good shape, although that’s much longer than most runners would want to wear them. I expect the glycerins will easily be the match of the Ghost for Durability. Perhaps with its slightly less flexible midsole it might even last a little longer for the average runner.

Round 8 - Price

Here the Ghost 4 has the initial advantage, although if the Durability does come out in favor of the Glycerin you would do well to consider the price per km, rather than just be swayed by what’s on the sticker on the box.

Round 9 - Areas of use

The ghost impresses as a bit of an all-rounder. It’s equally at home knocking out intervals, or accompanying you on a long run. The Glycerin’s slightly heavy weight and its reduced flexibility mean that its less suited to those faster workouts, but what it does well it does really well, long runs will float by in the glycerin.

Round 10 - Construction

Both of these shoes are well made, if the ghost has a fault here its that the blue element of the midsole in the forefoot area is just painted on rather than being made up of actually blue colored foam that is only in the heel of the ghost whereas the coloured foam is used throughout in the Glycerin. Neither of my examples has any manufacturing flaws that I can discover, but I expect no less from Brooks.

Round 11 - Schlupfgefuhle

Another subjective round, Perhaps I’m a little bit clouded in this by the timing of when I first tried on of the ghosts, but for me the Glycerin’s plush feel and there nonrestrictive toe box gave it the clear advantage here. I should point out that once my feet recovered from their Ultra ordeal I was able to run a first run of over 20km in both shoes… both have run straight from the box credentials

Round 12 – Rotation

For the runner with a number of different types of shoes in their current rotation the Glycerin offers a very capable long run expert with ample cushioning to ensure that your legs are not getting beaten up too much making for a faster recovery, For the runner with a smaller or even non-existent shoe rotation the Ghost 4 offers an excellent all-rounder, It is more than capable of handling all but the craziest long runs, but also can be used in speed work and tempo runs. Naturally the glycerin can manage that too but not with quite the same class as the Ghost.

Well what a match up, It’s going to be a close call, For me the Glycerin has the slight advantage. The slightly better Fit and the souvarain cushioning for those really long runs, more than make up for the minimal increase in weight, The ghosts advantages for faster work are eliminated by the fast run specialists in my current shoe Rotation. But I’m not sure how the Judges have scored it.

Let’s take a look, so, how do you score it? If you’ve tried both which one is your favorite? If not which do you tend towards and why?

Review: Brooks Glycerin 9 - How Far is Too Far?

My Brooks Test Package included a shoe that Id not run in before. The Brooks Glycerin, currently in its ninth version.

The Glycerin 9 is the Rolls Royce in the Brooks neutral category... built for comfort. The extra cushioning is immediately obvious. The whole shoe just feels plush when you put it on. From the thick foam around the collar, to the extra thick tongue, even the material in the toe-box feels thicker than what you get in a Ghost. Walking around in them the shoe feels soft, luxurious and just a little bit squishy underfoot.

When I first put them on I just knew that id be able to stand up, head out the door, and run a decent distance in them without any issues. The shoes just felt really good on my feet, I had no points that were pinching or were too tight. I know a lot of reviewers think they have unusual feet. I guess that is normal, few of us have feet that exactly match the shoe makers last. Ive been cursed or blessed with a rather long 4th toe (the one beside the pinky) which means that I often have to go up a size in shoes to get the required width across the tips of my toes. The Glycerin 9 doesn't have a high scuff protector overlay so my toes have plenty of room to spread, making them ideal for me.

It had been wet and windy all day Saturday so it was especially inviting to wake up Sunday morning to clear skies, some residual fog, and cool temperatures around 4°c Conditions that just scream at the runner that they should be outside taking advantage of the moment. The perfect opportunity to christen a new pair of shoes.

I started off with my usual slow warm up jog, to the meeting point. The extra cushioning was nice under foot, definitely a lot softer than my ghosts. The group run started off at a pace of 5:45/km. We ran along a bike path beside the canal. The Glycerin's easily handling the crushed gravel path. still  comfortably soft but not too soft. After some 6km the only Lady in the group peeled off because she only wanted to run 10k...so it was just the lads left.... lads being lads from then on the pace slowly crept up as the kilometers got ticked off over a mix of gravel and asphalt.

What surprised me was that as the pace kept climbing the Glycerins also seemed to get firmer under foot. Still not as firm as the ghosts, but nothing like the soft cushy 'walk on clouds' feeling you get when your walking in them. I Guess the DNA does what it says it does and firms up the midsole as the impact increases. We wound the pace down to around 4:50/km the glycerins took it all in their stride. My first run in the Glycerin 9's turned out to be just over 21km.

The Glycerin 9 has a substantial overlay package around the mid-foot and heel, This provides plenty of support and ensures that shoe doesn't move around on your foot. The segmented out-sole under the forefoot allows for a very smooth transition through to toe-off. The heel is very forgiving for a heel striker, or should your form deteriorate over time.

Personally i wouldn't pick these shoes for short fast racing, there are other shoes in the Brooks lineup that might be more appropriate, however if your looking for extra cushioning, want to feel super comfortable or are planning on raking up some high millage then you cant really go wrong with them.

Going Far

It was that High Millage point that really piqued my Interest. Id decided to attempt my first Ultra as a reward for an outstanding run in the Münster Marathon. The Röntgenlauf a 63km race in Remscheid over a mix of mostly non technical bike paths and asphalt seemed like the ideal candidate. The Glycerin 9 like a good shoe choice. All that i needed to do was make sure that they, and I, would be up to the challenge.

Two weeks out i put us both to the test. On Saturday I ran the teutoberglauf, in the Ghosts that had served me well in Münster. Sunday it was time for the Glycerins to step up to the plate with a longer training run. I headed for the Halterner Haard, 47km later it was getting dark, and my legs were shot. My feet on the other hand were just fine, wrapped in infinity socks and the Glycerin 9's.

Here's a short video I took of me unveiling my feet after that run through the Haard. Im speaking (murdering) German in the Video btw.

After that, the decision was easy, id use that exact same combination for the Röntgenlauf.

My experience at the Röntgenlauf was fantastic. Yes it was hard, the hills were tough, and my legs were feeling it towards the end, but i achieved a great result for my debut. I must give some credit for that to the shoes, my feet posed me no problems during the race. The combination of the thick Infinity Socks and Glycerin 9 protected them from the pounding I gave them over the 63km course. In the final 10km's it was just a battle between my will, and my legs. My feet were fine, i didn't have any blisters or hot spots, nothing to make those last 10k harder than they were.

Ive done my best to find the Distance Limit for the Glycerin, but it has me beat as the guys at activegearreview say 'you’ll quit long before they do'. For comfort, for high millage the Glycerin 9 is a fantastic shoe. My pair is going to see some pretty hard usage this winter, especially on my long runs, as I build up for Boston. I know that they can handle it.

Run Happy