Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11 review

**Disclaimer: I've run a grand total of 22 miles in the Adrenaline 11's, so take this worth a grain of salt. However, they have been sitting at the top of my closet for upwards of three months, so I feel like I owe a review anyways.**

So, the first question that probably crosses your mind is "why have you had these shoes for three months and still only have double digit miles on them? are they a bad shoe?" The answer to that question is no, no Brooks shoe is a bad one, especially not an Adrenaline series. I bought these shoes in late November, a few weeks before we got 2 feet of snow. Because of the snow and ice, I had to switch from the Adrenalines to some trail shoes to give me some traction. Come when the snow melts, I'll wear these shoes much more often, and I'll tell you why.

The first thing I noticed getting these shoes out of the box is their um... interesting lacing configuration. I'm having a tough time finding a picture of the lacing specifically, but basically there are these tabs above the eyelets in the actual shoe itself that you lace the shoe through, in addition to the traditional eyelets. In addition, there's another loop sewn into the tongue in the top corner, dubbed the lace lock. One of the first things I do when I get new shoes is replace the standard laces with neon ones, so learning the intricacies of relacing took a little time and a few attempts.

The second addition, which was billed as a major overhaul, was the addition of the Brooks DNA cusioning material. For me, I see plusses and minuses with this. DNA is supposed to give you the right responsiveness proportional to the force you put on the shoe. I like the idea, but it may be a little soft for me, but that's personal oppinion. When I say soft, what I mean is this: When I want to go fast, I wear flats, and when I go slow I wear trainers. Naturally, DNA is going to be softer on my slower runs, but I mean they're not made out of sponge cake or anything. Maybe its paradoxical, but the heel- toe transition is amazing. These shoes are buttery smooth.

One thing that I wasn't fond of in the GTS 10's was the small, cramped toebox. The toebox is most definately wider then the 10's, but the whole shoe is wider. Not by much. For example, the Ghost 3 has the same problem compared to the Ghost 2, but to a greater extent.

In conclusion, buy this shoe, but if you can't find it or are on a budget, try to find the previous version. One thing I hate about other shoe companies is that they don't update their new models. For Brooks, a new version means just that- something totally new and innovative, for better or worse. In this case, the update is definately for the better.