Disclaimer: I was gifted a pair of the Brooks Glycerin 20 and also receive a discount on Brooks products as a member of the Run Happy Team.
I’ve gotten to run in many different Brooks shoes as a member of the Brooks Run Happy Team, but my favorite has always remained the Adrenaline — the one I went into the team loving. That changed this summer when I got to try the Brooks Glycerin 20 as part of the Run on Nitro campaign.
I still like the Adrenaline, but recently, I’ve been logging almost all my miles in the Glycerin 20, which are infused with nitrogen. Now that I have multiple pairs of shoes, I’ve been tracking how many miles I run in each on Garmin Connect, and I’ve have logged just over 260 miles in this pair so far.
I was excited to try the Glycerin 20, the first Glycerin model to have the nitrogen-infusion, because when I saw a doctor about plantar fasciitis earlier this year and said I wanted to stick with Brooks, the Glycerin was his top Brooks choice for me because of the cushion. However, I’d received both the Glycerin 19 and Glycerin GTS 19 from Brooks and I didn’t feel like either was the shoe for me; I still preferred the Adrenaline. I did prefer the Glycerin 19 to the Glycerin GTS 19. The Glycerin 20 has a noticeable difference, though.
The Glycerin 20 comes in both the GTS support version and the neutral version. Although my previous go-to shoes were the Adrenaline and those are support shoes, I received the neutral shoes and they are working well for me. I would recommend getting fitted for shoes at a running store to find out which shoes work best for your feet and running style.
You can learn more about the Run on Nitro Collection here, and learn about the science from Dr. Raven Baxter here.
On the website, the Glycerin 20 are listed as a cushioned shoe and as “most cushion” of the three cushioning categories. The midsole drop is 10 mm and the weight is 9.1 ounces. The Glycerin 19 was very close on these numbers, with a midsole drop of 10 mm and a weight of 9.0 ounces. The Adrenaline GTS 22 are also 9.0 ounces, but the drop is higher, at 12 mm.
Although my plantar fasciitis problems are not 100% gone, I have felt comfortable running in this shoe (I do use soft orthotics that I got with a prescription). I enjoyed the cushion so much that I decided to order another shoe from the Run on Nitro collection, the Caldera 6 trail shoe. I’ve run in some trail shoes, but I hadn’t felt like I’d found my perfect match. I tried on a pair of the Caldera 6 during one of the Brooks Run Club Tour’s Baltimore stops and decided to buy a pair ahead of the Pemberton 24.
I received them not long before the Pemberton 24, so I wore them for the first time at that event, in which I ran 40.3 miles within 24 hours (I brought a backup pair of shoes just in case). Unfortunately, my feet did end up hurting — I think the plantar fasciitis was aggravated by the amount of time on feet and all the roots — however, I did like the shoes’ cushion and feel, and I look forward to easing in with more miles as I start training for the Algonquin 50K, which is in February.
Since I ended up missing the in-person Camp Run Happy in August, I made sure to attend the Brooks Run Club Tour when it stopped at Charm City Run in Timonium, Maryland, not far from my mom and stepdad’s house. The Tour focused on the Run on Nitro collection and made three stops in the Baltimore area from Sept. 3-5. The event I attended was the morning of Sunday, Sept. 4. (The tour is now over, but you can learn more here.)
Early on, I met a Brooks salesman named Mike, who used to live in Salisbury and knew some of my running friends. Then, there was a group run of about three miles in the nearby neighborhood. For someone who lives in a super-flat area, it was a hilly course (my corrected elevation gain on Garmin says 217 feet). I didn’t really fall right in with any group, so I was mostly solo during the run. Runners who didn’t already have the Glycerin 20 could wear a test pair of shoes.
After the run, there was an opportunity to enjoy some nitro coffee from Des Linden’s brand, Linden x Two, along with food and other drinks. I had the nitro coffee and a donut.
I also had a chance to meet two Brooks Gurus, which was fun! And of course, I got some fun Brooks photos.
Interested in learning more about the Run on Nitro collection, which also includes the Hyperion Tempo? Visit the Brooks website.
She Runs by the Seashore 