The Brooks Ghost 7: A Shoe Review

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Continuing with the flow of neutral shoes I have been demoing lately, I started wearing the Brooks Ghosts for recovery runs in July and have been doing so off and on since. The shoes fit what I need right now: a loose heel collar, one that does not hug the heel tightly and thus alleviates Achilles Tendon stress. While I find these positives, I am very mixed on the shoe in general.

The ghosts land quite neutral, mimicking both my typical and preferred style. The sole is thick, almost too thick, and thus if you don’t want to feel the road, the gravel, the trail, then this model is for you. While this is not my preference (I’m not a fan of rolling my ankle), they work for recovery purposes. I’ve used them for regular runs, regeneration efforts, and range as well, but their lack of response prevents me from using them for speed purposes.

They are comfortable without feeling like an overstuffed pillow, but in general they feel big, almost too big. As I note below, I feel like my feet are too big in these shoes, almost clumsy at times despite the proper sizing. The toe box is ample, but the toes slide around, leaving a feeling of needing to grip unless you heel strike in them. They have 12mm heel drop, which is subtle, but enough to feel odd and force me onto to my heels more, especially when I usually use 8mm or less.

Pros:

• Mostly neutral in design. I said this when reviewing my New Balance 890’s as well. You land fairly flat, and the calf wear is mostly central.   
• Loose heel collar that does not rub on the Achilles Tendon.
• Solid base that does not show wear anytime quickly—they told me that it would last and it has.

Cons:

• This shoe feels like a giant box. When I was sold on it, I was told “neutral shoe that will take the pounding,” but I don’t give a ton of pounding. That said, I feel as if my foot is in a large container that is not road adaptive much less trail adaptive. Given that I run on many surfaces, often on the same day, this fact can be a problem.
• I feel my foot moving around in the shoe, it is not overly secure, and while I like to feel my run, typically that is done with the adage that
• The laces shredded on day one. I was in the middle of nowhere with 50 kids about to run a mountain trail, and the laces frayed and ripped. Not something one would expect on the first run.
• 12mm heel drop finds me landing on my heels a lot more—it is hard not too in these shoes.