Article by Jonathan Hammond
I’ve heard it said that the more expensive running shoes are not necessarily the best. Until now, I was sceptical as most of my favourite running shoes have all been £70 plus. Yesterday, I went to a small and well know running shop in the South West to find a pair of lightweight running shoes that I could use for training and racing. Before I got a chance to ask for the more expensive high end pairs that I’d heard about, the owner of the shop placed a pair of Brooks T6 Racers at my feet. I knew as soon as I slipped my feet into the shoes that these were some of the most comfortable running shoes I’ve ever tried on in 4 years of running, and the most reasonably priced at £50. All I had to do now was to go out and run on them to see if they performed as well as they felt on.
I had a session with my running coach last night and was hoping for an easy/steady session as was normal for our Monday night sessions. However, he told me we had moved into a new phase of training and that tonight was going to be a speed session (thanks coach!). Now conventional wisdom says to break a new pair of running shoes in gradually but my coach (wise bird that he is) told me it was fine to run a speed session with my new Brooks T6 Racers. 7K later and I had ran at a 35 min/ 36 min 10K pace, which is over 2 minutes quicker than my previous 10K race pace… sure that had a lot to do with my training programme but the T6 Racers felt as amazing the whole way round the undulating course, which included some flat but slightly gravelly trails. They fittted like a glove, were as light as a feather and so flexible that every step felt like a natural extension of my foot – and all on their first outing!! As a forefoot runner they put me up on my forefeet and as I tired at the end of the ball busting speed session put me onto the midfoot with all the protection I needed.
At the end of the run, I checked that I hadn’t picked up any physical niggles from this new pair of shoes… not a jot, not a single blister, no aches and pains, and a day later, my legs feel as though they could run the session again. I also checked to see how much wear and tear the lightweight sole had suffered from the run as I’d heard that the cheaper lightweight shoes tended not to last as long. Looking at them with my coach, we saw that the forefoot area showed signs of wear but not much and reckoned they would last the classic 250 to 300 miles of most running trainers. Being the slight research addict that I am, I went to the manufacturers website last night – Brooks Running and found that their ‘rubber outsole compound offers higher performance than the standard carbon black compounds’.
Brooks say that the unisex T6 Racers are suited to half marathons. Given their performance last night, I think they’ll be ideal for my 5K and 10K races plus my longer distance (10 to 15 miles) training runs. As to how long they will last before I have to replace them, only time will tell but at around £50 a pair I can almost buy two pairs for the price of one pair of high end running trainers. What a find!!
ps I’m normally an 8.5 UK size for my other running trainers but I’m a 9.5 UK in the Brooks.
… if you have a pair of the Brooks T6 Racers, we love to hear what you think? Do they perform as well for you?
Rating: 9/10
Pros: The Brooks T6 Racer is an extremely light, comfortable and fast racing trainer, and great value for money.
Cons: Having been through a number of pairs now, we’ve found that they can wear down pretty quickly if you use them on the road. Whereas on the track, they show little to no wear, even after longer 10K track runs.
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