Brooks Green Silence

Just bought a pair of these race flats today. What are your experiences of them? My thoughts are that they will be the perfect shoe for 5k/10k races but thats it? Please could you advise?

No experience whatsoever, but I'm curious now because I've got a load of vouchers I don't know what to do with and Sweatshop have started selling these bad boys...

I currently use Saucony Fastwitch for road races up to HM but these would be considerably lighter than anything I've tried before and I'd be tempted to try them for track races, and then maybe shorter road races.  I've certainly got on with the fit of Brooks before so will definitely look to try a pair on.

Let us know how you get on with them.

Will keep you posted Phil, first wear will be a local parkrun on saturday

Great stuff, have you tried any more substantial distances in them?

I absolutely love these shoes, moved most of my training to them, apart from short races when I use the lighter T7.

Only downside it they are discontinuing them at the end of the year, so I'm currently stocking up on a couple of pairs a month.

Sorry, yes ran marathon and plenty of halves in them too.

Ripped both my heels to pieces the 3 times I've used them, now are blood stained and awaiting to be thrown away. Looking for new racing flats.

got my first pair of these a few weeks back and have put 100 or so on them (no more than 10miles in one go though) love em, nice and light and comfortable. got myself another couple of pairs while they were going cheap online.

philpub - i saw those rather snazzy ones in sweatshop and was sorely tempted but in the end my frugal nature got the better of me and i bought online at £29.99 a pair instead.

distance-wise i believe scott jurek wore these when he broke the US 24hr record, 140 odd miles i think (in the same pair)

steve - You didn't get a family discount then?    Yeah, I'm willing to pay a bit of a premium for the colour scheme, and it works out pretty cheap once I factor in the England Athletics discount / use vouchers.

phil - haha, sadly not related, mind you even if i where i think my performances would've led to me being disowned by now..

just a thought, if you want to make a light shoe even lighter try buying half a size smaller and remove the insole, i've done this with one of my pairs and there's still plenty of cushioning for at least 10k at a time for a plodder like me.

I have a pair of the lovely Union Jack version which I bought for running in Germany .I really like them - very lightweight and great for shortish (up to about 10K is fine) distances in fine weather. The only downside is that  I have quite wide feet and these are a narrow fit which can induce a slight cramp if I wear them for too long.

I also noticed in Hamburg ths week that there is a German flag version of the same shoes - I suppose it's something they're doing everywhere this year, especially with the Euros on.

I have these shoes & they are lovely, light & comfy..Had gait tested in them though..Oh heavens..No support...Then tried on the other Brooks Union Jack GTS 12 shoe and what a difference. Great support..Shop told me that the Silence are only good for short runs. I kept them for those little runs. Too cute for words.

PhilPub wrote (see)

Blimey, these things are selling like hot cakes.  The third Sweatshop I tried have them in my size.  I'll try and remember to take my ultra-light running socks with me on Saturday afternoon for the trying on session.  (And my vouchers and my England Athletics card...)

I've used mine in plenty of 10ks, but a hilly half left me with battered toes. Part of the problem is I find it difficult to get them to stay tight. Might be that a change of laces would do the job but not tried that.

The grip on greasy tarmac is not great either, but then few racing flats seem to cope well with that.

I love these shoes - gutted that they are stopping them. My current pair have over 500 miles on them and still going strong - used them for everything from parkruns to a 50-mile ultra!

Have picked up a couple of pairs from Amazon for £30 / pair - bargan.

I assume Sweatshop have got a new batch of these in (but don't quote me on that) cos they're advertising them on the home page, and they've knocked a bit off the price, down to £54.40.  Here.

So, a mini review now that I've had the chance to wear them for a handful of races.  They've become my shoe of choice for road races up to 10k so far.  They feel very light and comfy, yet very cushioned.  It's for this reason that I still prefer my Saucony Fastwitch for track races, even though they're a smidge heavier, because they feel a little more solid, and flatter in the heel.  But for tarmac, the Green Silence have a lovely feel.  I think I still tend to pronate and possibly heel strike a bit, so I prefer these over flats and despite the light weight, will try them out for half marathons at least, and possibly the full distance.  The other thing about the fit is that the toe-box is fairly roomy so they'd suit someone with wider feet.

Another one that's gutted Brooks are pulling these.

They are light, comfy, roomy in the toe box, very quick (all relative for me, I know) and I used them in the Conwy 1/2 mara last week and they were perfect (and I'm carrying 92kg). I've 3 pairs, one of which are on their last legs and intend getting at least another couple before stocks run out.

Great shoes and I hope Brooks have a rethink.