Older than the Ghost, which turned 16 this year, the Adrenaline GTS is now on its twenty-fourth iteration and was the original “go-to shoe” before Brooks redefined its role as “go-to support.” Its popularity as a daily trainer prevails, despite this change. Neutral runners and overpronators alike regard the Adrenaline as a reliable shoe that hits the sweet spot of cushioning for everyday workouts.
| Type | Road, stability |
|---|---|
| Weight | 10 oz (M9), 8.8 oz (W8.5) |
| Drop | 12 mm |
| Heel height | 36 mm |
| Forefoot height | 24 mm |
- Running Shoes - Gear: Runners looking for a cushioned everyday trainer with some stability
- Preceded By: Run in the Offbeat, Zigzag Reebok Floatzig X1
- We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back: A RW+ Members Take on the Altra Lone Peak 8, Adrenaline GTS 23
- Midsole Foam: Cyber Monday Running Shoes Deals 2024
- Key Tech: guide rails stability
The Adrenaline GTS 24 is softer, lighter, and more responsive thanks to a new nitrogen-infused midsole. The midsole is the Brooks’s DNA Loft v3 (formerly DNA Loft v2 foam), which was introduced in the one-off 2021 Aurora-BL. Brooks seems to be finessing its nitrogen-infused foams, tweaking the super foam used in its competition shoes—DNA Flash—and dropping the marshmallowy Glycerin Max only months ago (with this shoe launch, the brand revealed its newest foam, cellular DNA Tuned). Incorporating the same foam found in the Aurora BL and All About 75 Hard and Adrenaline GTS 24 is signaling a shift in what we expect from a daily trainer: more cushion, less weight, more bounce.
What We Liked
There’s two main reasons both the Ghost and Adrenaline draw new and veteran runners to choose them as their workhorse shoe: a soft, comfy interior, and equally soft but firm and supportive platform for racking up mileage.
Most shoes today don’t require a break-in period, and you’ll likely find that on your first run in the Adrenaline GTS 24. The shoe has a enough flex so your feet don’t feel constricted, as well as a locked-in fit in the lacing area so you won’t experience slippage.
“The overall fitt was great,” said wear-tester Kristin Shiner, a heel striker who trains at 8:30 pace. “No need to ’break it in’ or get used to anything. No blisters and no sliding around. I felt the cushion was helpful on longer runs. Although my longest run during this period was only eight miles, I didn’t feel soreness in my heel or the ball of my foot as I sometimes do when running long. The shoe was just plain comfortable.”
One thing I always consider testing stability versions of neutral shoes is how the support features change the running experience and if they hampers your ride due to extra weight or stiffness. The Adrenaline GTS 24 has Brooks’s guide rails system, which are denser pieces of foam on the medial and lateral sides to lessen erratic knee movement starting from the foot up.
While I didn’t feel as much pop as I’ve experienced running in other daily trainers, I still found the Adrenaline GTS 24 relatively responsive. Other testers felt the same running in the shoe.
“I found these shoes to have a good balance of being stable and supportive but without feeling too firm or clunky,” said John Hamilton, RW photo director, who is also a heel striker and runs 8:15 pace. “You definitely notice that they’re on the heavy side but, for a stability shoe, I didn’t find them too slow.”
What We’d Change
There’s always room for improvement and one issue we continue to experience with Brooks’s shoes is the narrow toebox. Generally, I’ve found Brooks shoes aren’t as narrow as other brands, like Nike. With Nike shoes, the saddle usually wraps around my wide foot tightly like a girdle. But for the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to figure out if the Brooks toe conundrum is a sizing issue—should I go up half a size?—or a construction change.
Unlike myself and other testers, wear-tester Don Kuntzman needed a break-in period running in the Adrenaline GTS 24. He questioned if sizing up would be the better choice.
“The things I disliked the most about the Adrenaline GTS 24 were the lacing system, the narrow toebox, the support, and the overall comfort,” said Kuntzman, a heel striker who runs 10:30 pace. “The primary issue I had was the sizing, which seemed to be off. When first putting the shoes on they felt very tight and my initial thought was that they needed to be broken in, but after wearing them daily throughout testing, they never felt like they stretched out. If I were trying them on to purchase, I probably would have gotten a larger size.”
Another tester, midfoot striker Tiffany Volpe, also wanted more forefoot cushioning. She’ll have to wait another year; November 2025’s Adrenaline GTS 25 will have 3mm of foam added to the forefoot (along with 1mm in the heel).
Amanda is a test editor at Runner’s World who has run the Boston Marathon every year since 2013; she's a former professional baker with a master’s in gastronomy and she carb-loads on snickerdoodles.
