Did you know the 25-year anniversary is the silver anniversary?
Thanks to Brooks and their new Adrenaline 25, I do now. For this big milestone, Brooks released a special silver colorway to celebrate a rare feat: a shoe reaching its 25th version.
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For us, despite having so many shoes on our wall, the Adrenaline GTS is still one of our most popular models. For so many of our customers, they come in looking for something that’s both stable and comfortable. That’s what has always shined for the Adrenaline. It’s soft enough for all-day wear but has enough arch support to make you feel protected.
It’s such a well-loved shoe that sometimes you worry any update might take away from what people love about it. Updates are necessary, but we all know how often they can go wrong. We constantly hear people complain about shoes changing just for the sake of change, updating just to say they updated (and to get stores and consumers to order more product). Every time a new version lands, someone will swear it fits differently or feels off. Even when the only tweak is the upper, customers will insist the foam or stability changed.
The Adrenaline got a pretty big overhaul two versions ago, and honestly, that made it an even more popular option for our customers. Version 24 has continued to be a hit with runners, walkers, gym folks, and people who just need a reliable work shoe. It’s one of the reasons Brooks offers the Adrenaline in so many colors, widths, and special editions.
Fit and First Impressions
I was excited to get my hands on the 25 and have been able to get a few runs in while also wearing them around the shop. I’ll be honest — the Adrenaline isn’t a model I normally keep in my personal rotation. It’s a little heavier and clunkier than what I typically like for running. It’s a shoe I appreciate more for other things, like wearing around the store or at the gym when I’m getting shredded.
But over the years, I’ve run in plenty of Adrenalines and have fit roughly 725,000 people in some version of it, so I’ve got a pretty good feel for the line.
The first thing that stood out to me this time was the sizing. Brooks usually nails fit consistency, and most models run true to size except the Adrenaline. For whatever reason, it’s always felt a little short and narrow compared to its sibling, the Ghost. Version 25 seems to have fixed that. If anything, it runs a bit long now. So if you’re used to rounding up in Brooks, you might be fine staying true to size in this one.
“Few shoes do stability as well as the Adrenaline, and version 25 keeps that reputation intact.”
Ride and Performance
The real hero of the shoe is still the Guiderail system. For people who either under- or overpronate, the Adrenaline is designed to slow that down and keep your momentum moving forward. That’s how I like to think about pronation control — not as restricting your stride but as keeping your energy pointed in the right direction.
By keeping things upright and efficient, you take pressure off the parts of your body that weren’t built to absorb that impact. Fewer wasted side-to-side movements mean more forward progress. In that mid-cushion stability category, few shoes do it better than the Adrenaline, and the 25 keeps that reputation intact.
As I mentioned, I don’t typically run in the Adrenaline, but I wanted to get a few miles in to see how it performed. Ironically, that’s the one area where I felt it was a little lackluster. Brooks has rolled out new midsoles like DNA Tuned, which use multiple foam densities, in other models, but the Adrenaline 25 sticks with the same DNA Loft used in the last two versions. It’s still lightyears ahead of what the shoe used to be, but it’s not quite as fun to run in as something like the Glycerin GTS.
I would’ve loved to see this update push the Adrenaline closer to a mini-Glycerin again, especially since the price went up $15 (partly tariff related).
Shoes like the new Asics GT-2000 v14 have shown that stability and fun can coexist. I hope Brooks heads that direction next year.
Final Thoughts
The Adrenaline 25 will make longtime fans happy. There are just enough updates to keep it fresh without changing what works. It’s not going to make anyone mad, but it probably won’t convert runners from other stability models either.
In short, Brooks didn’t mess with a good thing. Version 25 stays true to what’s made the Adrenaline one of the best-selling shoes in running history: reliable, steady, and built to keep you moving comfortably, mile after mile.
