I’d always planned to wear my Brooks Ghost 7 trainers for the Brighton Marathon.
I’ve worn Brooks Ghosts since 2013 – starting with the Ghost 5s – and find them super comfortable.
My Brooks Ravenna 8 and Glycerin 14 trainers are also pretty awesome, but I wear them for distances up to 13.1 miles only, and save the Ghosts for the longer runs.
I bought the Ghost 7s online and had them shipped over from the USA after falling in love with the limited edition ombre design. They’re about three years old and I foolishly thought that they would be able to withstand both marathon training and the marathon itself, despite their age.
So three weeks before the big day and 13 miles into what was supposed to be an 18 mile training run, I had to stop and call it a day. The soles of my shoes felt ‘thin’ and for the first time ever whilst running, my feet didn’t feel comfortable.
I visited The Running Hub in Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, which was where it all began for me in 2013. Back then, I had a gait analysis which involved running on a treadmill in the middle of the shop whilst my feet were videoed and played back to show where and how my feet were landing. I asked if I could have a ‘fresh’ gait analysis to see if anything had changed, but the shop owner advised that this would be extremely unlikely. He watched me just jog around the shop and prescribed as I suspected – a new pair of trainers! The new Brooks Ghost 10 felt super comfortable and cushioned, and I didn’t hesitate to pay out the £120. I knew they’d be worth it!
I wore my new shoes the next day for the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which was probably a bit stupid, but I knew that they would be fine… And they were! No aches, pains or discomfort, and I grabbed a new PB J I’ve worn them since, on long training runs including a 20 miler, and they’re perfect.
I’ll sadly have to retire my Ghost 7s but I can’t bear to throw them away! I know this sounds really sad but when I look at my running shoe collection I can actually recall memories, and the events that I wore the shoes at. The Ghost 7s had three years’ worth of running events (rotated with the Ravenna 8s and Glycerin 14s) so I’ll keep them on my shoe rack for now. 🙂
Laura's footprints 