I tried to podium while wearing the limited edition Brooks Ghost 16 parkrun shoe

The Ghost 16 is the latest in Brooks’ beloved line of ultra-cushioned running shoes.

While they lean further into road running than trail, the Ghost 16’s outsole retains plenty of grip and grooves, making it ideal for light activities with a mix of mostly even terrain. In other words, these are slated to be an excellent parkrun shoe.

So much so, in fact, that Brooks have collaborated with parkrun themselves to bring out this limited edition of the Ghost 16 to mark parkrun’s 20th anniversary!

I got to come along to the anniversary celebration (along with our pals at Sportsshoes who are also working with parkrun), and saw parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt share his love for the event, for Brooks, and for this special shoe.

However, we can't just take Paul's word for it, can we? Luckily, I got my hands on a pair, and got down to my local parkrun to see if they really are the bee's knees.

I was honestly reluctant to debut them on a dewy and mushy-leaved autumn Saturday morning. The bright orange upper and equally vivid outsole pattern begged me not to muddy them – but I took the plunge and got to testing. Let’s find out how they performed...

Upper

The aim of the game with this shoe’s upper is plush padding, and the Ghost 16 certainly hits the mark.

Before I’d first tried them on, I worried that the fairly thick looking material would end up overheating, but in fact the whole thing has a very airy, almost lofty feel, and the perforations across the foot do a good job of facilitating ventilation.

The mesh itself feels very stretchy, so while the shoe’s fit is initially a tad snug, your feet eventually end up comfy and locked in place. Brooks also claim that the upper mesh is impressively moisture-wicking, which I found to be mostly true.

As I mentioned, this shoe accompanied me on damp morning parkruns where any grassy section is a guaranteed morning dew-fest, and I was impressed to see the Ghost 16 gliding through the wet grass without getting saturated, saggy, and cold.

Apparently, it also wicks sweat well, but I found that the ventilation system alone did plenty of work to keep the shoe a dry and airy place.

The padded tongue went a bit too far for my taste – there’s cushioning, and then there’s sticking your foot into a marshmallow. And the laces, while fine and traditional, felt encumbered by the thickness of the tongue, and didn’t give me the full lock-in-place that I’ve come to expect from a brooks shoe.

That said, I'm not tackling technical terrain today, so a locked-in lace is less crucial than usual. There’s also no gusset on the tongue, so keep away from any loose twigs that are eyeing you up.

Midsole

This is where things really take a departure from the proper trail running shoes we often test here at LFTO. The ‘DNA LOFT v3 Midsole’ is nitrogen infused, with the aim to provide a maximum (and consistent) amount of spring in each step.

Unlike traditional foam midsoles, whose air pockets slowly compress over time, the Ghost 16’s midsole is totally sealed, maintaining the pressure throughout.

This shoe also has plenty of small details that are all aimed at ease and comfort. The footbed is very soft and drops down to mould perfectly around your feet. I found that it got increasingly more comfortable over my first couple weeks of use.

The softness in the midsole makes the shoe comfy for longer runs where I maintained a slower pace.

Though I wouldn’t exactly be aiming for a podium in these, I can certainly see why they suit the low-stakes, enjoy-yourself, chatty environment of a parkrun. The high drop also makes jogging at a consistent, bouncy pace an easy and enjoyable task.

Outsole

The RoadTack Rubber outsole provided more traction than I was initially expecting, mostly thanks to the subtly textured surface of the outer rubber. This provided a lot of extra friction which meant I felt confident in my grip on wet park paths and grass.

The shoe doesn’t have lugs, per se, but it has plenty of grooves which provide a similar effect.

The channels are small enough to not get clogged with big bits of mud, and the sheer quantity of them allow for plenty of flex underfoot – great for those rare moments of uneven terrain.

Of course, the subtle texturing of the rubber will wear down over time, so these bad boys are probably best left to their home turf – the road.

Features

Well, we have to talk about these colours. The custom parkrun graphic on the heel is a real head-turner, and I personally love the peachy orange colour of the upper.

The mix of colours on the outsole and in the custom path graphic on the upper represent parkruns milestone colours, and depict the journey this little event has taken over the last 20 years – from local meetup to global phenomenon!

The outsole also features what Brooks call a ‘segmented crash pad’, which aims to comfortable catch your foot however it lands and guide you back through the gait cycle with optimal efficiency.

This is a fancy way of saying it’s a got some stability features – though we’re more used to those than the average road runner, so pardon our lack of fawning. Still, it’s a nice touch, and the shoe certainly feels stable underfoot.

Sustainability

The materials in the upper are 67.3 % recycled, which isn’t bad compared to some other running shoes. But the main points for sustainability here are scored by the shoe’s durability. The nitrogen infused midsole should last much longer than a regular foam midsole, which slowly loses the air inside it.

Plus, being aimed at road and park runs, we can expect this shoe not to get us much wear and tear as your typical ultra trail running shoes might need to weather, so it should last you a good few hundred miles (they could even accompany you on your own Run 1000 Miles journey!)

Verdict

The Brooks Ghost 16 isn’t the trainer to smash your parkrun PB with, but it is the choice if you want to get home from a long morning run without feeling even a smidge of soreness in your feet.

Absolutely pillowy cushioning in the midsole and upper, plus a surprisingly high level of traction to keep you confident on the move.

About the author

Milo Wilson is our resident runner and confirmed by a recent audience poll to be the most handsome member of the LFTO testing team. His passion for trail running was born out of an earlier passion for hiking and exploration, which was getting stifled by the winter of his first year at university.

As the afternoons darkened, the only way make it home in the sunlight from a favoured after-lecture 15k circuit around the woods was to start running it.

He soon started reviewing trainers freelance and joined LFTO quickly after graduating. Since Milo started running, he hasn’t looked back, for fear that a bear he spotted last August may still be chasing him.