Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20 vs 19 Comparison Running Shoe Review

Josh introduces the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20 running shoes that fill the gap in the market between stable neutral and mildly supported running shoe categories, and shares how it stacks up against its predecessor the Adrenaline GTS 19.

It’s a fantastic partnership for the mildly overpronating heel striker or the midfoot striker that prefers a touch more stability compared to conventional neutral running shoes.

Available in four width options in both men’s and women’s models, the Adrenaline 20 allows narrow, standard, wide and extra wide foot types to enjoy a personalised fit.

GuideRails have been transferred from the previous model into this latest evolution for smooth support, but with a fresh execution. A full ground contact outsole provides a stable connection to the pavement and hard-wearing rubber at the rearfoot allows it to tackle the force placed on it by heel strikers.

Check out the review with full transcript below.

Hi guys, Josh from Sportitude here. It is shoe review time and we’re talking all things Adrenaline 20. It’s a phenomenal update and there’s a lot to talk about inside this shoe.

We’ll cover everything in regard to the outsole, midsole and the upper and even talk about the widths of this shoe. Without further ado, let’s get stuck in.

Widths

First things first, I’ll hold up the men’s width colour and the ladies’ width colour. What Brooks have done in the past and what they will continue to do is to create a number of different colour options in the Adrenaline 20 going forward. We’ll put up a link to our Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20 Sportitude page so you can see all the colours on offer in the first half of 2020.

Let’s talk about the widths because this is probably the biggest point of difference between this shoe. Men’s widths start with a B which is narrow. They go to a D which is standard then we’re talking 2E and 4E.

Four widths on offer in this shoe is insane. That’s fantastic. I love brands that pay attention to widths.

For women’s we’ve got 2A which is narrow, then we go to a B, a D which is a little bit wider then to the extra wide 2E. Again, four widths on offer.

That for me tells a big story. When a brand is going to make four widths in a specific shoe, they are investing a lot of money, time and effort into engineering and ensuring they can cater to almost every width of foot type that could fall into this specific sports support category.

Foot Type

Who should be running in the Adrenaline 20? Now with the GuideRails technology and we’ll talk about that in two ticks, we’re talking about a runner with a slight overpronation through midstance.

That is the runner that comes down on the heel, goes through to midstance and we see a slight tilt towards that medial side before they go through to the forefoot to toe-off. We’re talking about a little collapse in that arch area through midstance.

That is going to be the case for heel strikers and then the occasional midfoot runner could also consider the Adrenaline 20 if they’re seeking a little more stability through the medial section as well.

Outsole

Let’s talk all things outsole. I’m going to do a comparison to where it was or where it’s come from in the Adrenaline 19. The great thing about it is it isn’t an over complicated outsole. You’ve got that harder wearing rubber in that heel strike zone and then you’ve got a slightly lighter but softer rubber through the forefoot to provide extra propulsion on toe-off.

Looking at the flexibility through the forefoot, we’ve got two full flex grooves across the horizontal line and a little slit which is just in line with almost your metatarsal heads, so you get a nice bit of flexibility through that forefoot when you’re toeing off.

However, you can see on the outsole on the medial side it’s encapsulated so it’s going to give that first big toe a bit of extra support to hold its place in the last phase of your gait cycle.

It has that full ground contact look and feel to it. As I touched on before, if you happen to be a midfoot runner you’re going to like this shoe because it has a nice plush purchase to the ground.

Midsole

We’re going to talk all things midsole. There’s a bit to cover because GuideRails were new last year and they’ve done a little alteration with how they’ve executed it inside the Adrenaline 20. I’m going to grab the Adrenaline 19 from last year. This happens to be a ladies’ colour.

With the midsole first things first, we’re going to talk about the Crash Pad area. They’ve got DNA Loft in the first point of contact with the ground for heel strikers. Nothing has changed regarding where they’ve put the Crash Pad in the Adrenaline 20, obviously catering for that heel striker.

90% of the change in the midsole has come from how they execute the GuideRails inside the shoe. They’ve gone with a co-bonded moulding setup. Instead of having a midsole like they’ve done with the Adrenaline 19 where they’ve strategically placed GuideRails on the lateral side base of the heel, GuideRails on the medial side and then glued and set them into the midsole, they’ve gone with the same mould in the Adrenaline 20. 

They’ve got the one piece where the GuideRails sit on the lateral side and it gives a little extra support down towards the forefoot. Not so much on the lateral side, but on the medial side you can see the GuideRails sit nicely bonded into the midsole and give a little extra support as you come through to your forefoot toe-off phase of your gait cycle.

Now it’s a different take on the traditional dual density support that we’ve seen for 20 plus years in running shoes where they’ve just placed a medial block inside the shoe. I am a real believer that this shoe is going to cater quite well for the mild overpronator.

No surprises here, last year or the year with the Adrenaline 19 there was a percentage of runners that have been traditional Adrenaline users for years and they tried the Adrenaline 19 and it just did not feel the same.

What they then had to do is look laterally, jump to another lane and look at another brand. What Brooks probably identified before they released the Adrenaline 19 and obviously the same sort of discussion that would have been around the Adrenaline 20 was ‘lose and gain’.

They gain more runners by executing GuideRail technology because there was this grey area between stable neutral and mildly supported shoes and that’s where this shoe sits – right in the middle.

It’s almost a neutral fit and feel but it caters to a mild overpronator. That’s where the vast majority of runners sit, right in that silo. That’s why this shoe is fantastic and it fits a great percentage of runners that are looking for a little bit of support but don’t want to overcomplicate it with too much support and weight on the medial side.

Upper

Let’s talk about the upper now because there is quite a bit of change in the upper. Not so much in regard to the look and execution but in regard to the medial side, you can see that extra support in its overlays. Catering for that mild overpronator through midstance, the GuideRail will do its thing underneath the foot.

However, the upper can play a key role in keeping the foot stable, where it is going to hold the foot in nice and strong on that medial side with that overlay technology.

The execution of the upper is really nice too with strong stitching. It’s lightweight with plenty of breathability. The tongue is nice and light. It doesn’t sit too high or too low and is perfectly placed, offering plenty of breathability through the top.

I’d like to highlight the overlays in the tongue which Brooks have in a number of their shoes. It helps keep the tongue in a nice central position. I’m sure there’s people out there that have had their tongue drop down the lateral side before, usually because the tongue is a little offset to how your foot sits inside the shoe. The Brooks Adrenaline keeps it nice and central with the stitched eyelets for the laces. 

The internal heel counter in the back is great. You get a nice strong heel counter which is going to give plenty of support stability for that heel striker coming down.

Of course, the amount of force through the base of your heel is going to be higher for a heel striker. Therefore, the calcaneus or heel support is vitally important to keep that foot locked in a really good fixed position.

Wrapping up the Adrenaline 20, it is a fantastic new execution on a very popular model, the Adrenaline family. I’m keen to see how this one presents to customers in store and to see if they find much of a change from the Adrenaline 19 to the Adrenaline 20.

I personally didn’t find a huge difference. If anything, I really liked the lighter feel inside this shoe. It felt lighter on my foot and it ran a little lighter. It still has the 12mm heel-to-toe offset which is nice. The shoe itself is a lovely new addition. I can’t wait to start selling it. All in all, it could be a shoe for you.

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Until next time, happy running. See you soon.