I LOVE Brooks shoes. My last 4 pair have been Brooks and I bought my wife a pair for Christmas. These, however, never quite worked for me. As soon as I got them I started complaining that the soles didn't align with my feet. I finally started using these as my primary running shoes about a month ago and just noticed the fabric around the tongue is completely separated leaving the tongue padding exposed. Again... love Brooks, my next shoes will probably be Brooks, I'll just have to buy after a month vs buying in a year or so.