These shoes were SO comfy when I tried them on in the store, and crazy light to boot! I've been looking to go to a zero-drop shoe after spending nearly a year transitioning to a mid/forefoot strike in response to plantar fasciitis. (Boo!) I didn't want to go whole-hog minimalist, so thought the Brooks Connect would be an excellent compromise/transition shoe. I've run in Brooks shoes for at least a dozen years, so I trusted these would be just the ticket.

On the first run of four miles they seemed awesome. They are indeed crazy light and cushy, and definitely encourage a mid/forefoot strike. Man, they're light!

Unfortunately, tacking on just one more mile on the next run was all it took to make me realize....Yow, that arch is really high! That fifth mile was pretty uncomfortable, and my feet were sore through the next day. I don't know what it is about a high arch that really stresses out feet that are *not* high-arched, but man! I was hoping to use these for up to 10 miles at least. :( So, with a heavy sigh, I had to return them.

I also agree with those who noted how narrow these are. I'm a woman but had to get the men's Connects in order to avoid pinching my forefoot. That surprised me; I figured Brooks' sizing was consistent across all their models. Silly me!

Having said all this:  I believe these are truly AWESOME shoes for folks with high arches and somewhat narrow feet. I wanted so much for them to work, darn it, 'cause they felt great just trying them on and walking around, and were fine for a very short run. I would just caution anyone with lower arches to be wary. I also found that I could somewhat feel the cool/funky cutouts in the sole on the ball of the foot. I only did the two runs in them, but I was getting a little of that sort of nerve tingle in my toes that indicates weird pressure points underfoot. It's entirely possible that, at 6' tall and 160 lbs, I'm really just too heavy a runner for these shoes. Damn!

So:  If you're a not-too-heavy runner with relatively narrow feet and relatively high arches, I think you will LOVE these!

If you're relatively heavy with average width feet and not-very-high arches, you may want to scope out another option.

Happy Running!