Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 Performance Review

Brooks introduced its 100% PEBA DNA GOLD early this year by adding it to its (then current) race-day shoe, the Hyperion Elite 4 and giving the shoe’s name a tweak to indicate the mid-cycle upgrade. The Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB was a revelation and delivered a huge step in the right direction for Brooks’ racing footwear. The Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 goes even further, taking the Brooks race-day design, geometry, and fun further than the company has been willing to go before (the Brooks Aurora-BL notwithstanding).

What is the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5?

According to Brooks, the Hyperion Elite 5 is for “racers looking for the greatest race day advantage. Using our athlete-tested innovations from DNA GOLD to the SpeedVault Race+ carbon plate, the Hyperion Elite 5 culminates into a pinnacle racing shoe.”

I’m going to agree with the Brooks marketing team here. Brooks athletes finally have a racing shoe that meets the definition of pinnacle race-day footwear. I always wondered if Brooks athletes felt like they were a bit behind the competition as they didn’t have a shoe that could touch our Best Marathon Running Shoes list. But that’s not the case any longer. This is a shoe built to compete with anything on that list.

Cushion

Drew: The DNA GOLD on the Hyperion Elite 4 PB wasn’t as squishy as other PEBA-based midsoles. But the DNA GOLD on the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 is just as squishy as expected.

I found the Hyperion Elite 5 has plush impact protection like other mainstream PEBA compounds but still provides a trampoline-like bounce that helps push my foot up into the air after each step. Like with other top racers, when you put in the effort to find a speed that’s just on the edge of uncomfortability, the Hyperion Elite 5 makes it easier to stay there. If a marathon racing shoe doesn’t do that, it’s not worth paying the big bucks.

The SpeedVault+ plate and DNA GOLD combo is stiff, especially when you try to bend it with your hands, but it feels flexible enough on foot that slow paces don’t feel like a chore (a common theme with other racing shoes). It’s one of the better race-day models when it comes to handling easier paces. I didn’t feel the need to bring a daily trainer for my warm-up miles when using the Hyperion Elite 5.

The softness can still cause unstable heel strikers to list a bit from side-to-side (bring your stabilizing muscles!), but it’s not among the worst offenders in the race-day category. Plus the geometry quickly helped get me on my midfoot and toes, away from any potential discomfort due to heel instability.

This is a midsole that has no problem competing with the best of the best.

Arune: This is the first Hyperion Elite I’ve ever worn and my first experience with the aptly named DNA GOLD which is indeed…GOLD.

I was immediately impressed by the trampoline-like bounce that Drew mentioned and how controlled it was underfoot. This kind of bounce often creates instability that completely wrecks my gait, but there was a surprising amount of stability (that only increased as my speed did). You just need to step with purpose (which I imagine is good running advice for any shoe), and your intentional, good form is rewarded with some incredible energy return.

If anything, the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 reminded me of the now-iconic Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 but on super soldier serum—you get the snappy ride with some super-shoe-squishy-midsole goodness. On paper, that’s exactly what I want from the midsole as a 210 pound runner who’s still relatively new to the game.

So the midsole is a welcome change from other race-day shoes that feel built for the top 1% of runners and don’t respond as well to someone like me who is running a 9-10 minute per mile pace at half-marathon distances.

There are a whole lot of reasons this shoe isn’t intended to be a daily trainer; but as someone who’s used it as such for a couple of weeks, I gotta say that it certainly is built to rack up daily miles.

This is among the best race-day midsoles I’ve tested, and now I want to test out the rest of the Hyperion line—because a super trainer with this midsole might just be the running shoe love of my life.

But the craziest part? Even with all this technology in the midsole—that looks a bit like an ode to my beloved Nike Shox—the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 weighs so little I was concerned I had an empty shoebox when I got my pair in the mail.

Support

Drew: I don’t know how to explain it, but the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 feels a lot lower and connected to the ground than the majority of super shoes. It’s still got that same 40mm heel stack height but somehow manages to include some groundfeel.

What this means as far as support is that it’s easy to feel exactly how much you can push it around corners and on uneven road surfaces without the risk of sliding off the footbed. The upper also has great lockdown throughout the midfoot and even sits slightly inside the midsole at the heel. That keeps the foot planted where it should be. 

Despite the minimal upper and lack of heel counter, I felt completely stable at marathon pace. Kudos to the Brooks team for making such a fast and plush shoe surprisingly stable.

Arune: Yeah, I agree Drew—this shoe feels incredibly low to the ground, much like the Saucony Endorphin Speed 3 I mentioned. That immediately helped me hit the ground running—literally and metaphorically—and had me moving at speeds that helped me set both 5K and half-marathon PRs in my first week with the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5.

I will say that I did feel a bit of heel slippage. Drew will tell me to learn to tie a proper runner’s loop, but the slippage wasn’t ultimately enough to bother me or cause any discomfort.

Traction

Drew: The SpeedTack rubber outsole on the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 covers the entire forefoot as well as the medial and lateral sides of the heel. The rubber feels soft and minimal in hand, but I found its durability on par with or better than most marathon racing shoes. I appreciated the bar pattern and did feel like I was able to “dig” into road areas that were covered in sand resulting in minimal slippage.

I found wet and dry surfaces to be well within the capabilities of this outsole, and though it’s no PUMAGRIP, it’s in the top tier of marathon running shoe traction.

Arune: Drew and I had very similar experiences. I was very impressed by the amount of SpeedTack rubber and how much it added to the durability of the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 versus other marathon shoes where it feels like a dare to see how much foam I can shave off with each run.

I took some sharp turns on sandy and wet, grassy surfaces without any issue.

Upper

Drew: The Brooks Hyperion Elite 5’s TPU pressed upper (which is similar—and just as stiff before break-in—to Nike’s AtomKnit but more open-celled in nature) is somewhat track spike-like and allows for a ton of airflow. This is a great summer racing shoe, and the four Brooks athletes competing at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo in August will appreciate the breathability.

On foot, the upper feels lightweight and barely there. This contributes to the entire shoe feeling lighter than the measured weight would indicate. I love this feeling when racing or running a workout where I’m digging deep. I want the bounce without the bulk so my feet don’t feel encumbered. The Hyperion Elite 5 delivers that feeling.

At the event where I originally tested the Hyperion Elite 5, several journalists/influencers (it’s hard to tell who’s who these days) complained about the low-profile heel. The heel collar is not as tall as is typical (compared both to other super shoes and daily trainers), and many testers needed to use a runner’s loop to improve heel lockdown. However, I didn’t experience that issue. I did notice the heel wasn’t as tall as many others, but the heel collar padding and good lacing geometry kept my heel locked into the Hyperion Elite 5 while running.

The positives of this featherweight upper far outweigh any potential negatives.

Arune: Calling the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 lightweight is an understatement—it feels like it’s barely there in hand and disappears even further on foot, which doesn’t seem possible.

The breathability in this upper is unrivaled, not just because the TPU is so thin but because it lets an unrivaled amount of air through so that your feet don’t sweat even in humid temps topping 90 degrees.

Like we’ve discussed, I had the heel slippage that Drew witnessed, but it didn’t cause me any real issues with running. [Editor’s Note: To runner’s knot, or not to runner’s knot, that is the question…]

This is an elite (no pun intended) upper, and I’d love to see other shoe brands capture the magic that Brooks has here with this barely-there feel.

One thing we need to touch on is how this shoe looks—and that is AWESOME. The colors are vibrant, the design evokes the love child of Nike Flywire shoes and Nike Shox (which I guess is technically part of the midsole) while also being something entirely unique.

I got a lot of compliments on the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 while out on my runs here around Los Angeles, and there’s nothing else on the market that looks quite like it. In a world of increasingly similar shoes, Brooks has found a way to carve its own lane (pun intended this time) for super shoe design—and that’s a good thing for the industry.

Is the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 wide foot friendly?

Drew: No, the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 is not wide-foot friendly. The toebox and heel are slim. They do have some give, and wide-footers at the Brooks event didn’t complain. But if you’re trying to take this shoe the marathon distance, wide-footers won’t get a pleasant experience as their feet swell.

Arune: To paraphrase Stone Cold Steve Austin, give me a HELL NO.

I absolutely love the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5, but it’s absolutely too narrow for me. I could feel the outsides of my feet and pinkie toes screaming during my runs (which maxed out at 13 miles in one day over two sessions). However, the pain did make me run faster so I could get out of these shoes faster…so perhaps Brooks are actually geniuses? [Editor’s Note: Did this gorgeous notional grammar choice immediately trigger this reference for anyone else, or just me?]

This is a shoe I would happily use for a 5K, 10K, or maybe a half marathon; but it wouldn’t be my first choice for longer races in a world of more accommodating super shoes.

The fact is, nearly every shoe company struggles with racing shoes for wider-footed runners like myself, and I look forward to seeing the big legacy brands find a way to include us in experiencing such otherwise incredible shoes.

[Editor’s Note: As a quick reminder, the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 is sized as a unisex, D-width shoe. So while the fit is on the slim side for those (like Drew) who normally wear D-width shoes (the standard in men’s sizing), those who usually wear B-width shoes (the standard width in women’s sizing) may not experience the Hyperion Elite 5 as quite as narrow. Trying it on will be the best bet to determine how the fit works for you.]

Is the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 worth $275?

Drew: Sigh. $275 is the new, most common price point for flagship marathon racing shoes. That hurts my soul (and wallet). But, knowing that’s where all marathon race-shoe pricing is headed (or higher), the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 delivers sufficient value to justify that pricing. So ask your boss for a raise, and close your eyes while you fork over the cash. [Editor’s Note: About that… Is this a good time to talk about the unique value I bring to the company…?]

Arune: I’ll never cheer for pricing that locks out the general public from experiencing joyous running shoes, but as Drew said: this is what super shoes cost these days.

And if you’re not a wide-footer like me, the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 will be worth every damn penny.

How to use the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5

The Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 is best used for long-distance road racing from the 5K to marathon distances and all the interval, tempo, and long-run workouts needed along the way to prepare to perform your best at all those distances.

Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 Summary

Drew: The Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 is in the top tier of road-racing running shoes and primed to go the marathon distance with both the underfoot comfort and helpful energy return needed to let you focus your mind on all the other stuff that complicates long-distance racing. It’s a total package where the upper, traction, and cushion all work together to help you feel fast.

Arune: Even with the width issues in mind, the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 lives up to its name and delivers one of the best running experiences of my life, signaling that the hierarchy of power in the super-shoe market may be about to change.

How does the Author Run?

Drew Whitcomb (age 43, 6’6″ 200lbs): Runs daily with a once a week rest day. Runs a lot of miles due to testing needs and a growing affinity for long-distance races. Regularly competes in marathons, half-marathons, 10k, and 5k races.

Arune Singh (age 43, 5’11”, 210lbs): Trains daily with functional fitness programming from Deadboys Fitness, founded by Colby “Seth Rollins” Lopez and Josh Gallegos, along with logging 30-40 miles of running per week. He also has a medical history of Sleep Apnea and Myasthenia Gravis, meaning Arune’s focus is on lean muscle mass.

Disclosure

While Brooks did provide pairs of the Hyperion Elite 5 to facilitate this review, the company had no involvement in this review, didn’t receive an advance look at it, and has not attempted to influence it.