Glycerin 23 vs Triumph 23

The Glycerin 23 is Brooks at its plushest: a max-cushion daily training shoe built for the soft, unhurried side of your week. This is not a shoe chasing a personal best. It is the one you reach for on recovery days, easy miles and long relaxed runs when you want your legs coddled rather than told to work. The DNA Tuned midsole is deep and forgiving, with a tall 38mm heel stack and a moderate 8mm drop that suits heel and midfoot strikers alike. At 300g it is not light, and it never pretends to be fast, so if you want a snappy tempo shoe look elsewhere. What you get instead is comfort you can rely on, mile after mile, in a neutral running shoe that feels like it was tuned for pure cruising. If you want the same plush ride with a touch of support, the Glycerin GTS 22 adds guide rails. We rate it as one of the most dependable soft daily trainers going.

The Saucony Triumph 23 is the brand's premium max-cushion daily training shoe, built to soak up big weekly mileage in comfort rather than chase a fast time. It sits at the plush end of the neutral daily trainer market, with a tall 42.3mm heel stack and a soft, protective ride that rewards easy runs and long steady efforts. This is not a shoe you buy for speed. At 272g it is on the heavier side, and the 10mm drop plus generous cushioning steer it firmly towards comfort miles. What you get in return is a running shoe that stays kind to your legs at the end of a marathon block, when tired joints want padding more than pop. In our view it is one of the more dependable premium cushioned trainers you can buy, and a natural home for runners who log most of their week at conversational pace. If you already run the Triumph 22, the 23 is a familiar, refined step on.