Discontinued · road · Recovery / Long run / Daily · $130
Earlier generation of the Brooks Ghost Max line, kept for replacement lookups.
Built for recovery, long run, daily, at a target pace of 9:00–12:30 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Brooks Ghost Max 3.
Brooks tuned this midsole very soft (5/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is modest, so the ride feels protective and damp rather than springy. At 42 mm of heel stack this sits in max-cushion territory; legs stay fresher on long efforts, but the platform is tall. Combined, the ride reads as calm at 2/5 responsiveness.
There is no plate here. The midsole does all the work, so the shoe flexes naturally and stays versatile across paces — easier on the feet day to day, but without the snap of a plated shoe when you want to roll.
A 6 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is aggressive: the sole is curved and stiff enough to tip you into the next stride on its own, which saves the calf on long runs but feels strange when you slow right down. The forefoot is stiff, so it rolls rather than bends — a lever, not a slipper. It offers real guidance through the gait cycle — useful for runners whose form collapses when tired.
The toe-box is wide, with space for the toes to spread late in long runs. It fits true to size. Expect roughly 500 miles from the outsole, about $0.26 per mile at $130.
For the foams and plates Brooks uses across its line, read the Brooks brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
286 g / 10.1 oz
11 g heavier than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
42 mm
6 mm taller than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
6 mm
Level with the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$130
30 cheaper than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
5 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
2 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~500 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Brooks line it is heavier than the brand's median (283 g / 10.0 oz) and sits taller than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Saucony Endorphin Shift 4
300 g / 10.6 oz · 42 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $150
Big, stable, rockered cruiser for high-mileage easy days.
Hoka Gaviota 6
283 g / 10.0 oz · 39 mm · 6 mm drop · — · $175
Maximal stability: wide J-Frame base with plush, slow cushioning.
Hoka Bondi 9(2024)
297 g / 10.5 oz · 43 mm · 5 mm drop · — · $170
Maximum foam under everything. Recovery-day armchair with a wide platform.
Hoka Clifton 10(2025)
277 g / 9.8 oz · 42 mm · 8 mm drop · — · $150
Big soft stack at a light weight, with a roomier forefoot than most max trainers.