I run 4.5 miles every other day. I was using Mizuno's for years, but decided to change it up and try Brooks. I will say after running once with these shoes, they are great. I read many reviews before purchasing them and I was a little worried about the size, as many have said it runs a size too small. I was skeptical about this, so decided to order my regular size and if for some reason they didn't fit, I was just going to return them and re-order a size bigger. It turns out, these shoes fit me perfect. I don't understand what people mean when they say they run a size too small. If you believe that then you must not know what your regular size is. These fit perfect on my trial run. They actually fit like a glove and my toes were NOT jammed in the front. It was a perfect fit. The first thing I noticed is how light they were. It almost felt like I had nothing on my feet. The cushioning in my opinion is just right. They aren't overly cushioned, but rather seem just right. I did notice it seemed like the rebound after contacting the ground with my heel seemed to help propel me forward a little bit, as if they were providing a helpful transfer of energy. These are great shoes and this comes from somebody who has been running for about 24 years. One thing I did notice when I ran was the traction could be a little better. It had rained a few hour before my run and the trail I was running on was a little wet and somewhat slick, especially in shady areas. I could tell when the shoe made contact, I wasn't getting the best traction and felt there was a possibility I could slip if I wasn't careful to run "sure footed." Other than that, I love these shoes. I hardly ever run when it rains anyway, so it's not really a big deal. Maybe Brooks wanted to use a harder rubber on the tread of these shoes to create less friction with the pavement when running because a shoe that's grippier creates more resistance and is harder to run with.