Brooks Running Tour and Fall Preview

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of touring Brooks Running HQ and got a preview of their new fall collection! 

I had never even been to the Brooks store before and was just blown away by the very cool, industrial design of the place. 

During the tour of HQ, my favorite room was seeing the Brooks Lab. Innovation at Brooks is defined by their overarching goal to make the run better, faster, safer, more comfortable and more enjoyable for runners. As such, they take feedback very seriously, and at their Brooks lab, they use hard data and insights to get a deeper understanding of biomechanics -- how each person's body responds to a run -- which then impacts how they design and produce their awesome gear. 

In the lab, there were treadmills where they do tests with their products and see how the human body is affected during a run with their gear. There were also machines that test the longevity and impact certain materials can have over long periods of time. 

It was such a beautiful space and I could definitely see how innovation is at the core of the brand. The space is an open, collaborative environment... and check out the view from their roof. 

Breath taking right? That. View. 

Thanks to @brooksrunning for sharing your fall 2015 collection with us! #brooksheritage @brooksheritage #thankyourunning #hyperlapse

A video posted by Amanda B. Nguyen (@amandabnguyen) on Jul 14, 2015 at 6:49pm PDT

After the tour, we headed to their main store to check out the new fall collection... and I must say.. even though I'm not a runner, I was obsessed with everything, especially this amazing LSD jacket -- windproof, lightweight and water resistant, it's perfect for any Seattleite. I snagged this beauty in grey, and have already worn it at least a dozen times on the way to the gym.

I also picked up a pair of compression capri tights that are super comfortable, one of their comfy and supportive sport bras and the shoes below. What's so neat about Brooks is that they were super technical about how I picked my shoes. I hopped on a treadmill and did a little test run for the pros. From there, they analyzed the arch of my foot, if I had weird running patterns (which I thought I totally did.. hello, I'm a crossfitter...we don't run often), and then picked a pair based on those insights. How neat is that?! 

The shoes we ended up with were the PureFlow 4 -- most lightweight, flexible and neutral running shoe. I let them know that I did Crossfit, so this was as close I would get to a minimalist training shoe. BUT it still had Brook's magical comfort and cushion-like support. 

If you're looking for some new running gear or active wear this fall, I highly recommend giving Brooks a try. The colors are on point!