The Brooks Anthem 8 is a budget daily trainer that never pretends to be more than it is. Its wide base and firm ride provide excellent stability underfoot, and though its predecessor, the Brooks Anthem 7, stood in contrast to Brooks' move toward taller, more cushioned daily trainers, the Anthem 8 embraces that direction with a significantly higher stack. It's also a much heavier shoe than its antecedent, and while the upgraded EVA-blend midsole is noticeably more cushioned and responsive than before, this is still far from a lively or plush ride, staking its reputation instead on firmness and predictability. Runners looking for one shoe for gym sessions, errands, and easy miles without breaking the bank will find the Anthem 8 a capable companion. Those chasing a bouncy, highly protective, ultra-modern daily trainer, however, should look elsewhere.
Our Verdict
The Brooks Anthem 8 is a bad shoe for marathon racing. Its sub-par cushioning offers inadequate protection for the legs, and its heft underfoot, combined with its lifeless midsole and lack of plate, means it's incapable of going the distance.
EVA midsole is lifeless, making the ride feel dull.
Much too heavy for marathon distance.
The Brooks Anthem 8 is an unremarkable shoe for 5K/10K racing. It's much too heavy to be sprightly, and though it boasts an exceptionally firm forefoot, it does little more than make it stable, with the lifeless midsole blunting any pep it could provide.
EVA midsole is lifeless, making the ride feel dull.
Significant bulk makes picking up the pace hard.
The Brooks Anthem 8 may look like a passable long run companion on paper, but that's solely down to its outstanding stability. In practice, the midsole is lifeless and inadequately cushioned, providing sub-par protection for your legs over longer efforts.
Outstanding stability makes the shoe easy to trust.
Midsole offers poor protection over longer distances.
The Brooks Anthem 8 is a good daily trainer overall. Its fantastic stability provides a trustworthy ride and keeps the foot planted remarkably well. That said, it's not a propulsive shoe by any stretch, and its protection is sub-par, so it really only suits runners who like an old-school, firm ride for their daily miles.
Outstanding stability makes the shoe easy to trust.
Old-school ride might be too harsh for some.
The Brooks Anthem 8 offers awful energy return across the midsole. The DNA Loft v2 midsole is flat and dull and returns next to nothing when compressed.
Midsole gives back hardly any energy when loaded, making the ride flat and dull.
Offers terrible rebound.
Doesn't reward the effort you put in.
The Brooks Anthem 8 provides poor responsiveness overall. Despite its decently stiff forefoot and fairly assistive rocker, the inert midsole means you get very little back from the shoe overall, making for a flat and dull ride that lacks propulsion.
The midsole returns very little of the energy stored when bending.
Midsole gives back hardly any energy when loaded, making the ride flat and dull.
The Brooks Anthem 8 is a disappointingly cushioned shoe overall. Though the heel is significantly more cushioned than the forefoot, it's passable at best, and the EVA-blend foam isn't up to the task, offering sub-par protection.
Thin forefoot offers poor protection.
Heel cushioning inadequately absorbs impact.
The Brooks Anthem 8 provides outstanding stability underfoot, and this is where the shoe shines. The firm heel and forefoot, combined with the generous outsole, low stack, and semi-gusseted tongue, make for a planted and predictable ride that is easy to trust.
Firm forefoot keeps toe-off very stable.
Wide outsole offers excellent security underfoot.
The Brooks Anthem 8 fits mostly true to size. The length is spot on, and the forefoot has good width, but the arch is one of the narrowest we've tested to date, so runners with a wider midfoot or taller toes may want to go for the wider sizing.
Length is spot on.
Excellent forefoot width.
Supremely narrow arch.
Performance Usages
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Brooks Anthem 8 in men's US size 9, as indicated on the label of our pair. The color featured on the shoe we tested is Black/Grey/Green, but you can also get the shoe in other colors, depending on the region. This shoe is available in two widths: Medium and Wide. The design section applies only to the exact model we tested, but we expect other sizes and genders to perform similarly.
Popular Running Shoe Comparisons
The Brooks Anthem 8 is a no-frills daily trainer that suits walking and gym work as much as running. In the wider market, it occupies similar territory to the Nike Downshifter 14: affordable, practical, and unlikely to set anyone's training week on fire. The Brooks is the lighter and more responsive of the two overall; however, the Nike retails for much less, making the Anthem 8 a difficult sell unless you're after a very particular Brooks ride, which leads to an even more interesting comparison within Brooks' own lineup. As the Brooks Ghost 18 has grown softer, taller, and more modern, the Anthem 8 feels like it has inherited some of that line's hand-me-downs, even using the same DNA LOFT v2 midsole and the same heel stack height to serve up a firmer ride. Old wine in new skins, perhaps, but not without purpose. For runners who miss what the Ghost line once was, the Anthem 8 feels very close in spirit.
Elsewhere in Brooks' lineup, the Brooks Glycerin 23 is the premium daily trainer, whereas those who need support for overpronation should look at the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 25. The Brooks Hyperion 3 is the brand's lightweight uptempo trainer. At the other end of the spectrum, the Brooks Glycerin Max 2 is the towering max-cushion option, built to soak up easy miles with as much protection as possible.
If you're looking for more options from Brooks, check out our picks for the best Brooks running shoes. If you're a beginner runner looking to buy your first pair, our best beginner running shoes article is a great place to start. Or if you're looking for the best overall, our recommendations for the best running shoes have our top picks curated by category.
The Brooks Anthem 8 and Brooks Revel 8 are both similar shoes in Brooks' entry-level lineup, with a few distinctions. The Revel is the more nimble of the two, with a lower stack height, drop, and less cushioning overall, and though neither is deeply protective, the Revel has a much harsher ride overall. The Anthem is heavier but much more stable; however, since both shoes target lifestyle versatility in that they aim to cover walking, gym work, and some running, it comes down to which feels best for you underfoot.
The Brooks Anthem 8 is the successor to the Brooks Anthem 7 and brings with it some significant changes underfoot. Both shoes are equipped to handle a mix of running, walking, and gym work, though the Anthem 8 is the taller, higher-drop, much more cushioned shoe overall, and will suit those looking for a budget option with a modern trainer profile. The Anthem 7 is the lighter, lower shoe, geared towards those who prefer a more traditional, ground-feel-first ride.
The Brooks Anthem 8 and the Brooks Ghost 18 both belong to the same brand, but they're meant for different runners. The Ghost is the classic daily trainer, providing a more protective ride overall, and is more suited to heel strikers due to its very good cushioning in the rearfoot. The Anthem 8 is the budget option, and though more stable underfoot, it's not quite as balanced or propulsive as the Ghost overall. Both shoes can handle daily mileage, but the Ghost handles it better; however, it's significantly more expensive at full retail.
We buy and test running shoes with a very data-oriented approach. While we're just getting started, our methodology already has dozens of tests to help you make the right purchasing decision for your needs. Not only do we use high-end equipment to gather objective data, but we also order multiple sizes of the same shoes so team members can log in miles. This real-world testing is conducted at various paces and conditions, across different types of workouts, to cover all the bases. This allows us to verify our results and ensure they align with what you might feel with a specific pair.
Test Results
We measured a significantly higher stack in the Brooks Anthem 8 compared to the Brooks Anthem 7. This change marks a notable departure from the shoe's identity, as it now stands much closer to classic trainers like the Brooks Ghost 18, something previous generations of the shoe seemingly avoided.
The low forefoot height means runners with taller toes may find the fit too low.
The arch of the Brooks Anthem 8 is incredibly narrow. Runners who have wider feet or just don't want to be cramped may be better served by the wider version.
Though not the most aggressive, the heel rocker of the Brooks Anthem 8 is still assertive enough to aid smooth transitions onto the midfoot for heel strikers.
The forefoot rocker has a similar profile to the heel, providing a gentle roll through toe-off and smoothing out the ride overall.
The heel rebound in this shoe is notably terrible. The foam is lifeless and dull, returning minimal energy under compression. Though common in budget daily trainers like the Nike Downshifter 14, it still lags behind classic daily trainers like the Brooks Ghost 18.
Much like the heel, the forefoot has truly terrible energy return, making toe-off feel sluggish and the ride muted.
The cushioning in the heel is mediocre overall. The cheap, EVA-blend midsole offers very little protection compared to shoes like the Brooks Ghost 18, and though it's passable, it still makes this a firmer, ground-feel-first experience.
The forefoot is much less cushioned than the heel, making the ride feel harsh at all force levels, though particularly at higher loads.
The heel is one of the firmest we've tested. This makes the ride harsh, but also provides outstanding stability.
The forefoot in this shoe is also one of the firmest we've tested. This provides a remarkably planted base that makes toe-off rich with groundfeel.
The midsole holds up poorly over extended efforts, meaning it's not the shoe to lace up for longer runs.
The rocker is much stiffer than the Brooks Anthem 7, keeping its shape under load to provide a more fluid, assisted experience as you roll over.
The Brooks Anthem 8 returns a poor amount of stored energy under bend. Because of this, toe-off is wildly inefficient, and the shoe lacks pop.
The forefoot resists load well but doesn't snap back efficiently, meaning it lacks the snappiness found in more performance-focused shoes like the 361 Flame 4, and relies on its rocker profile to drive forward motion.