Brooks Hyperion Elite MD Review: Turning The Corner

Introduction to the Brooks Hyperion Elite MD

KALEB: Mercer, Jordy, and I are in various stages of being coached year-round — Mercer and me by our respective college programs, and Jordy by her beast of a high school program that has turned her into a multi-event monster and D1 commit. It’s fun being on the team grind, but depending on the season (especially during the fall cross-country season), we might not get the chance to spin ourselves ‘round a track, which means reviews for spikes are a little less consistent here at Believe in the Run. So we do our best to put a little extra care into our spike reviews so that companies will at least have quality feedback to make up for lost time.

But the indoor track season has arrived at last, and with it, all of you consistent Believe in the Run readers get a break from the old folks as the three of us get the privilege to write yet another chaotic track spike review.

Unlike its road department (which, until recently, has upheld an age-old tradition of being a hotter collection of garbage than Robbe finds on a long run in Baltimore), Brooks’ track department has always had at least something to justify its existence. The Wire (good name), ELMN8 (absolutely atrocious name), and QW-K (what?) have rounded out the Brooks track lineup from long to short distance with increasingly stupid naming conventions. While they’re not the top of their class, they’re not laughingstocks either, so when Brooks makes a track spike, it’s worth at least strapping your feet into (sock-clad or otherwise… Mercer) to see what’s up.

But when you’ve got Josh Kerr, one of the best distance track athletes in the world right now, in your corner, you’ve got to be more than “alright.” So before the Olympics this summer, Brooks set up its slowly expanding kitchenette and started cooking two new spikes for the 1,500m specialist. Of the two pieces of footwear that emerged, Kerr opted to wear the longer-distance option, the Hyperion Elite LD, for his Olympic 1500m. This review is for its younger, middle-distance cousin, the Hyperion Elite MD.

I’ve already hit my quota for sarcastic parenthetical insertions (like this one), and we’re only in the intro, so this is sure to be a good review from the gun. Try to keep up.

MERCER: The air is chilly, the wind is picking up, and Santa has just landed — which tells you how long I’ve had this spike. Indoor track is finally here, which means it’s finally time to put on some spikes and get the craziest indoor lung you’ve ever had. And another brand has some super spikes.

As Kaleb said, the road department of the Brooks supershoes isn’t anything to write home about, but they have unbelievable athletes who wear their shoes. Shout out to CJ Albertson on the roads and the whole Brooks Beasts team on the track. But just like putting lipstick on a pig, these pros can make any shoe look good, so our job as the slightly better than average is here to claim if these spikes really are super.

JORDY: There’s a lot to like about the Brooks Hyperion Elite MD spike. It’s just supportive enough and form-fit to perfection. My pair weighed about 4.8 oz, and it still includes a full-length carbon-composite SpeedVault plate on top of its 6-pin spike plate. Surrounding that is a bed of DNA Flash v2 foam to provide some cushioning for the latter stages of middle-distance races. Above it all is a knit mesh upper that’s plenty breathable, so let’s lace up and go.

What we like about the Brooks Hyperion Elite MD

KALEB: Science says that being fast is 72.86% about looking good, and if that made-up fact is true, the Hyperion Elite MD is already sure to break records. Ok, actually, the blue colorway I found online is pretty mid, but the other colorway, the grey-white and orange spike I received, screams speed. The upper has a very cool, spiderweb-ish look, a lot like Nike’s AtomKnit weave, but better looking, in my opinion.

This deconstructed upper is for more than just show — it also has the best, most comfortable lockdown of any spike I’ve put on my foot ever. The toebox widens out flawlessly, the heel is locked in and won’t budge, the lacing system is asymmetrical and slants left on both spikes, keeping the ridged laces consistently locked down during the continuous left turns of the track, and the overall volume of the upper just perfectly harnesses the foot above the midsole and leaves no room for complaints. In the last spike review that we did, Mercer and I had a slight disagreement on whether racing sockless is fine and normal or makes you a freaky little freak, and I’ll say that even I would race sockless in the Hyperion Elite MD. The lockdown and comfort are just that good, and in mid-distance events, lockdown is everything.

Regardless, underfoot is still where most runners are most concerned, and fear not, for the Hyperion Elite MD (wow, typing that out is a bear) feels like a true superspike. Brooks opted for DNA FLASH v2 for this spike, and it’s a solid pick for mid-D races. The nitrogen-infused foam adds some bounce, but a lot of the propulsion of this spike comes from the geometry and carbon-composite plate.

That said, carbon composite is very different from carbon fiber. Where a carbon fiber plate tends to be super stiff and preserves the rocker of a spike or shoe, when carbon is mixed with another material like nylon, it becomes a lot more flexible. What this means for the Hyperion Elite MD is the ride is a lot less of a rolling or bouncing sensation and more of a snappy, flinging sensation.

If you’ve ever taken a plastic spoon, bent it back, and launched it across the table at your sibling, that’s the underfoot sensation of this spike. It bends, and at slower paces, it doesn’t really feel like a superspike at all, but pick up the pace, and suddenly, the wedge of DNA FLASH behind the forefoot works together with the flexibility of the plate to really throw you forward. This is the type of spike that really gives more back the more you give it, so it’s really great for closing kicks or those gun-and-done 400m and 800m races.

One last detail I really appreciated about the Hyperion Elite MD is tied to its geometry. It’s subtle, but the spike plate is ever so slightly rockered toward the big toe. If you’re a running mechanics nerd like me, you already know that the big toe is linked to fascia that run all the way up to the glute, meaning when you properly push off of your big toe, your glute fires harder. Harder contraction generally means running faster, and I think it’s cool that this spike is designed to work in harmony with the body’s pre-existing mechanisms to enhance your performance.

One last thing, and I’m just putting this here because it’s funny enough to me that I’ve got to mention it: for weight-savings, the heel of this spike just straight up has a hole in it, straight to the insole. Is this a good thing? I have no clue. Is my foot going to break through and smack the track eventually? Probably not, but who knows? Does the tension of that make me feel more alive? Oh yeah.

MERCER: Sometimes being a little late to the party has its benefits, and that’s what we see here. While all the other brands jumped at the shot to make a super spike, it took Brooks just a little bit longer to create something that it believed would make an impact on the market. And we see nods to other spikes here on the Hyperion Elite MD, such as the upper taking what made the Nike Victory nice, with an AtomKnit-like upper, and the continuous spike plate reminding me of the old Cielo X MD.

The shape of this spike is also a great addition for mid-distance runners. With the speed and power 800m runners are taking around a curve, you want as much surface area as you can get and the Hyperion MD does a great job with having a flipper-like feeling to it. With A very narrow heel with foam cut out of the back to decrease weight and a very large toebox, this shoe begs you to try and land incorrectly. And as Kaleb said, with that geometry leading towards the big toe, this spike is one for the biomechanics nerds. So, if you’re worried about feeling like running on rails, it won’t be found on this spike.

This is the best-fitting upper I have had on a spike, hands down. The way the upper and laces have a slight elasticity to them to adapt to every curve of the foot is beautiful, combined with that asymmetrical lacing system it has you feeling like you’re getting tucked into bed. Of course, I would race in this spike sockless, but I would for 99% of spikes, so it’s not the biggest compliment, but Kaleb going sockless, wow… Good on you, Brooks, for finally making him see the light.

JORDY: The Hyperion Elite MD fit true to size, and the knitted mesh allowed more of a molding fit to my feet. I wore this spike during 400 and 800m training and I loved the bouncy feel of the foam along with the plate stability. Even after repeated pounding, my feet were not fatigued or achy from the spikes.

What we don’t like about the Brooks Hyperion Elite MD

KALEB: I’m curious about the decision not to go full-on carbon when it came to the Hyperion Elite MD’s plate. Don’t get me wrong, I kinda love the snappy feeling the flexible carbon composite plate lends to my stride. I just wonder if a more aggressive carbon fiber plate would enhance this further. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn’t. This isn’t a negative, I’m just putting this here for the sake of conversation: many mid-distance athletes prefer a rigid, violent plate that rolls and pops. The Hyperion MD feels like a traditional spike but with some of the performance enhancements of a superspike. It’s a unique thing and just as fun, in my opinion, but if you’re looking strictly for a really aggressive ride character, I’m not sure this is the pick.

I have similar questions about the decision to go with DNA FLASH rather than a PEBA compound. DNA FLASH provides a great, firm bounce underfoot for middle-distance runners, especially in that wedge behind the forefoot, but PEBA (or some similar superfoam) has become the gold standard for superior energy return. Brooks is finally beginning to introduce PEBA compounds into its race-day models, so maybe that will shape their track line down the road.

Speculative discussion aside, I really have no major gripes when it comes to this spike. Is it the best it can be? I’m truly not sure, but it certainly has the makings of a great spike and already is a dang good one. I’m almost disappointed because I typically enjoy roasting any and all Brooks offerings over the fire of my discontent. But no, you done good with this one, Brooks. You done good.

MERCER: I don’t want to call this bad so much as meh. This problem has been rooted so deep into Brooks and that’s just the lack of oomph from their shoes. Hoka figured it out by leaving EVA for greener pastures to create a better relationship with the foam and plate. As Kaleb said, the DNA Flash just isn’t enough, and the Carbon Composite is just a stronger plastic at the end of the day. This has been a problem for Brooks ever since the OG Hyperion Elite. I believe that they are going to turn the corner, and I hope to see that soon.

Brooks had their chance to sit back and wait to create something awesome, and they are pretty close. This would have competed with the super spikes of a couple of years ago, but with the spikes coming out now, it’s just a little behind.

JORDY: While I have nothing negative to critique regarding the design or technology of the Hyperion Elite MD, I would recommend wearing a sock with a higher heel than the lip of the heel top mesh, as it started to rub a bit. The colorway is illusion blue, coral, and orange, which is a basic scheme — nothing flashy or exciting.

Final thoughts on the Brooks Hyperion Elite MD

KALEB: The Hyperion Elite MD was a pleasant surprise from Brooks. It’s a fairly legitimate superspike offering from a brand that hasn’t really been considered “fast” for years. The pieces are all there for a really great spike. Version one might not be the absolute pinnacle of performance when stacked up against technologically beefier spikes like the Nike AirZoom Victory 2 or the Saucony Endorphin Cheetah, but it’s a dang good start, and with some slightly more premium components, I can see myself loving what Brooks is offering here.

I’ll definitely be giving the Hyperion Elite MD a go for 4’s and 8’s throughout the indoor season, and I look forward to what’s next. The day has finally come when I’m legitimately anticipating what Brooks is cooking up in the performance world. Pigs have finally flown.

MERCER: Brooks has taken a big risk with this spike, abandoning all the previous foams and geometries for something new. And that’s impressive and it will pay dividends in the future. Think of it like On, man did those things suck, but they kept trying, and they have created some shoes that are possibly at the top of categories, and Brooks has the chance to do it. Brooks has the best loyalty program in the world and I know they’ve got some money to prove it, if maybe not Swiss gold. I think the biggest issue from Brooks is what I said earlier — their athletes make the spikes look good, I’m just not sure that you and I can do the same yet.

JORDY: I would recommend the Brooks Hyperion Elite MD spikes for all-around comfort, durability, and performance. They have an excellent energy return at the toe drive, give the perfect amount of traction on the track, and have phenomenal shock transfer and cushion. I would honestly say that these are some of the best-performing and most comfortable spikes I have ever run in.

You can pick up the Brooks Hyperion Elite MD for $179 from Running Warehouse (featuring free shipping and 90-day returns) by using the buttons below.