Brooks Cascadia Elite

The Brooks Cascadia Elite is the racing version of the Cascadia. Brooks took its best-known trail shoe and rebuilt it for race day: lighter, faster, with the best materials in the house.

The spec sheet

• DNA Gold midsole, PEBA-based — Brooks' highest-performing foam, reserved for its top models.
• A Pebax perimeter plate that wraps around the midsole rather than running through it.
• Full-coverage Vibram Megagrip Elite outsole with 3.2 mm lugs.
• Around 275 g, a 6 mm drop, and 38.8 mm of stack at the heel.

A plate around the edge, not through the middle

This is the model's interesting technical choice. A through-plate, like a road shoe's, propels well but copes badly with the off-camber landings of trail. By placing the plate around the perimeter of the midsole, Brooks gets lateral stability on uneven ground while still letting the foot flex.

Who is the Cascadia Elite for?

• Trail race day, from 25 km to the ultra.
• Rolling, fast trails rather than very technical rock.
• Runners already training in the Cascadia who want a pair kept for races.

Cascadia Elite or Cascadia?

The regular Brooks Cascadia is the everyday shoe: heavier, sturdier, cheaper, built to take training mileage. The Elite is the pair you save for race numbers. Plenty of runners own both.

A unisex model

The Cascadia Elite comes in unisex sizing. If you are used to women's sizes, ask us for the conversion — it is the kind of detail we settle in thirty seconds in store.

Try it on in store

Come near Québec City. A trail race shoe has to fit exactly right: on a descent, half a size too much is paid for in black toenails.

See also our trail running shoes for men and women, or the full Brooks range.