At first I thought the shoes were too hard. Then I put them on! My balance has returned to normal and my back no longer hurts. I went to the Brooks website and did a test and they recommended these shoes to me. Not as pretty as I like, but pretty, just as pretty. I passed the same test after wearing them for a day and passed with flying colours! And the comment I read against them said they are not waterproof, is that the other 14 R?. Some. Not this one.