Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3: the ‘fastest marathon racer possible’

Billed as “humanity’s fastest shoe”, Adidas’s Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3s represent “the cutting edge of trainer technology”, said The Guardian. “Lighter and bouncier” than any other “super shoe” on the market, they are designed to help runners “chase records”, and the shoes, which weigh under 100g – less than a bar of soap – did exactly that at the London Marathon last month.

Sabastian Sawe was wearing them when he became the first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon, and Tigst Assefa wore them as she beat the women-only record.

Adidas has pushed the limits of racing shoes once again in its mission to create “the lightest, fastest marathon racer possible”, said Women’s Running. With new, more responsive foam, a carbon-fibre infused rim around the edge of the sole, and “obsessive” weight savings, the Evo 3 is aimed at “elite runners chasing every possible advantage”, not for training or park runners, let alone everyday use.

Inspired by kitesurfing materials, the upper is so ultra-lightweight it “feels almost non-existent”; there’s just enough structure to keep the foot in place, but some runners might find the feel “minimal to the point of harsh”.

Support is focused on the forefoot where high-level runners need it most, said Harry Bullmore in The Independent, and the front offers a lot of bounce. My first few steps in the shoes felt awkward, like “driving a Formula 1 car through a city centre”. But when I started to run on a self-powered treadmill, they came into their own. My feet delivered decent energy and turnover was “snappy”– so snappy I thought I might get thrown off. “The shoe does not make the runner”, but at the elite level, when every millisecond counts, this £450 pair could make a vital, marginal difference.

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