Adidas's Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 is the brand's lightest racing shoe to date, with the company quoting a weight of 97 grams, around 30 per cent lighter than its predecessor. It was launched in April in highly limited numbers, with sign-ups for a chance to buy opening on 23 April and a debut on the feet of Sabastian Sawe at the London Marathon, and Adidas has said a wider release is planned for the autumn marathon season.
The weight saving comes largely from a new foam. Lightstrike Pro Evo is described by Adidas as its lightest and most responsive compound yet, nearly 50 per cent lighter than previous versions, and sits at a 39mm stack height. The shoe uses what Adidas calls ENERGYRIM, a carbon-integrated design intended to change how stiffness and propulsion are delivered through the stride.
The upper is ultra-light, with design inspiration drawn from kitesurfing sails, while a small patch of Continental rubber in the forefoot provides traction without adding meaningful weight. Adidas claims an improvement in running economy of 1.6 per cent, though as with all manufacturer figures, it is worth treating that as a laboratory-derived estimate rather than a guarantee of a faster race.
At £500 or $500, the Evo 3 is among the most expensive running shoes on the market, and its scarcity to date has made it as much a collector's item as a racing tool. For most runners the practical question is whether a shoe at this price offers enough over the premium racers already available at roughly half the cost.
The autumn release will give the first real opportunity for independent testing at scale, and for runners to judge durability and fit across a wider range of foot shapes and paces. It also arrives in the middle of a busy marathon season in which shoe technology continues to draw as much attention as the athletes wearing it.