The 2025 London Marathon is just days away, at the time of writing. On the feet of all those runners will likely be some of the best running shoes you can buy right now; we’re talking the Nike Alpha Fly 3, Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris, and the Hoka Cielo X1 2.0, which we gave four stars in our review. Dedicated shoe fans will also spy some of the elite runners wearing the new Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2.
This is the racing follow-up to the Pro Evo 1. First revealed in September 2023, it was on the feet of athlete Tigst Assefa as she broke the then-current women’s marathon world record. According to Adidas, it’s been racking up the wins and was also first over the line in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
So the Pro Evo is back, and Adidas is making some changes it says will make it a more accomplished racer. I got invited by Adidas to get up close to the Pro Evo 2, lace it up to sort of get a sense of what it’s like to throw on.
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2: What’s changed
Let’s start with what’s new on the Pro Evo 2. If you’re not familiar with how a running shoe is constructed, check out our guide, in which we speak to Adidas experts.
The first big change lies at the midsole, which is the heart of any running shoe. Adidas uses its TPE (thermoplastic polyester elastomers) Lightstrike Pro foam, which is included with carbon fiber energy rods to provide the propulsive pop to go with that bounce from the foam when you’re ready to race. There’s now 3mm more of that lively foam placed at the forefoot of the shoe than the original Pro Evo, which according to Adidas, increases energy return by 5% and makes it even better-suited to taking it the marathon distance.
The change to the amount of foam means the Evo 2 is higher. It now measures 39mm at the heel and 36mm at the forefoot, giving it a 3mm “drop”. The Evo 1 has a 6mm drop; running shoe enthusiasts know that 3mm is quite a pronounced difference when it comes to shoe height, as it alters the angle at which your foot hits the ground. Even with the change, it still meets the World Athletics regulations to be approved for use in high-level competitions.
Last up is the revamped outsole, which sees Adidas move to a grid-style design, which aims to improve the gripping performance of the Evo 2. What hasn’t changed is the weight of the shoe, despite the added foam and new outsole design. A UK 8.5 weighs 138g, making it by far the latest high-profile racing shoe available. For context, Adidas’ other big racing shoe (the Adizero Adios Pro 4) weighs 200g in the same size, which is also roughly the same weight as the Nike Alphafly 3.
Should you buy it?
Another thing that isn’t changing is the price, and that means you’ll need to pay a staggering $500 / £450 / around AU$780 to own it. Runners will be able to pick up limited pairs from April 25th, with a wider release set around the autumn marathon season later this year.
My time in the Pro Evo 2 was very brief. I had the chance to use them for a 70-meter sprint race in a tunnel in Central London, which isn’t perhaps the best scenario to get an idea of what a long-distance shoe is made of.
What I could glean is that it’s lighter than any other carbon racing shoe I’ve ever put on, with an extremely thin upper and minimal padding inside of a heel collar. It also felt surprisingly roomy and not an awkward shoe to put on either.
The big question here is whether the Pro Evo 2 is going to be worth the sizable price for all runners or just those that are at the top of the racing pack. My feeling right now is that this very much made for the fastest and looking forward to being able to run longer than 70 meters to find that out.
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