The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 World Championship Marathons
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The 2025 World Athletics Championships Marathon featured thrilling races for both the men and women. Held in exceptionally warm and humid conditions, both races came down to a sprint for the finish line. In each race, the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2, the newest $500 super shoe, got there first. Surprisingly, not a Nike was seen among the first five finishers.
Here are the running shoes that were on the feet of the top finishers.
MEN
1) Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2
Alphonce Simbu (TAN) 2:09:48
Simbu and Petros ran 26.2 miles only to end in a photo finish. Simbu laced up the Pro Evo 2, Adidas’s newest $500 racing shoe. Adidas added 3mm of foam under the forefoot for even more energy return.
2) Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
Amanal Petros (GER) 2:09:48
The Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 made waves earlier this year when a study showed it improved running economy by up to 3.6 percent. The racer has been hard to get ahold of, as it’s mostly been sold out since launch.
3) Asics Metaspeed Ray
Iliass Aouani (ITA) 2:09:53
The Asics Metaspeed lineup got a third model, the Ray. It’s all about reducing weight, as it checks in at about 75 percent the weight of the Sky and Edge Tokyo models. The FF Leap midsole foam is exceptionally soft and bouncy.
4) Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo
Haimro Alame (ISR) 2:10:03
The Metaspeed Sky is the shoe Asics designed for “stride” runners—those who speed up by taking longer steps. The unisex racer costs $270.
5) Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 v2
Abel Chelangat (UGA) 2:10:11
Chelangat was out front early, but settled for a fifth-place finish. He laced up version 2 of the Pro Evo 1. The shoe has a slightly thinner forefoot than the newly updated Pro Evo 2.
WOMEN
1) Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2
Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:24:43
Like Simbu in the men’s marathon, Jepchirchir rode the newest lightweight marathon racer from Adidas to a first place finish.
2) Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 v2
Tigst Assefa (ETH) 2:24:45
Not a huge surprise that Assefa laced up the Pro Evo 1. It’s the same model she wore when she ran a 2:11:53 at Berlin in 2023 to set the world record at that time.
3) Saucony Endorphin Elite 2
Julia Paternain (URU) 2:27:23
Paternain was a surprise third-place finisher. The Saucony pro wore the company’s bounciest marathon racing shoe.
4) Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB
Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:28:17
Sullivan wore the Hyperion Elite 4 PB, even though version 5 is out. Jess McClain, who finished eighth, wore the same shoe, but the third American Erika Kemp rolled with v5.
5) Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo
Alisa Vainio (FIN) 2:28:32
The Sky makes another top-5 appearance.