The Rundown: The Super Shoes to Look Out For During Marathon Season
Marathon season is well and truly underway, and while the lifestyle sneaker market may still be feeling a little lacklustre right now, is one of the areas where brands are pushing the innovation boundaries. Last year, brands really stepped up their efforts with a slew of new super shoes ahead of the Olympics, and there were plenty of marathon records broken along the way.
This year, we're excited to see these super shoes get even more super – as innovation is always the name of the game. 2025 has welcomed new versions of last year's big players, with the adidas Pro Evo 2 and PUMA's Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 already gaining ground. So, as the big races of the year continue to roll around, here are the marathon shoes to look out for in 2025.
Nike Alphafly 3
Needing little introduction, the touched down for general sale last January, but a prototype of the shoe had already graced the feet of the late marathon winner Kelvin Kiptum when he set a world record wearing them in Chicago in 2023. The Alphafly line has an established pedigree within the race world, as Eliud Kipchoge wore the Alphafly 2 when setting the previous record and also ran a sub-two-hour marathon in the Zoom Alphafly NEXT%. The 3, however, is 15 per cent lighter than the Alphafly 2 and it features a triple threat of Air Zoom units, Zoom X Foam and Flyplate technology.
adidas Adizero Pro Evo 2
The adidas Adizero Pro Evo 1 has made noise for a number of reasons. One: Tigist Assefa wore it as she cruised to a win in Berlin, and Sisay Lemma won the 2024 Boston Marathon in them. On top of that, Peres Jepchirchir broke the women's only world record as she won the London Marathon that same year. Two: it cost a whopping $500. Finally, three: it was reportedly designed to cope with just one race. A firm fixture on 2024's podiums, it was a race day shoe that would have been hard for even adidas themselves to beat.
But innovation calls for constant tweaking and the Three Stripes aren’t finished yet. The Pro Evo 2 took two podium places in Boston after a near photo finish between Alphonce Felix Simbu and Cybrian Kotut who both finished in 2:05:04, and boasts a higher forefoot stack and more cushioning than its predecessor, despite being the same weight. You can find out more about the souped-up super shoe here.
ASICS METASPEED SKY PROTOTYPE
The ASICS METASPEED SKY is another shoe that grabbed headlines last year, and the brand are powering forward with an updated version. This new prototype model carried John Korir to the second fastest time in Boston’s history, as he clocked a time of 2:04:45 in 2025. Again, there’s no official word on these yet, but rumour has it that they feature a brand new foam compound and will take after adidas’ Pro Evo 1 as a minimal-use, max effort racing tool for elite runners.
PUMA FAST-R NITRO Elite 3
PUMA made huge strides with the FAST-R NITRO Elite 2 last year, but the third iteration in the series is another step up. Featuring a similarly aggressive stance to its predecessor (but less so than its race-illegal brother the RB), the FAST-R NITRO Elite 3 arrives with the claim that it’ll shave minutes off your race day records – and there’s a PUMA-funded study by the University of Michigan that proves it. Making its race day debut in Boston this year, the shoe carried Americans Ryan Ford and Annie Frisbie to some seriously credible times, making this one to watch over the rest of this year’s races.
On Cloudboom Strike
Hellen Obiri may not have taken the Boston W this year, but she pulled a close second in her trusty On Cloudboom Strike LS. The high-top, slip-on sneaker was the talk of the town last year thanks to the introduction of On's swanky new Lightspray technology, and it looks to be holding up pretty well. As well as the ultra-light upper (made from 1.5km of fine filament), the pair also features a Pebax midsole and On's Cloud cushioning.
Under Armour Velociti Elite 3 Prototype
A new disruptor has taken to the course for 2025, as a prototype of the Under Armour Velociti Elite carried Sharon Lokedi to her Boston win with a time of 2:17:22. Weighing around 218 grams, the lightweight shoe forgoes the use of Under Armour's Flow technology, which has made it lighter and faster. Instead, it uses a new midsole compound called Hovr+. While not much is known about the shoe yet, Lokedi has been working with the brand on various updates, and the shoe is expected to hit shelves for general sale in 2026.