REVIEW: adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3. What Does the World's Fastest Marathon Shoe Feel Like?

Not long ago, a sub-two-hour marathon belonged in the same category as a four-minute mile: fascinating, inspiring, and ultimately impossible.

Today, distance running is operating in a different era. Records are falling, athletes are running faster than ever before, and the pursuit of marginal gains has become one of the defining stories of modern distance running. Few shoes embody that progression more than the adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3.

Worn by Sebastian Sawe at the 2026 London Marathon as he shattered the two-hour barrier in 1:59:30, and by Tigst Assefa as she set a new women’s-only world record in 2:15:41, the Pro Evo 3 has quickly become one of the most talked-about racing shoes ever created.

But what does a shoe like this actually feel like beneath your feet, and is it genuinely worth the hype? To understand what the Pro Evo 3 can actually deliver, we caught up with marathon athlete Callum Davidson for his honest take.

Callum has been running since he was six years old. He spent his weekends travelling to races with his dad, standing on the roadside watching him compete at London and beyond — an experience that planted a seed which never left him. Since then, the marathon distance has held a constant grip on his running life. His current PBs stand at an elite 65:22 for the half marathon and 2:21:52 for the full distance.

Like many runners who have spent years in the sport, Callum witnessed this space transform firsthand.

"The sport is almost unrecognisable in some ways," he explains. "Training has evolved, nutrition has evolved, and obviously footwear has changed massively."

The adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 sits at the sharp end of that evolution. This shoe isn't designed to do everything. It’s designed to do one thing exceptionally well: run fast when it matters most.

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First Impressions: "The Weight Stopped Me In My Tracks”
 

“Watching Sawe, Assefa and Kejelcha race in the Pro Evo 3 back in April at London, I was desperate to get my hands on them”

“When I first laced them up, the weight stopped me in my tracks. At 97 grams, they are lighter than a standard chocolate bar; that is not a figure you read and move on from, you feel it the moment you pick them up”

For context, the Pro Evo 3 is 41 grams lighter than its predecessor, yet the surprises didn’t stop there for Callum.

“On foot, the responsiveness was immediate. The carbon rods don’t sit passively; they want to propel you forwards.”

“What caught me off guard, though, was how much it felt like an actual shoe. That sounds obvious, but it isn’t. Many supershoes have a slappy, unstable quality that you learn to work around rather than work with.”

“The Pro Evo 3 doesn’t ask that of you. The upper grips the foot with real security and nothing about it feels flimsy despite the featherlight build. At the elite end of sport, grams matter; but so does comfort over 26.2 miles, and this delivers both”

What makes the Pro Evo 3 different?

It's clear that the headline figure for this shoe is its weight, but the engineering runs much deeper. 

For a shoe that is incredibly minimalist, the balance between weight, comfort and stability may be one of its most impressive achievements. 

“I raced Berlin and Manchester in the Pro Evo 2s, so I have a direct point of comparison. The step up in responsiveness is significant and immediately noticeable (not a criticism of what came before, but a clear sign of how far this iteration has moved things on). Where shoes like the Alphafly, Vaporfly and Cloudboom Strike can feel unstable underfoot, the Pro Evo 3 feels planted and purposeful”

That feeling of confidence is what makes the shoe feel so complete in comparison to its competitors, despite its stripped-back design 

“I have always found comfortable carbon racing shoes difficult to come by. Being taller and heavier than the typical elite profile means fit and stability matter enormously to me; when you find something that works, you stick with it. The Pro Evo 3 works”

At its core sits adidas' latest Lightstrike Pro Evo foam, designed to deliver best-in-class energy return while reducing unnecessary mass. Alongside it, you have the all-new carbon-infused EnergyRim, a stiffening element designed to increase propulsion while still allowing more foam to sit beneath it, giving you a surprisingly soft feel despite the minimalist setup. On the outsole, Continental™ Rubber has been strategically placed where needed in the forefoot to maximise grip without compromising on weight, allowing you still to take on corners and wet conditions with confidence.

The Pro Evo 3 is operating in a category of its own. 

“At 97 grams, they are lighter than a standard chocolate bar”

Who is the Pro Evo 3 actually for?

It’s fair to say that the Pro Evo 3 is not for every runner, nor is it supposed to be.

The ultra-light construction means durability inevitably becomes part of the conversation. The shoe is designed for race-day performance first and longevity second. This is not a shoe designed for easy runs, recovery miles or versatility.

It has one purpose: run as fast as possible.

Callum offered some realistic advice:

"The Pro Evo 3 is the last piece of the puzzle, not the starting point."

He went on to revisit the conversation around marginal gains, and more importantly, who will feel those margins the most.

"If your nutrition isn’t dialled in and your training isn’t where it needs to be, a £500 shoe isn’t the answer; a cheaper alternative and more honest work is. Once you’ve explored every other avenue, then you start looking at the margins that a shoe like this provides."

"The Pro Evo 3 is engineered for runners who have developed an efficient gait; those whose biomechanics allow them to load the carbon rods correctly and return that energy."

"The aggressive rocker and stiff propulsion system reward runners who are already running well. If your gait is still developing, the shoe won’t compensate for it; a more forgiving, cushioned trainer will serve you far better while that efficiency is being built." 

For runners looking for a shortcut, this isn't the answer. However, for runners who have already done the work—whether that's chasing a major marathon PB, competing at the sharp end of club racing, or targeting that elusive sub-three-hour marathon—the Pro Evo 3 can amplify the gains that are already there.

Callum extends his honest advice to his own training. With a lifespan expected to be somewhere in the region of 80 - 100 kilometres, this is a shoe that rewards being saved for the moments that matter most.

"For that reason, I keep my racing shoes almost entirely race-reserved. My sessions are primarily completed in the Evo SLs and I use carbon-plated shoes for key sessions and race day only. That’s the mindset this shoe demands." 

You can find the Evo SL, built for training, part of the Adizero Fast Pack, alongside the Adios Pro 4, Boston 13 and Takumi Sen 11.

Your race day weapon

Callum told us he felt genuinely fortunate to have been given the opportunity to train and race in the Pro Evo 3. But what we really wanted to know was simple: if he hadn’t been given the pair, would he actually buy them?

Callum was quick to emphasise once again that this shoe is built exclusively for race day. It is not designed to accumulate miles on a Tuesday morning, and it makes no apology for that.

"At £450, this is not a shoe you buy for a casual parkrun. But for a goal race (a half marathon you’ve circled in the diary, a marathon you’ve built six months around) I would pay that without hesitation. Running is deeply woven into my life and I invest seriously in everything that supports it. If a shoe offers a measurable time advantage, that investment makes complete sense to me."

He touched on his own experience.

"When I ran 14:09 for 5km in 2021, I was agonisingly close to sub-14. If the Pro Evo 3 could hand me that margin now, I’d hand over £450 without so much as checking my bank balance first."

For Callum, that is ultimately what the Pro Evo 3 represents. Not a shortcut, and certainly not a substitute for training, but the final margin once everything else is in place.

"Gifted or not, I would buy it. At £450 and with 80 to 160km of life in them, you’re not pulling these on for a midweek plod. But when the morning matters, you’ll know."

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