Touted as the “fastest ever running shoe” from adidas, the German sporting giant who has laced up everyone from Terry Fox to Haile Gebrselassie, the new adizero adios Pro shoe, launching in Canada this October, features a brand-new midsole foam, carbon-infused energy rods built into the shoe that mirror the foot, and an ultra-lightweight mesh upper.
“These are designed for ownership of world records,” said Sam Handy, the adidas running creative director. “Sometimes, losing records make you power up,” he added, perhaps tipping his hat at the recent success of Eliud Kipchoge and the Nike Vaporfly shoe.
The adizero line, introduced in 2004, was worn on Gebrselassie when he set his record in 2008 in Berlin, running 2:04:26. The newest version—deemed “a change in direction” by the company—are designed to be “low density,” they maximize running economy. The shoes were tested by adidas athletes in San Diego and then Iten, Kenya. Reed Fischer, a Boulder-based adidas athlete who has a 1:02:06 personal best in the half marathon, has worn the sneakers and says they make him feel fast, help with recovery, and keep his legs feeling fresh. He credits the shoes energy return.
“They make me feel like I’m running as naturally as possible, and my strides flow easily into the next ones,” he says, adding that he’s currently in a build-up to the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships on October 17. Reed, who is 25, aims to use that fall event to become one of the ten fastest Americans at the half marathon of all-time.
“I owe it to myself to go after sub-61,” he says, with a youthful smile and infectious glee. “I think the new adizero adios Pro shoe is everything I could ask for in a half to full marathon racing shoe.”
There was a limited run of the shoes released in June and adidas says they sold-out in 15 minutes. The whole concept of the sneaker, says Stephan Schneider, the global director, footwear, for adidas, was to revolutionize a beloved racing shoe. “With this, we set ourselves free from what adizero was and almost revolutionized the shoe,” Schneider said. “Each piece is uniquely designed to complement each other one. It makes me happy to think about the podiums we’re going to win.”
iRun will be testing these bad boys very soon.
