Breaking the 2-hour marathon has been a goal of so many elite runners aided by running shoe manufacturers. As reported in our blog this past April, Sabastian Sawe ran with a new shoe from Adidas and completed the London marathon in 1:59:30. This world record will give Adidas the status of manufacturers such as Nike, who broke 2 hours, although in controlled conditions in Vienna with Eliud Kipchoge. Sabastian was the first runner to legally break 2 hours in a regular marathon, followed by Yomif Kejelcha and Tigst Assefa. All three ran for Adidas and had their best running times in the same race. All 3 ran in the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, which is the lightest running shoe Adidas has ever designed, weighing a mere .97 grams. How did Adidas succeed? Three years and different Adidas shoes that improved running times. They, with the help of runners who were part of the Adidas team, redesigned foam density and energy return elements, which reduced its weight by 50 percent and increased forefoot energy return by 11 percent. Instead of using a carbon plate that many manufacturers are using for their newest marathon shoes, they designed a carbon rim around the perimeter. Rethinking the foam and how they used carbon reduced weight and improved energy transfer. World Athletics, the sport’s governing body, limits the sole thickness of road shoes to 40mm. This limit is being pushed by all the manufacturers, so they need a design that stores more energy and gives more of it back to the athlete. In manufacturing, a computerized process cuts foam precisely without having to compress or reshape it, which harms performance. Adidas also understood that form begins to become less exact during the second part of a marathon, and many runners begin to mid-foot strike as the race goes on, and the shoe helps them avoid overpronation as these changes occur, maintaining efficiencies in the gait cycle in the later parts of the race. You can read more in the article published in the New York Times section “The Athletic” below. How Adidas created its 1:59 marathon super shoe: From ‘unreasonable ambition’ to ‘actual magic’ Priced at $500, the Adios 3 is an elite shoe for elite budgets and is difficult to find. Perhaps you will find it easier in the future to find it at a more reasonable price, but for now, the Adios 4 is available, and it has different properties. Several bloggers have compared the two shoes. The 4 is much more available than the 3, probably because of the hype behind the London marathon and the fact that serious runners see it as a must-have shoe for their next marathon. Compare them for yourself. Below is one blog that did a personal review comparing the two. Check it out below. Adidas Adios Pro 4 Review: Worth The Wait?