Adidas Adios and Nike Alphafly Dominate Recent Marathon Podiums Ahead of Autumn Majors
Ahead of Berlin, Chicago and New York, a TechRadar roundup finds Adidas's Adizero Adios line and Nike's Alphafly behind most recent major marathon wins, with Asics, Under Armour and On also on the podium.
At the 2026 London marathon, Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha both ran sub-two-hour times in the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, TechRadar reported. The shoe is sold out in the United States, with a restock scheduled in the United Kingdom on 24 September.
Sawe took gold at the 2025 Berlin marathon in the Adidas Adios Pro Evo 2, the same model Benson Kipruto wore for his win in New York in 2025. Alexander Mutiso Munyao finished behind Kipruto in Berlin in the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4, the shoe also worn by women's champion Rosemary Wanjiru. In the 2025 Chicago women's race, Hawi Feysa won in the Adidas Adios Pro Evo 1.
Nike's winning model is the Alphafly. Jacob Kiplimo won the 2025 Chicago marathon in the Nike Alphafly 3, which is also the competition shoe of record-holder Eliud Kipchoge.
Other brands appear on the podium as well. John Korir won two consecutive Boston marathons in prototype versions of the Asics MetaSpeed Sky, and Sharon Lokedi defended her Boston title in 2026 in the Under Armour Veliciti Elite 3. Hellen Obiri won the women's race at the 2025 New York marathon in the On LightSpray Cloudboom Strike, a laceless, spray-on design.
TechRadar attached two cautions to the list. Runners already training for an upcoming marathon should not change their footwear in the run-up to the event, and the models listed are aimed at experienced long-distance runners rather than beginners or intermediates.