The 5 Best Supershoes Right Now: Carbon Plate Running Shoes for Race Day

Editor’s note: we last updated this article on 15th October 2025 based on the latest shoes on the market. We continue to update this article whenever a new shoe is released that merits inclusion; most of the daily running shoe models for 2025 are already released.

We’ve reviewed dozens of the world’s fastest running shoes and have chosen and ranked our very favorites; below you’ll find links to individual YouTube reviews for each of these, so you can dig in and get all the details. Here are the five best super shoes in the world right now.

Racing shoes, or super shoes, are what you wear on race day. They’re the coolest, the most advanced, and also the most expensive. Often, they’re too aggressive for easy runs or even workouts. These are highly specialized shoes – and these days, they all have carbon plates in them.

If you’re more into easy running shoes or even workout shoes, we’ve created separate power rankings for those. But here, it’s all about speed. We tend to release these power rankings about twice a year. For now, this is the most current version.

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#5 Best for cushioning: Saucony Endorphin Elite 2

Score: 8.0

Since our last power ranking, this shoe slid from position three to five because a couple really cool shoes hit the market. But I was still very impressed by the Endorphin Elite 2.

Saucony hadn’t really been as big a player in the world of super shoes as I would’ve expected, especially given they were one of the first companies to develop a super shoe back in the 2017–2019 era.

The standout feature of this shoe is the midsole, which is incredibly bouncy. I’ve been calling this one of the best shoes in the world since early this year, even before it started getting much attention. Very few pros were wearing them at major marathons, very few pros are sponsored by Saucony. But that changed at the World Championships when Uruguay’s María Pía Fernández won a surprise bronze medal in the women’s marathon wearing the Endorphin Elite 2. Well deserved, because I do think these are some of the best shoes in the world.

We gave it an overall rating of 8. Its best score was in performance. I still struggle to find a shoe with as much propulsive force. It’s a really, really fun shoe to wear for workouts.

We docked some marks for comfort. The downside of a squishy foam is there’s not much stability for pronators. I’m a pronator, not enough to wear stability shoes, but enough that I noticed some soreness in odd places after workouts. My feet tend to drift inward in these, and the foam doesn’t do much to stop that. It wasn’t enough for me to ditch them, I still love using them, but it’s something to be aware of.

So, they’re totally worth buying if you don’t mind the squishiness and you want pure speed. But if stability is a concern, I’d look elsewhere. They’re also a bit weird around turns, so they do take some getting used to.

Here’s my video review and a round-up of the Endorphin series:

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#2 Best for durability: Adidas Adios Pro 4

Score: 8.4

This was my racing shoe for the first half of 2024. I alternated between the Endorphin Elite 2 and the Pro 4. They’re very similar in terms of power. What the Pro 4 has over the Endorphin Elite 2 is more stability and better ground connection. I always felt secure taking turns in the Pro 4, not quite the case with the Saucony.

It’s interesting because even though this is a super shoe, it’s Adidas’s more “conservative” racing model compared to their Pro Evo 1 and 2, which are lighter but less durable. Even though the Evo is technically their flagship, some Adidas pros still wear the Pro 4 instead, like Rosemary Wanjiru and Tadu Abate, who finished top two in Berlin wearing the Pro 4, not the Evo.

For everyday runners, this is kind of a loophole, it’s cheaper than the Evo and easier to find.

The foam is TPE, similar to Saucony’s, but firmer. You can’t press into it easily, but it’s responsive. And Adidas doesn’t use a carbon plate, they use carbon rods shaped like foot tendons to save weight while keeping snap.

When we ranked the Pro 4, we didn’t have many complaints. Performance was high. Comfort got dinged a bit because the insole moved around. Could’ve been a sizing issue, I’m a men’s 11 and usually fine, but something was off here. Annoying in workouts, but otherwise it’s comfy and quite durable. Mine’s got over 400 km so far and is still going strong.

Buy the Pro 4 if you value durability and performance. If you need the absolute fastest shoe possible, Adidas does make one, but we’ll get to that.

Here’s my dedicated video review:

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#3 Best for A Firm, Light Ride: Asics MetaSpeed Tokyo Edge & Sky

Score: 8.6

These are technically two different shoes, but we rank them together. The MetaSpeed Tokyo Edge and Sky are identical in stack height, heel-to-toe drop, and weight. The differences are subtle, the Sky is made for runners who increase stride length, and the Edge is for runners who increase cadence.

When these first came out in 2024, it took me a while to understand what Asics was going for. Just when I figured it out, they launched another curveball, the MetaSpeed Ray.

The Tokyo models have two foam layers, one is FF Turbo Plus (stable), the other is FF Leap (lighter, bouncier). The Ray only uses FF Leap and has a small carbon plate, likely for a touch of stability.

At first glance, I thought the Ray would be the pro-favorite. But Asics’s athletes are split. Ilhas Aouani wore the Ray to take bronze at Worlds. Hailemaryam Kiros won the Sydney Marathon wearing one of the Tokyos.

For the everyday runner, I think the Tokyo feels more stable, and that’ll appeal more to most people. Plus, the Ray is hard to get and hasn’t proven itself fully yet. So we’re sticking with the Tokyo for now.

We gave the Tokyo Edge and Sky a rating of 8.6, right up there with Saucony and Adidas. I’d give them a slight edge in speed and comfort. Durability is strong.

Buy the Tokyo if you like a firm, light super shoe. Avoid it if you want something squishy (the Saucony would be better) or if you have wide feet, it fits snug.

Here’s my dedicated video reveiw of both the Sky and the Edge:

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#2 Best Shoe For Your Next PR: Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3

Score: 8.6

I’ve become hard to impress with shoes, after a while, they all start to look the same. But this one was a jaw-dropper. It launched during Boston Marathon weekend and was the most exciting shoe of the year so far.

I can’t believe it’s not number one, but based on what’s happening at major marathons, it sits at number two.

The engineering is incredible. It has a 7-layer carbon plate that extends past the toe to help with toe-off. The midsole has deep cutouts, the geometry is specific, and everything about it feels pared down. It’s like a track bike, all muscle, no bulk.

I raced in it at the Canadian 10K Championships and set a PR. It became my racing shoe after that. It’s incredibly light, great for cornering, and just a blast to race in. But it’s not for everyone. It has minimal support, and you feel the ground. It’s not a shoe you want for next-day recovery or even hard workouts. This is your goal race shoe, the one for when you want a personal best and don’t care what happens the next day.

One caveat, it’s not durable. After one race, the outsole tread was gone. That doesn’t matter to me personally, but if it matters to you, be cautious.

Here is my dedicated video review:

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Honorable Mentions

Two shoes almost made this list but didn’t.

Nike Alphafly 3: Yes, it’s still on a lot of major podiums. But that’s because Nike sponsors the best athletes. The shoe is now nearly 18 months old, and while it was cutting edge at launch, the industry has moved on. Nike is surely working on the next version.

Adidas Adios Pro Evo 1: This was the best “pure speed” shoe for a while. But it had one job, go fast, once or twice. Mine lasted about 50 km. That’s not a typo. And at $500 a pair, it’s a hard sell. There’s now a shoe that does that job better.

So to the Alphafly 3 and the Evo 1, rest in peace, lest we remember.

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#1 Best overall: Adidas Adios Pro Evo 2

This shoe has already dominated fall 2025 racing. Alphonse Simbu and Peres Jepchirchir both won World Championship marathons in them. Sebastian Sawe won a hot Berlin Marathon in them. The Evo 2 is everywhere.

I’ve worn the Evo 1, so I have context. The Evo 1 was amazing, but not durable. The Evo 2 reportedly fixes that. The forefoot now has more foam, helping with both drop (now just 3 mm) and longevity. The outsole has more traction. And somehow, it weighs just 4.86 oz.

We’ll be testing it ourselves soon, but based on everything we’ve seen, it’s earned its spot at the top of this list. Right now, it’s the best super shoe in the world.