History was made on a late summer night in Italy. At midnight on August 26, Adidas staged its secretive Chasing100 ultramarathon, bringing together five of the brand’s top ultrarunners to chase the audacious goal of running 100 kilometers in under six hours.
They did.
South Africa’s Sibusiso “Siibu” Mncedisi Kubheka became the first man to dip under the barrier, crossing the line in 5:59:20. Right behind him, American Charlie Lawrence also turned in the performance of his career, clocking 6:03:04.
Aleksandr Sorokin, the reigning world record holder, pushed himself to the edge and set a new personal best of 6:04:10.
Times for the other two runners involved, Jo Fukuda and Tomas Bizimavicius have not been confirmed at the time of writing.
For Sorokin, who already owns world bests over 12 hours, 24 hours, and 100 miles, the night was bittersweet.
In a candid Instagram post, he admitted that the pursuit nearly broke him: “My mind was begging me to quit, and my body echoed the pain… While mine sub-6 wasn’t meant to be tonight, the feeling of knowing I gave absolutely everything I could is a victory in itself.”
The event, dubbed Chasing100, was as much a brand experiment as it was a race.
@adidas we‘ll probably give him his own documentary series now #adizero #valterribottas #running #adidas ♬ original sound – adidas
Adidas built a controlled loop course, timed the start for the cool midnight air, and unveiled a radical new racing shoe, the Adizero Evo Prime X.
With a stack height rumored at 60mm and a new Lightstrike Pro Evo foam compound, the shoe was designed to help athletes endure six straight hours at near-marathon intensity. Because of the oversized design, performances will not be recognized as official records by World Athletics.
But that was never really the point.
The 100K world record has shifted only twice in the past seven years, with Nao Kazami’s 6:09:14 in 2018 and Sorokin’s 6:05:35 in 2023.
That three men all ran faster than that mark on the same night shows just how far the event has come, and how quickly innovation is bleeding into the once-niche world of ultramarathon racing.
In the end, Chasing100 delivered on its promise: spectacle, drama, and a glimpse of what the future of ultra-distance running might look like. For Sorokin, it is another chapter in a career defined by testing the very edges of human endurance. For Adidas, it was proof that ultrarunning can command a global stage.
As Sorokin put it after the race: “The journey continues.”
