The 2025 London Marathon wasn’t just about record-breaking runs — it was a showcase of the fastest, lightest, and most innovative shoes ever built.
From Tigst Assefa’s historic women’s-only world record to Sebastian Sawe’s commanding win, London’s podium told a clear story: carbon plates, space-age foams, and relentless shoe wars aren’t slowing down anytime soon.
Here’s what the top six wore at the 2025 London Marathon.
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 v2
Worn by Tigst Assefa – 1st Place Women’s, World Record
Tigst Assefa tore through London’s streets in Adidas’ updated Adios Pro Evo 1 v2 — and made history doing it. Clocking a jaw-dropping 2:15:50 in a women’s-only race, Assefa shattered expectations in the lightest racer Adidas has ever made.
The Evo 1 v2 reportedly retains the featherweight design of the original (sub-5 oz) but tweaks midsole density slightly for better durability. It still uses the EnergyRods 2.0 system embedded inside ultra-thin Lightstrike Pro foam, offering pure propulsion. Adidas’ “one-race” concept — optimize everything for a single, perfect day — seems validated yet again.
The Deets
| Price | $500 |
| Weight | 4.8 oz (Unisex) |
| Heel Stack | 39mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 33mm |
| Drop | 6mm |
Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris
Worn by Joyciline Jepkosgei – 2nd Place Women’s
The ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris gave Joyciline Jepkosgei the tools to deliver a brilliant runner-up finish. This shoe represents the fourth generation of ASICS’ supershoe project — lighter, faster, and more aggressive than anything they’ve produced before.
ASICS ditched heavier foams for the new FF Turbo+ material, significantly reducing weight while preserving energy return. The carbon plate is slightly lower in the stack than earlier Metaspeed versions, helping quicker cadence runners like Jepkosgei turn over faster. Combined with a refined “speed roll” toe-off geometry, it’s the best racing flat ASICS has ever made — and it’s now a London Marathon silver medalist.
The Deets
| Price | $250 USD |
| Weight | 6.6 oz (Men’s Size 9), 5.2 oz (Women’s Size 8) |
| Heel Stack | 39.5mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 34.5mm |
| Drop | 5mm |
Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2
Worn by Sabastian Sawe – 1st Place Men’s, Alexander Mutiso – 3rd Place Men’s
Adidas doubled down on its extreme, minimalist racing approach with the Adios Pro Evo 2 — and it paid off big time, with two podium spots. This ultra-light weapon features a single-use mindset: the Lightstrike Pro foam is so featherlight that Adidas itself warns runners it’s only good for one, maybe two, marathons.
Instead of traditional plates, the Evo 2 relies on carbon EnergyRods 2.0 — updated rods that move independently to match the runner’s footstrike pattern, optimizing energy return across the race. The paper-thin upper practically disappears on foot, but the improved outsole grip — a major fix after criticism of the Evo 1’s wet weather issues — likely helped on Boston’s tricky, sometimes damp roads.
The Deets
| Price | $500 USD |
| Weight | 4.9 oz (Unisex) |
| Heel Stack | 39.5mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 33mm |
| Drop | 6.5mm |
Nike Alphafly 3
Worn by Jacob Kiplimo – 2nd Place Men’s
The Alphafly 3 is hailed as Nike’s most technologically advanced race shoe to date, boasting a combination of Air Zoom units, ZoomX foam, and a carbon fiber Flyplate. Bret Schoolmeester, Nike Running’s senior product designer and one of the key stewards of the super shoe era, describes the Alphafly 3 as a “have your cake and eat it, too” moment. This shoe now holds both marathon world records.
The Deets
| Price | $300 USD |
| Weight | 7.6 oz (Men’s Size 10); 6.1 oz (Women’s Size 8) |
| Heel Stack | 40mm |
| Forefoot Stack | 32mm |
| Drop | 8mm |
Nike Alphafly 3 “Dev 16E” Prototype
Worn by Sifan Hassan – 3rd Place Women’s
Sifan Hassan lined up in something a little different: a developmental version of the Alphafly 3, labeled internally as “Dev 16E.” Nike routinely provides unreleased variations to its top athletes for testing ahead of major races — and based on Hassan’s performance, the tweaks are working.
Sources say this version of the Alphafly features a slightly adjusted midsole geometry, possibly tweaking the forefoot foam tuning and pod positioning to favor smoother transitions at higher paces. It’s subtle, but it shows Nike isn’t resting even after the Alphafly 3’s huge success. Whether we’ll see a public release of this Dev version remains to be seen — but it clearly works at 2:18 pace.
The Deets
| Price | N/A (prototype) |
| Weight | Estimated 7.5 oz (Unisex) |
| Heel Stack | Estimated 40mm |
| Forefoot Stack | Estimated 32mm |
| Drop | Estimated 8mm |
