The Shoes That Won The 2025 Valencia Marathon

Valencia rewarded fast legs again this year, but looking at the podiums tells a second story, one about the shoes that carried athletes across the blue platform in some of the strongest performances of the season.

Three models dominated the top three spots in the men’s and women’s races: the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo, the PUMA Fast-R Nitro Elite 3, and an unreleased ASICS prototype worn by Joyciline Jepkosgei.

None of these shoes are surprises at the sharp end of a marathon. So, without further ado, here’s a closer look at the footwear behind the podiums and the tech that makes these shoes such reliable choices for elite marathoners.

ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo

Worn by:

• John Korir – 1st, Men (2:02:25)
• Awet Kibrab – 3rd, Men (2:04:25)

The Metaspeed Sky Tokyo is the flagship ASICS “stride” super-shoe, engineered for runners who increase stride length as they speed up. ASICS took an already successful formula and sharpened it: a lighter upper, a more responsive foam blend, and a carbon plate tuned to improve stability at high speeds.

The shoe’s main draw is its midsole, FF Turbo+, combined with FF Leap foam, which creates a cushioned but springy feel. Elites often describe it as “easy to keep rolling,” which matches how Korir raced: the shoe didn’t seem to fight his rhythm at all, and that matters in a marathon where efficiency beats flash.

The Sky Tokyo has also been praised for its low weight relative to its stack height. While some carbon shoes feel tall and slightly unstable, ASICS worked hard to remove that disconnected sensation. That more grounded feel likely plays well with marathoners who prefer predictable landings during long, flat races like Valencia.

PUMA Fast-R Nitro Elite 3

Worn by:

• Amanal Petros – 2nd, Men (2:04:03)
• Chloé Herbiet – 3rd, Women (2:20:38)

The Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 has quickly become PUMA’s (and overall) strongest marathon option, and Valencia reinforced that reputation. It’s built for aggressive racers: a tall, rockered forefoot, a carbon plate, and PUMA’s top-tier Nitro Elite foam, which is soft at initial landing but remarkably stiff during toe-off.

What differentiates the Fast-R line from many other super-shoes is how the shoe splits the midsole visually and structurally, with a cut-through channel under the midfoot. That design reduces weight and allows the plate to “hinge” slightly, creating a snappier roll than a single block of foam usually allows.

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1

Worn by:

• Peres Jepchirchir – 2nd, Women (2:14:43)

Peres Jepchirchir raced Valencia in the adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, adidas’s ultralight “race-only” marathon shoe that made headlines when it launched for its extreme weight reduction.

The Evo 1 was designed with a single goal: maximize running economy for elite marathoners, even at the cost of durability. It uses as little material as possible, minimal outsole rubber, a stripped-back upper, and a cut-down Lightstrike Pro midsole around a carbon plate.

At just 4.9 ouces, the Evo 1 remains one of the lightest super-shoes ever released, and that weight advantage is its defining characteristic. When paired with its high-stack rocker geometry, the shoe makes it easier for athletes to maintain pace deep into a marathon without the shoe feeling heavy or bogged down.

Jepchirchir’s 2:14:43 (a PB, by the way) is another example of the Evo 1 doing exactly what it was built for: carrying well-trained, efficient marathoners at high speed with minimal energy loss.

Unreleased ASICS Prototype

Worn by:

• Joyciline Jepkosgei – 1st, Women (2:14:00)

Joyciline Jepkosgei’s win came in a shoe ASICS hasn’t yet released or formally identified.

What we do know is that ASICS has recently been testing a series of pre-production marathon models, sometimes worn only by contracted elites, that appear to build on the Metaspeed Sky Tokyo’s platform.

Because the shoe hasn’t been named publicly, we can’t list specs or features. But looking at ASICS’ current super-shoe philosophy gives us a general sense of what Jepkosgei likely had underfoot: tall stack heights near the 40 mm limit, a carbon plate tuned for controlled stability, and advanced midsole foams that emphasize energy return.

What matters most here is the performance.

Jepkosgei ran 2:14:00, one of the fastest marathons ever by a woman, and held record-level pace for much of the race without pacers late in the race. Whatever prototype ASICS gave her, it clearly matched the demands of a marathon at this level.

Until ASICS releases details, the best we can say is that this shoe belongs to the same lineage that produced the Sky and Edge lines, with likely refinements we won’t know about until the brand announces them