Racing Super Shoes Will Be Lighter, More Responsive, and Likely Even Faster in 2025

New models from Adidas, Brooks, Hoka, On, Puma, and Saucony highlight a speedy new crop of racing and training super shoesEager to run a new personal best in the marathon in 2025? Or are you itching to crank out a quicker half marathon than you ran in 2024? Or maybe a fast effort in a trail race? The continued evolution of speedy shoe technology will be on your side. With new midsole foams and propulsion plate configurations, top-tier racing shoes will be lighter, more responsive, and presumably faster in 2025.

That goes for both road racing and trail racing super shoes that will be hitting running shops from late winter to early summer.Asics, New Balance, and Under Armour will have lighter and more energetic road racing shoes coming out by late spring, while Nike is expected to release its Ultrafly 2 trail racing super shoe in June. While those models are still under embargo, we’ve got the scoop on several race-day super shoes and high-performance training shoes unveiled at The Running Event trade show in November in the roundup below. We haven’t fully wear-tested these shoes yet, so it’s just a preview of what’s to come. When wear-testing is complete, we’ll produce both first-run reviews and in-depth multi-tester reviews with input from the Outside wear-test team and data from the Outside Gear Lab in Denver.2025 Road Racing Super Shoes

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4, $250

Approximate Weights: 6.0 oz. (women’s 8), 7.0 oz. (men’s 9)Heel-Toe Offsets: 6mm drop; 39mm (heel), 33mm (forefoot)Release Date: January

The Adizero Adios Pro 4 was released in limited numbers just before the Berlin Marathon in September, but it will hit stores in mass quantities worldwide in January. It’s been updated with a bouncier Lightstrike Pro midsole, a lighter, stronger stretch-mesh upper with internal locking bands, a new configuration of the Evo Pro EnergyRods, and an aggressive new geometry in which the forefoot rocker point is at 60 percent of the shoe’s length. Several Adidas pros raced in this shoe in the New York City Marathon, including women’s winner Sheila Chepkirui and men’s runner-up Evans Chebet.Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB, $250

Approximate Weights: 6.6 oz. (women’s 8), 8.6 oz. (men’s 9)Heel-Toe Offsets: 6.5mm drop; 38.5mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)Release Date: February

Brooks has been working on enhancing its top-tier road racing shoes for several years. It released the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 with its DNA Flash v2 midsole compound prior to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon last February, but early in 2025 it will release the Hyperion Elite 4 PB with the brand’s new DNA Gold supercritical midsole foam, a very light and responsive nitrogen-infused 100 percent Peba material, and a very light and airy knit-mesh upper.Brooks Hyperion Elite 5, $275

Approximate Weights: 5.8 oz. (women’s 8), 6.9 oz. (men’s 9)Heel-Toe Offsets: 8mm drop; 40mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)Release Date: JulyBrooks had hoped to keep the Hyperion Elite 5 under wraps by showing it under embargo at The Running Event trade show, but someone leaked it so it decided to release the details and images of it. It has a DNA GOLD 100 percent PEBA foam midsole with a unique series of half-orb bubble configurations under the arch for optimal compression and decompression. It also has a very light and airy knit-mesh upper and minimal outsole rubber to keep it as light as possible.Craft Kype Pro, $300

Approximate Weights: 5.8 oz. (women’s 8), 6.9 oz. (men’s 9)Heel-Toe Offsets: 8mm drop; 40mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)Release Date: March

Craft says the unique heel split design of its new Kype PRO racing shoe significantly reduces the contact surface area between the shoe and the ground, allowing for quicker toe-offs and a more efficient stride pattern. The skeleton-like carbon-fiber propulsion plate (developed in collaboration with Arris) embedded in the midsole of its Peba-based Xx midsole foam weighs less than half of an ounce and has a split heel design and enhanced stiffness The ultra-light AeroMesh knit upper is made from a durable mono yarn knit that offers support, pliability, and breathability, while the bottom of the shoe features a thin, lightweight rubber outsole was developed with Italian bicycle tire manufacturer Vittoria.Hoka Cielo X 1 2.0, $275

Approximate Weights: 7.0 oz. (women’s 8), 8.1 oz. (men’s 9)Heel-toe offset: 10mm; 48mm (heel), 41mm (forefoot)Expected launch: February

posted Saturday December 28th