What shoes do marathon winners wear? These 7 pairs of running shoes have all graced the podium at the world's top races

We're gearing up for the second wave of major marathons this year: runners will be heading for the start line in Berlin at the end of the week (27 September), with the Chicago marathon following on 11 October and New York rounding out the season on 2 November.

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>We're gearing up for the second wave of major marathons this year: runners will be heading for the start line in Berlin at the end of the week (27 September), with the Chicago marathon following on 11 October and New York rounding out the season on 2 November. </p><p>Perhaps you're wondering what kind of footwear is propelling elite athletes to these kinds of times? I've hunted out the shoes worn by a selection of marathon winners, and rounded up the results below. </p><p>The Adidas Adios range crops up time and time again. Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha both sprinted to stunning sub-2 hour success at the 2026 London marathon while wearing Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes (currently sold out in the US, but a <a href="https://www.adidas.co.uk/adizero-adios-pro-evo-3-shoes/KH7678.html" target="_blank" rel="sponsored">restock is coming in the UK on 24 September</a>.) Sawe wore Adidas Adios Pro Evo 2 to take the gold at the Berlin 2025 marathon, as did Benson Kipruto for his 2025 New York win. </p><p>Hot on Kipruto's heels in Berlin 2025 was Alexander Mutiso Munyao, wearing the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4. Incidentally, women's champ Rosemary Wanjiru was also wearing Adios Pro 4. In Chicago 2025, Hawi Feysa took the gold in the women's race wearing Adidas Adios Pro Evo 1. </p><p>Nike's winning line is the Alphafly. Jacob Kiplimo won the 2025 Chicago marathon in Nike Alphafly 3 — also the running shoe of choice of record-breaker Eliud Kipchoge. </p><p>It's not all about Adidas and Nike, though. John Korir has won two Boston marathons in a row while wearing prototype versions of the Asics MetaSpeed Sky, and Sharon Lokedi wore Under Armour Veliciti Elite 3 to defend her crown at Boston 2026. Hellen Obiri took the women's crown at the 2025 New York marathon in On LightSpray Cloudboom Strike — particularly notable for their laceless, 'spray-on' style. </p><p>If you're a keen runner and find yourself gripped by marathon fever, perhaps these are some models worth considering for your next long-distance race. But a couple of important caveats, before we start: First, if you're already in training for one of the upcoming marathons, you definitely don't want to be switching up your footwear in the run-up to the event. Second, these shoes are aimed at experienced long-distance runners; if you're not at that stage yet, head to our general <a href="https://www.techradar.com/best/best-running-shoes">best running shoe</a> roundup for more beginner- and intermediate-friendly recommendations.</p><h2 class="article-body__section" id="section-us-marathon-winning-running-shoes"><span>US: Marathon-winning running shoes</span></h2><p><a href="#section-uk-marathon-winning-running-shoes">Jump down to UK shoes</a></p> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b074-b5a7-11f1-87f9-073a7b8a7c1c"> <a href="https://www.adidas.com/us/adizero-adios-pro-4-running-shoes/KI4780.html" data-model-name="Adizero Adios Pro 4 (men's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:133.40%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uPeCVAuHyP9cVd6GBAVjMP.jpg" alt="Adidas, Adizero Adios Pro 4 (men's)"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adios Pro 4 (men's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b13c-b5a7-11f1-8fd5-9d5d6a2a3c9c"> <a href="https://www.adidas.com/us/adizero-adios-pro-4-shoes/JQ1689.html" data-model-name="Adizero Adios Pro 4 (women's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:125.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gRZtJzbtsPn8e6FzaguMAK.jpg" alt="Adidas Adios Pro 4 marathon shoes"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adios Pro 4 (women's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b362-b5a7-11f1-a7b9-ad59237d9a1f"> <a href="https://www.nike.com/t/alphafly-3-glam-mens-road-racing-shoes-5gZBgL/IO9573-800" data-model-name="Alphafly 3 (men's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:133.27%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WF7XgUtsKH9DhTapVckeTQ.jpg" alt="Nike, Alphafly 3 (men's)"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Nike</div> <div class="featured__title">Alphafly 3 (men's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b3d0-b5a7-11f1-a413-4f0121da786a"> <a href="https://www.nike.com/t/alphafly-3-glam-womens-road-racing-shoes-LQX5b4/IO9559-800" data-model-name="Alphafly 3 (women's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:133.27%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/B5qXYMnfqcf3ZQ5fiqqizK.jpg" alt="Nike, Alphafly 3 (women's)"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Nike</div> <div class="featured__title">Alphafly 3 (women's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b2c2-b5a7-11f1-879c-c555e8a31ea5"> <a href="https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/p/ua_velociti_elite_3_unisex_running_shoes/6005377.html" data-model-name="Velociti Elite 3 (unisex)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:125.03%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dcRPAL4UyVXahFsdJKdC3D.jpg" alt="Under Armour Velociti Elite 3 marathon shoes"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Under Armour</div> <div class="featured__title">Velociti Elite 3 (unisex)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="724bde22-b5ca-11f1-9662-a1747ff7f3cd"> <a href="https://www.fleetfeet.com/products/adidas-adizero-pro-evo-1?width=D&sku=IH5564" data-model-name="Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 (unisex)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fFL3Qu8MZLFJHgAoayjEKL.jpg" alt="Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 (unisex)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="724bdea4-b5ca-11f1-9dbc-6b9b27132d86"> <a href="https://www.asics.com/us/en-us/metaspeed-sky-tokyo/p/ANA_1013A162-400.html" data-model-name="Metaspeed Sky Tokyo (men's and women's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:133.33%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8b3Sybeyv4buCpdK9Pd3SE.jpg" alt="Asics, Metaspeed Sky Tokyo (men's and women's)"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Asics</div> <div class="featured__title">Metaspeed Sky Tokyo (men's and women's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="724bdf1c-b5ca-11f1-aaed-aff47dcc25d6"> <a href="https://www.fleetfeet.com/products/mens-adidas-adios-pro-evo-2" data-model-name="Adios Pro Evo 2 (unisex)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vGuXmepF4wbaMF8pHG4Q8E.jpg" alt="Men's | Adidas Adios Pro Evo 2"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adios Pro Evo 2 (unisex)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="030cefe0-b5cc-11f1-98b3-dbf850ba0744"> <a href="https://www.on.com/en-us/products/cloudboom-strike-2-ls-u-3ug3002/unisex/white-verdite-shoes-3UG30025363" data-model-name="Lightspray Cloudboom Strike 2 White unisex)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/6FCX7uKhgzKmSSMS86Jsjn.png" alt="Lightspray Cloudboom Strike 2 White | Verdite"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>On</div> <div class="featured__title">Lightspray Cloudboom Strike 2 White unisex)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div><h2 class="article-body__section" id="section-uk-marathon-winning-running-shoes"><span>UK: Marathon-winning running shoes</span></h2> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="39521826-b5ce-11f1-af46-07c46139228c"> <a href="https://www.adidas.co.uk/adizero-adios-pro-evo-3-shoes/KH7678.html" data-model-name="Adizero Adio Pro Evo 3 (restock soon)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:133.29%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NxLtyKDKYJWe28YxVvMBYR.jpg" alt="Adidas, Adizero Adio Pro Evo 3 (restock soon)"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adio Pro Evo 3 (restock soon)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="3952189e-b5ce-11f1-8ab0-d95039076dca"> <a href="https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/adi17820/adidas-adizero-adios-pro-evo-2-running-shoes---aw26" data-model-name="Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 (unisex)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/bzqawhk9QWZrjoBED7rFhZ.jpg" alt="Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 Running Shoes - Aw26"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 (unisex)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b876-b5a7-11f1-ad85-95ae8793132a"> <a href="https://www.nike.com/gb/t/alphafly-3-eliud-kipchoge-road-racing-shoes-KnKE5jwD" data-model-name="Alphafly 3 Glam (men's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:124.97%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GTNWWs4H8STNXSSyrZrW6K.jpg" alt="Nike Alphafly 3 marathon shoes"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Nike</div> <div class="featured__title">Alphafly 3 Glam (men's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b8e4-b5a7-11f1-9dc2-bbdfc919332b"> <a href="https://www.nike.com/gb/t/alphafly-3-road-racing-shoes-c0BiSuME/IO9559-800" data-model-name="Alphafly 3 (women's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:124.97%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GTNWWs4H8STNXSSyrZrW6K.jpg" alt="Nike Alphafly 3 marathon shoes"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Nike</div> <div class="featured__title">Alphafly 3 (women's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b506-b5a7-11f1-8f6b-1d4524ebb988"> <a href="https://www.adidas.co.uk/adizero-adios-pro-4-shoes/JR6365.html" data-model-name="Adizero Adios Pro 4 (men's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:133.33%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CXa8KH8AATrHr8gZSRb7G4.jpg" alt="Adidas, Adizero Adios Pro 4 (men's)"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adios Pro 4 (men's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b56a-b5a7-11f1-a488-1ba7c3beb83d"> <a href="https://www.adidas.co.uk/adizero-adios-pro-4-shoes/JR1163.html" data-model-name="Adizero Adios Pro 4 (women's)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:125.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RhTYr43xR5iJw74wwin9SS.jpg" alt="Adizero Adios Pro 4 running shoes"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adios Pro 4 (women's)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="13d88c1e-b5cf-11f1-90de-f1f2782da786"> <a href="https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/adi17070/adidas-adizero-adios-pro-evo-1-running-shoes" data-model-name="Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 (unisex)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/g53kYHVpVMpLTsjGQtd4VP.jpg" alt="Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 Running Shoes"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>adidas</div> <div class="featured__title">Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 (unisex)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="13d88cc8-b5cf-11f1-b89f-2f38ca660125"> <a href="https://www.sportsshoes.com/product/asi16781/asics-metaspeed-sky-tokyo-running-shoes---aw26" data-model-name="Metaspeed Sky Tokyo (unisex)" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YfVfBVjNQBwZfpL5YnC9c3.jpg" alt="Asics Metaspeed Sky Tokyo Running Shoes - Aw26"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>Asics</div> <div class="featured__title">Metaspeed Sky Tokyo (unisex)</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_hero" data-id="de56b808-b5a7-11f1-a178-2b61175439cd"> <a href="https://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/p/shoes/ua_velociti_elite_3_unisex_running_shoes/6005377.html" data-model-name="Velociti Elite 3" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:125.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/yxFiQNeog8xmgHzgojKnL9.webp" alt="Ua Velociti Elite 3"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>UnderArmour</div> <div class="featured__title">Velociti Elite 3</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="featured_product_block featured_block_standard" data-id="69c2d22e-b5cf-11f1-80cc-f131c684bee7"> <a href="https://www.on.com/en-gb/products/cloudboom-strike-ls-u-3ue3001/unisex" data-model-name="LightSpray Cloudboom Strike" data-model-brand="" ><div class='product-image-widthsetter'><p class='vanilla-image-block' data-bordeaux-image-check style='padding-top:100.00%';><img style="width: 100%" class="featured_image" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/J3rQcNhNshxGYM7tJAx6NL.png" alt="Lightspray Cloudboom Strike White | Black"></p></div></a> <div class="featured_product_details_wrapper"> <div class="featured_product_title_wrapper"> <div class='featured__brand'>On</div> <div class="featured__title">LightSpray Cloudboom Strike</div> </div> <div class="subtitle__description"> <p></p> </div> </div> </div> </article> ]]>