The Adidas Pro Evo 3 is the marathon race shoe used by Yomif Kejelcha and Sabastian Sawe to run the first two sub-2 hour marathons in London this year (2026). The Pro Evo 3, at $500, was designed for Adidas’ pro athletes to run as fast as possible within the limits set forth by World Athletics. Like the past two versions, Adidas uses an uncompressed foam—making it super lightweight—in the midsole, and in this iteration, they have introduced a new type of plate, that they are calling an Energy Rim. The foam in this version feels completely different from the past two versions, where the foam felt hollow and lackluster. As in the Prime X Evo, this new foam feels incredibly responsive, soft and bouncy. It is an unstable, wild behemoth of a shoe, compared to the streamlined, workman-like feel in the Pro Evo 1 and 2. It’s fun, propulsive, the rocker is absolutely incredible, the plate position is perfect, and the way the foam compresses inside the rimmed plate while responding quickly is great. The last versions were super lightweight, but this one comes in significantly lighter, around 100 grams in a Men’s Size 9, making it so easy to turn your legs over. It combines weight savings with a really energetic foam, which results in one of the best, if not the best, racers on the market. However, what you gain in fun and speed assistance, you lose in stability and durability. The upper is incredibly lightweight and barely holds your foot onto the midsole, and you wouldn’t want to use this shoe on a course that had a lot of turns due to the lack of stability in the midfoot and heel. Adidas did add Continental Rubber to the forefoot to improve traction, but this is the type of shoe that you really only want to use for one peak race since it wasn’t made for stacking lots of miles. If you are looking for a really cool, innovative experience, and you don’t mind a wild and unstable ride, or spending $500, the Pro Evo 3 is a transcendent shoe worth trying.
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