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What if the same shoes that were behind the world marathon record, and the unique achievement of the first race that was completed in less than two hours?
The 2026 London Marathon is already history, thanks to the time set by Sabastian Kimaru Sawe of Kenya. He is the first runner to complete the 26.2 kilometer race in less than two hours, something that was considered impossible for a long time, reaching the finish line in one hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds.
Making the London Marathon even more memorable was the performance of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who stopped the clock just 11 seconds behind Sawe. Both performances eclipsed the previous record of two hours and 35 seconds set by Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023.
This strong momentum was fueled by some twists and turns. Fans who filled the streets of the English capital witnessed another world record as Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa completed the women’s race in two hours, 15 minutes, and 41 seconds.
Beautiful Shoes
Along with talent and lifelong learning, Sawe, Kejelcha, and Assefa have one more thing in common: They each wore Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes, which Adidas started on the eve of the London Marathon. (These shoes will also be on sale soon for $500, though only for a limited time Adidas official program.)
The shoe that brought all three athletes to their best in the world is the lightest version of the shoe made by the German manufacturer. At only 97 grams, the Evo 3 features carbon-fiber materials incorporated into the soles that make the shoe more durable. The Evo 3 uses Adidas’ Lightstrike Pro Evo foam, which is extremely light and springy. The outsole has a rubber band on the front.
The new shoe was created by a team led by Patrick Nava, an Italian engineer who joined Adidas in 2019 and has led the division since last October. Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 is the result of a long development between the company’s lab tests at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, (about 120 miles north of Munich) and field tests at high altitudes in Kenya and Ethiopia that discovered what athletes felt and what they did.
“It was a long time, because at the highest level everything is important, so we measured everything down to the nanogram,” says Nava.
Stepping Stones
The running world arrived at this new era of sports at the first test of the new shoes. Adidas has been a fierce competitor with Nike for years. An Oregon company has its own Violation 2 a project to create shoes that would help runners break two hours. In 2017, the Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge ran 2 hours and 24 seconds race in Monza, Italy. They then removed the two-hour mark after two years in Vienna, Austriawhen he stopped the clock at one hour, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds. That time was not considered and a world record because of lucky races: It was not part of the official race, and the pacemakers took turns running with him.
But Kipchoge’s pace is still very important in approaching the previous record set by Sawe who, under the guidance of his coach Claudio Berardelli, has dedicated the last two years to the challenge. This is his fourth marathon victory, and he underwent drug tests throughout the preparations to rule out any doubts about the unprecedented event.
This article was originally published by WIRED Italyand translated from Italian.
