adidas launches the Adizero Prime X Evo, a €500 super shoe built for ultra-long distances

adidas has unveiled the Adizero Prime X Evo, an extraordinary shoe with a towering 50 mm stack underfoot. For several years, the German brand has been pushing an innovation arms race: first the Pro Evo 1, then the Pro Evo 2, two featherweight €500 UFOs. This time, adidas is thinking bigger. With the Adizero Prime X Evo, the three-stripe brand is clearly targeting runners who dream of speed that lasts a very long time. This shoe was not designed simply to “go fast”. It was designed to go fast over ultra-long distances. A technological monster built to push the limits of the human body, all the way to an almost unreal challenge: breaking six hours for 100 km. That feat became reality this summer at an event that was as secretive as it was spectacular. ➜ The Marathons.com editorial team explains how adidas is taking performance into a new dimension.

The shoe behind a historic record

On November 20, 2025, the Prime X Evo finally arrives in a limited edition. And it does not arrive alone: built into its foam is one of the greatest road-running performances ever recorded. At the Chasing 100 event, five ultra-distance specialists lined up on the iconic Nardò circuit in Italy to take on the 100 km world record. On this 23 km test track, South African Sibusiso Kubheka made history by becoming the first man to run 100 km in under six hours, clocking 5:59:20.

In a statement, adidas confirmed that this was the exact shoe used by the athlete for the record: “The shoe that helped Sibusiso Kubheka break six hours for 100 km.”

The Prime X Evo was not a commercial model planned months in advance. It was a prototype that became a high-performance product at lightning speed.

adidas launches the Adizero Prime X Evo, an ultra-light, ultra-high super shoe built for speed over ultra-long distances.

Technology designed to push ultramarathon limits

adidas makes no secret of it: this shoe is an anomaly in the running world. “Designed to run 100 km in under six hours, it was created to push the boundaries of innovation.”

In other words, it does not comply with World Athletics regulations. And for good reason: its sole is 50 mm thick, 10 mm above the limit allowed in official competition. Extreme height meets an outrageous weight: just 146 g in a size 42, while most “featherweight” shoes on the market hover around 200 g. A genuine technological feat from adidas.

This shoe is made for the extraordinary. It delivers the best of Adizero technology, designed to dominate the race, but it is also a powerful symbol of what humans can achieve when they take on what once seemed impossible. Designed to run 100 km in under six hours, it was created to push the boundaries of innovation. It gives runners not only the chance to set a new personal best, but also to follow in the footsteps of history.
Patrick Nava, General Manager d’adidas Running

A massive sole, exceptional lightness

The Prime X Evo uses a full slab of Lightstrike Pro Evo, a foam that is even lighter than the material used in the Pro Evo 1 and 2. That allows adidas to stack up more volume without adding weight. The result is striking:
➜ Record-breaking stack height
➜ XXL cushioning
➜ Enormous bounce
➜ An astonishing weight for this much foam

adidas has not revealed much about the plates or rigid rods inside the sole, but several images and prototypes point to a structure inspired by the EnergyRods already used in the brand’s racing shoes, here reworked to go the distance over 100 km.

A lightning-fast development process

This model was not developed on a conventional timeline. The wider project, born from the partnership between adidas and Mercedes-AMG, had just five short months to come to life. A frantic pace, confirmed by the innovation team: three complete design-test-revision cycles completed in just five months. Before being adapted for the public, the Prime X Evo began life as a series of prototypes tested in real-world conditions and continuously modified using feedback from elite athletes such as American Charlie Lawrence, the 50-mile world-record holder.

Inside Chasing 100: at the heart of the Nardò Technical Center

The record was set in an improbable setting: the Nardò Technical Center, a vehicle test track in southern Italy. This unusual, one-of-a-kind venue normally serves as a testing ground for the world’s biggest automotive brands, including Porsche and Bugatti. This time, however, it was runners heating up the tarmac. No spectators, no livestream, no show. Just the heat, the sea breeze and improvised lighting to carry six hours of racing into the night.

The athletes used cooling vests, a Climacool jacket inflated by two fans and a secret technology called Ultracharge. It involved pressurizing the shoes inside a capsule to adjust the foam’s density in the hours before the race. A true scientific experiment that helped the athletes push their limits and break the world record over the iconic 100 km distance.

A clear position: the market’s most extreme shoe

The Prime X Evo costs €500, like the Pro Evo 1 and 2. It is also available in very limited quantities. adidas’s strategy is clear:
➜ Push technology to its limits
➜ Set a new benchmark at the very top end of the market
➜ Show that adidas research has never been more effective

adidas is playing the exclusivity card, going radical while putting a technological flagship in the spotlight. With this product, it draws attention and shows the running world that it remains at the cutting edge of technology. 2025 is shaping up to be a record year for the brand, with its athletes taking the majority of spots on the podiums at the world’s biggest marathons.

Who is the Adizero Prime X Evo for?

Let’s be clear: this shoe is not aimed at beginners, casual Sunday joggers or runners looking to compete in official, certified races. It will, however, suit the following profiles:

✔ Runners who want to test the limits of their bodies
Runners who spend a very long time on their feet
Runners who enjoy intense sensations and the latest technology
Runners who want a shoe with enormous bounce

It is a pair runners will enjoy wearing for long runs beyond 30 km, a personal-best attempt over 50 km or 100 km, or simply to have fun with a new piece of technology.

At a glance

Foam: Lightstrike Pro Evo (new generation, lighter and denser)
Weight: 146 g
Stack: 50 mm heel, 47 mm forefoot (3 mm drop)
Use: ultra-long distance (50 km, 100 km)
Available November 20, 2025
Price: €500

adidas is no longer focused solely on the race for carbon plates or featherweight shoes. With the Adizero Prime X Evo, the brand is sending a clear message: the future of running also lies beyond the rules, in a space where science, biomechanics and creative madness can open a new era. Minimalists will probably hate the idea. Other lovers of big, bold gear will adore it. But it is impossible to ignore: the Prime X Evo marks a turning point. What if the future of long-distance running looked more like a secret laboratory than an athletics track? The future is now.

✔ The adidas Adizero Prime X Evo has been available exclusively through the adidas app since November 20 and will be available in limited quantities from November 27 on adidas.com.