London Marathon 2026 brought more big news that it usually does this year. Not one but two runners broke the 2-hour mark for the first time in an eligible event, headed up by winner Sabastian Sawe.

This puts all the more focus on questions like what the athletes did to train, how rigorous the anti-doping procedures were and — lightest of the lot — what running shoes the runners wore to run so fast.

London Marathon 2026: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3

The clear stand-out pair from this year were the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 , which were announced just a couple of days before London Marathon 2026.

This pair was worn by four of the top five male elite runners, and by the winner of the women’s elite race, Tigst Assefa.

It’s an extremely aggressive super shoe too, cutting weight down massively compared to the also-event-winning previous generation Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2. The headline stat is the shoes weigh less than 100g in a US size 9.5, at 97g.

The one top five finisher in the men’s elite class not to wear the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 was third-place runner Jacob Kiplimo. He wore a prototype version of a Nike pair, believed to be what will eventually be known as the Alphafly 4.

It’s a big marketing win for Adidas, and it is the second London Marathon win in a row not just for the Adios Pro Evo range but for Sabastian Sawe, who won the 2025 event wearing a pair of Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 shoes.

There’s more interesting stuff afoot over among the elite women’s contenders. Behind Tigst Assefa, Hellen Obiri wore a pair of custom Lightspray shoes by On. These feature an upper “sprayed” on in under four minutes, as discussed in a recent Forbes article .

Joyciline Jepkosgei also wore a prototype pair of Asics shoes, a pair expected to be eventually released as part of the Metaspeed Edge family.

Here’s the rundown of which running shoes the men’s and women’s elite racers wore during London Marathon 2026.

  • Sabastian Sawe: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
  • Yomif Kejelcha: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
  • Jacob Kiplimo: Nike Alphafly 4 prototype
  • Amos Kipruto: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
  • Tamirat Tola: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
  • Tigst Assefa: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
  • Hellen Obiri: On LightSpray custom shoes
  • Joyciline Jepkosgei: Asics Metaspeed Edge prototype shoe
  • Degitu Azimeraw: TBC
  • Catherine Reline Amanang’ole: TBC

Those wanting to try first-hand what the elites are running with, and get a pair of Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, will likely have some time to wait.

While Adidas released the shoe in limited numbers on April 25th, it will get a wider release during the fall marathon season. Given their performance so far, the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 are likely to be in demand for some time despite a $500 asking price.