Racing Super Shoes Will Be Lighter, More Responsive, and Likely Even Faster in 2025

Eager to run a new personal best in the marathon in 2025? Or are you itching to crank out a quicker half marathon than you ran in 2024? Or maybe a fast effort in a trail race? The continued evolution of speedy shoe technology will be on your side. With new midsole foams and propulsion plate configurations, top-tier racing shoes will be lighter, more responsive, and presumably faster in 2025. That goes for both road racing and trail racing super shoes that will be hitting running shops from late winter to early summer.

Asics, New Balance, and Under Armour will have lighter and more energetic road racing shoes coming out by late spring, while Nike is expected to release its Ultrafly 2 trail racing super shoe in June. While those models are still under embargo, we’ve got the scoop on several race-day super shoes and high-performance training shoes unveiled at The Running Event trade show in November in the roundup below. We haven’t fully wear-tested these shoes yet, so it’s just a preview of what’s to come. When wear-testing is complete, we’ll produce both first-run reviews and in-depth multi-tester reviews with input from the Outside wear-test team and data from the Outside Gear Lab in Denver.

In the meantime, check out our the top super shoes, training shoes, and trail running shoes available at running shops and online stores right now.

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2025 Road Racing Super Shoes

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4, $250

Approximate Weights: 6.0 oz. (women’s 8), 7.0 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 6mm drop; 39mm (heel), 33mm (forefoot)
Release Date: January

The Adizero Adios Pro 4 was released in limited numbers just before the Berlin Marathon in September, but it will hit stores in mass quantities worldwide in January. It’s been updated with a bouncier Lightstrike Pro midsole, a lighter, stronger stretch-mesh upper with internal locking bands, a new configuration of the Evo Pro EnergyRods, and an aggressive new geometry in which the forefoot rocker point is at 60 percent of the shoe’s length. Several Adidas pros raced in this shoe in the New York City Marathon, including women’s winner Sheila Chepkirui and men’s runner-up Evans Chebet.

RELATED: More Super, Less Stable: Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 First-Run Review

Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB, $250

Approximate Weights: 6.6 oz. (women’s 8), 8.6 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 6.5mm drop; 38.5mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)
Release Date: February

Brooks has been working on enhancing its top-tier road racing shoes for several years. It released the Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 with its DNA Flash v2 midsole compound prior to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon last February, but early in 2025 it will release the Hyperion Elite 4 PB with the brand’s new DNA Gold supercritical midsole foam, a very light and responsive nitrogen-infused 100 percent Peba material, and a very light and airy knit-mesh upper.

Brooks Hyperion Elite 5, $275

Approximate Weights: 5.8 oz. (women’s 8), 6.9 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 8mm drop; 40mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)
Release Date: July

Brooks had hoped to keep the Hyperion Elite 5 under wraps by showing it under embargo at The Running Event trade show, but someone leaked it so it decided to release the details and images of it. It has a DNA GOLD 100 percent PEBA foam midsole with a unique series of half-orb bubble configurations under the arch for optimal compression and decompression. It also has a very light and airy knit-mesh upper and minimal outsole rubber to keep it as light as possible.

Craft Kype Pro, $300

Approximate Weights: 5.8 oz. (women’s 8), 6.9 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 8mm drop; 40mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)
Release Date: March

Craft says the unique heel split design of its new Kype PRO racing shoe significantly reduces the contact surface area between the shoe and the ground, allowing for quicker toe-offs and a more efficient stride pattern. The skeleton-like carbon-fiber propulsion plate (developed in collaboration with Arris) embedded in the midsole of its Peba-based Xx midsole foam weighs less than half of an ounce and has a split heel design and enhanced stiffness The ultra-light AeroMesh knit upper is made from a durable mono yarn knit that offers support, pliability, and breathability, while the bottom of the shoe features a thin, lightweight rubber outsole was developed with Italian bicycle tire manufacturer Vittoria.

Hoka Cielo X 1 2.0, $275

Approximate Weights: 7.0 oz. (women’s 8), 8.1 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-toe offset: 10mm; 48mm (heel), 41mm (forefoot)
Expected launch: February

Hoka broke the mold for the original Cielo X 1, which debuted early this year as a high-stack training and racing shoe. But in 2025 this unisex-sized model will have a lofty 48mm/41mm stack height profile with a more aggressive, articulated carbon-fiber plate sandwiched between two layers of Peba-based supercritical foam, a new engineered jacquard upper, a sparkly paint job and a much lighter spec weight. (It is still a World Athletics-approved racing shoe because the heel stack height of a men’s size 8.5 is 40mm.)

On Cloudboom Strike LS, $330

Approximate Weights: 6.2 oz. (women’s 8), 7.8 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 4mm drop; 39.5mm (heel), 35.5mm (forefoot)
Release Date: TBD

For now, the Cloudboom Strike LS are custom made one at a time in On’s shoe lab in Zurich, Switzerland with a unique LightSpray technology—which entails spraying, not gluing or mechanically building—the thin, form-fitting, and lace-free upper of these shoes. It’s formed from a single 1.5-kilometer long filament that is spun by an automated robotic spray machine in a fast one-step process that results in a breathable, elastic and seamless mesh-like upper. The uppers are heat-infused to the Cloudboom Strike chassis—which has a carbon-fiber plate sandwiched between two layers of Helion HF super foam—to create a fit that’s adaptable to the precise shape and volume of a runner’s foot. After On brought a temporary lab setup to New York City in early November, it’s possible they could become available to the public in 2025 with a $330 price tag, although probably not customized to an individual runner’s foot shape the way On makes them for its pro athletes.

RELATED: Spray-on Shoes Are Real. Watch How On’s Cloudboom Strike LS Super Shoes are Made

Saucony Endorphin Elite 2, $275

Approximate Weights: 5.9 oz. (women’s 8), 7.0 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-toe offset: 8mm; 39.5mm (heel), 31.5mm (forefoot)
Expected launch: March

Saucony’s new TPEE IncrediRun midsole material in its top-tier carbon-plated racing shoes is lighter, softer, and more responsive than its previous PWRRUN HG foam. It has a slotted full-length carbon-fiber plate with Saucony’s forwardmost tread point making it the brand’s most aggressive race-day model to date. Saucony says the new engineered mesh upper and tongue, and a seamless, 3D-molded heel will round out a snug, smooth, secure race-day fit.

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2025 Road Running Super Trainers

Adidas Adizero Evo SL, $150

Approximate Weights: 6.1 oz. (women’s 8), 7.2 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 8mm drop; 40mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)
Release Date: March

Adidas says it designed the new Adizero Evo SL super trainer with the Pro Evo 1 super shoe design DNA. It has a full-length, high stack Lightstrike Pro foam midsole but no stiffening rods or plate embedded inside. It has a breathable mesh upper aimed to provide targeted support for quick-turnover stride action of up-tempo training efforts.

CEP Omnispeed, $225

Approximate Weights: 9.2 oz. (women’s 8), 10.9 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-toe offset: 5mm; 37mm (heel), 30mm (forefoot)
Expected launch: February

If you’ve heard of the German brand CEP, you know they’re known for compression socks and apparel. Well, now they’re using their background in medical technology to enter the shoe game. The Omnispeed super trainer features Bowtech, which is a patented kinetic technology that works in harmony with a runner’s foot biomechanics to increase energy return. The Arkema fiber-reinforced Pebax midsole plate maximizes the foot’s windlass mechanism, storing energy with every step and unleashing it during push-off for powerful acceleration. The midsole foam in the heel is made from a stable and durable EVA material, while the forefoot is a lightweight and very responsive supercritical Peba-based foam.

Skechers Aero Tempo, $160

Approximate Weights: 5.9 oz. (women’s 8), 7.0 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 8mm drop; 39.5mm (heel), 31.5mm (forefoot)
Release Date: March

The Aero Tempo is a new shoe built on a responsive single-density supercritical Hyperburst foam platform with a carbon-infused H-frame build into the midsole, but it gets additional cushion and energy return from the 8mm aliphatic TPU sockliner. A woven mesh upper and a thin layer of Goodyear rubber round out this speedy trainer/racer.

2025 Trail Racing Shoes

La Sportiva Prodigio Pro, $195

Approximate Weights: 7.6 oz. (women’s 8), 8.9 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-toe offset: 6mm; 34mm (heel), 28mm (forefoot)
Expected launch: March

Following in the footsteps of last year’s Prodigio trainer, the Prodigio Pro is La Sportiva’s first super shoe for racing on the trails. It’s fueled by the energetic XFlow Speed, a supercritical nitrogen-infused TPU foam that maximizes energy return while providing stable and reliable cushioning. A super sticky outsole with deep lugs allows reliable traction La Sportiva is known for, while a unique strobel-less construction improves responsiveness, reduces weight, and enhances cushioning. The brand’s new Power Wire mesh is paired with an internal wrapping system to provide an incredibly lightweight upper that holds the foot securely on tricky descents.

On Cloudultra Pro, $260

Approximate Weights: 5.8 oz. (women’s 8), 6.9 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 6mm drop; 38mm (heel), 32mm (forefoot)
Release Date: May

A new model that’s been in the works for more than two years, this near-max cushioned shoe has a softer version of On’s Helion HF superfoam directly under the foot and a slightly firmer version below the nylon-fiberglass forked plate. It has an engineered mesh upper to help secure the foot on off-camber terrain and low profile outsole lugs for versatility on a wide range of terrain.

Puma Deviate Nitro Elite Trail, $230

Approximate Weights: 8.1 oz. (women’s 8), 9.3 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 6mm drop; 36mm (heel), 30mm (forefoot)
Release Date: March

This new trail racing shoe uses the same Nitro Elite foam that’s in Puma’s Deviate Nitro Elite 3 marathon racing shoe. Sandwiched between two layers of midsole foam is a flexible, forked-shaped carbon/composite plate that’s made for optimal speed, agility, stability, and torsional pliability on the trails. The top of the shoe is secured by a breathable monomesh upper, while the bottom features 3mm PumaGrip outsole lugs.

The North Face Summit Series Vectiv Pro 3, $250

Approximate Weights: 9.2 oz. (women’s 8), 10.3 oz. (men’s 9)
Heel-Toe Offsets: 6mm drop; 37mm (heel), 31mm (forefoot)
Release Date: March

The Summit Vectiv Pro 3 has been retooled with a max-stacked midsole configuration that includes two plates sandwiched around a 10mm layer of Dream foam—a new nitrogen-infused Peba/EVA midsole compound—for optimal propulsion and stability on the trails. This shoe won an innovation award at this year’s ISPO global trade show on December 2-4 in Munich.

RELATED: The Top Trail Racing Shoes at UTMB 2024

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