These Are the Shoes That Ruled the 2024 Boston Marathon

Now that Hellen Obiri and Sisay Lemma have etched their names in the Boston Marathon history books, there’s one outstanding question everyone wants answered: What were the fastest shoes in the 2024 Boston Marathon?

Obiri won her second consecutive Boston title wearing a pair of On prototype shoes called the Cloudboom Strike LS Dev 1.2. It’s a shoe that’s been vetted and approved by World Athletics, but On isn’t saying much about it except that it’s keeping it top secret for now. It seems to be a maximally cushioned shoe which presumably has some sort of supercritical midsole foam and a carbon fiber propulsion plate. But the most striking feature is what appears to be a stretchy knit laceless upper.

Obiri won both the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon in 2023 wearing a pair of prototype shoes On has called the CloudTri 1. But that shoe, which was also approved by World Athletics, hasn’t yet become commercially available.

While that was certainly the most intriguing shoe of the race, the most prolific was the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1. The ultra-light carbon-plated white and black racing shoe was worn by men’s champion Sisay Lemma (2:06:17), as well as fifth-place finisher Albert Korir (2:07:47) and women’s fourth-place finisher Buze Diriba (2:24:04).

In all, three of the top nine men wore that shoe, as well as six of the top 20 women. Somewhat surprisingly, two-time defending Boston Marathon champion Evans Chebet didn’t wear the shoe, instead opting for a pair of Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3 that helped him win the race in 2022 and 2023, as well as the 2022 New York City Marathon.

Adidas, which is the footwear sponsor of the Boston Marathon, had a few hundred pairs of the $500, limited-edition shoes available for sale to the public at the race expo on Friday and they sold out within 15 minutes. That shoe has set records on resale sites like StockX, GOAT and Ebay—with prices ranging from $600 to $1200 this week.

So far, Adidas says the shoes have achieved one world record and 11 victories, which includes four national records and four course records. Tokyo Marathon men’s champion Benson Kipruto also wore Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1, as did New York City Marathon men’s champion Tamirat Tola (2:04:58). The shoes debuted last September when Tigst Assefa wore a pair to set a new women’s world record (2:11:53) at the Berlin Marathon in September.

Other top shoes in this year’s Boston Marathon included the neon red Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris, neon yellow Nike Vaporfly 3, Puma’s white, yellow and red Deviate Nitro 3 Elite prototype, and the navy blue Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 prototype worn by Des Linden.

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2024 Boston Marathon
Women’s Results + Shoe Models

1. Hellen Obiri, 34, Kenya, 2:22:37—On Cloudboom Strike prototype
2. Sharon Lokedi, 30, Kenya, 2:22:45—Under Armour Velociti Elite 2
3. Edna Kiplagat, 44, Kenya, 2:23:21—Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3 prototype
4. Buze Diriba, 30, Ethiopia, 2:24:04—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
5. Senbere Teferi, 28, Ethiopia, 2:24:04—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
6. Mary Ngugi Cooper, 35, Kenya, 2:24:24—Nike Vaporfly 3
7. Workenesh Edesa, 31, Ethiopia, 2:24:47—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
8. Fatima Gardadi, 32, Morocco, 2:24:53—Xtep 160X 5.0
9. Tiruye Mesfin, 21, Ethiopia, 2:24:58—Nike Zoom X Vaporfly Next% 2
10. Dera Dida, 27, Ethiopia, 2:25:16—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
11. Siranesh Yigra, 23, Ethiopia, 2:26:31—Nike Zoom X Vaporfly Next%
12. Emma Bates, 31, U.S., 2:27:14—Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris
13. Vibain Chepkirui, 29, Kenya, 2:27:23—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
14. Helah Kiprop, 39, Kenya, 2:27:36—Xtep 160X 5.0
15. Sara Hall, 41, U.S., 2:27:58—Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris
16. Des Linden, 40, U.S., 2:28:27—Brooks Hyperion Elite 5 prototype
17. Meseret Belete, 24, Ethiopia, 2:31:03—Nike Zoom X Vaporfly Next%
18. Jenny Simpson, 37, U.S., 2:31:39—Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3 prototype
19. Angie Orjuela, 34, Colombia, 2:32:14—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3
20. Dominique Scott, 31, South Africa, 2:32:31—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1

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Men’s Results + Shoe Models

1. Sisay Lemma, Ethiopia, 33, 2:06:17—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
2. Mohamed Esa, 23, Ethiopia, 2:06:58—Nike Alphafly 3
3. Evans Chebet, 35, Kenya, 2:07:22—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3
4. John Korir, Kenya, 27, 2:07:40—Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris
5. Albert Korir, 30, Kenya, 2:07:47—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
6. Isaac Mpofu, 35, Zimbabwe, 2:08:17—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3
7. CJ Albertson, 30, U.S. 2:09:53 —Brooks Hyperion Elite 4
8. Yuma Morii, 33, Japan, 2:09:59—Nike Alphafly 3
9. Cybrian Kotut, 31, Kenya, 2:10:29—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
10. Zouhair Talbi, 29, Morocco, 2:10:45—Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris
11. Shura Kitata, 27, Ethiopia, 2:10:52—Nike Zoom X Vaporfly Next%
12. Sondre Moen, 33, Norway, 2:11:18—Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3 prototype
13. Suguru Osako, 32, Japan, 2:11:44—Nike Alphafly 3
14. Elkanah Kibet, 40, U.S., 2:12:32—Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris
15. Ryan Eiler, 37, U.S., 2:15:22—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3
16. Yemane Haileselassie, 26, Eritrea, 2:14:44—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3
17. Primoz Kobe, 42, Slovenia, 2:14:56—Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris
18. Patrick Smyth, 37, U.S., 2:15:45—Nike Vaporfly Next%
19. Grant O’Connor, 26, U.S., 2:16:17—Asics Metaspeed Sky
20. Corneschi Alexandru, 32, Romania, 2:16:23—Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3

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