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40Race Shoe FinderThe independent race lab

No. 03 — Head to head

Two shoes.
Same race.

The pairings runners actually agonise over, settled the only way this site knows how: weight against weight, pound against pound, kilometre of foam against kilometre of foam — and both shoes run through your own race.

  1. 01Nike Alphafly 3 v. adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4The two default answers to “which marathon shoe?” — the reference racer against the best value at the top of the market.218g v. 210g · £285 v. £230 · both road legal
  2. 02Nike Alphafly 3 v. Nike Vaporfly 4Nike against Nike: maximum marathon machinery against the lighter, cheaper shoe that also races a 5K.218g v. 184g · £285 v. £255 · both road legal
  3. 03Nike Vaporfly 4 v. adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4The most versatile super shoe against the strongest value flagship — the pairing most people are actually deciding between.184g v. 210g · £255 v. £230 · both road legal
  4. 04ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo v. ASICS Metaspeed Edge TokyoASICS splits its flagship by running style — stride length against cadence. Same foam, same plate, same price: the drop is the decision.183g v. 181g · £250 v. £250 · both road legal
  5. 05Nike Alphafly 3 v. ASICS Metaspeed Sky TokyoThe reference marathon shoe against the strongest claim to its crown.218g v. 183g · £285 v. £250 · both road legal
  6. 06adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 v. ASICS Metaspeed RayThe two lightest marathon shoes ever sold, and £200 apart. Both are race-day-only purchases — the arithmetic matters more here than anywhere.138g v. 129g · £450 v. £250 · both road legal
  7. 07adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 v. adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4adidas’s own £450 question: what does doubling the price and halving the competitive life actually buy?138g v. 210g · £450 v. £230 · both road legal
  8. 08adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 v. ASICS Metaspeed Sky TokyoTwo of the sanest flagship buys on the shelf, £20 apart. Character is the difference: rolling EnergyRods against a stride-opening platform.210g v. 183g · £230 v. £250 · both road legal
  9. 09Saucony Endorphin Elite 3 v. adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4The softest ride at the top of the market against the firmest-value one.190g v. 210g · £270 v. £230 · both road legal
  10. 10New Balance FuelCell SC Elite v5 v. Nike Alphafly 3The wide-foot answer to the Alphafly: a broader platform, a 4mm drop, and £35 less.182g v. 218g · £250 v. £285 · both road legal
  11. 11PUMA Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 v. Nike Vaporfly 4The most aggressive geometry in the field against the most versatile — two very different ways to spend roughly the same money.170g v. 184g · £260 v. £255 · both road legal
  12. 12ASICS Magic Speed 5 v. Nike Zoom Fly 6The two best entry points to a carbon plate, both around £150–165 and durable enough to train in. First-marathon territory.218g v. 248g · £150 v. £165 · both road legal
  13. 13HOKA Cielo X1 2.0 v. HOKA Rocket X 3HOKA against HOKA: the enormous 46mm shoe its marketing leads with against the 39mm one you can legally race in.230g v. 200g · £250 v. £220 · only the Rocket X 3 is road legal
  14. 14Nike Streakfly 2 v. adidas Adizero Takumi Sen 11The 5K/10K specialists: a low nylon-plated feel shoe against a firm carbon scalpel.170g v. 160g · £155 v. £180 · both road legal

Missing the pairing you are weighing up? The calculator compares every shoe built for your race against your own time, and the index lines the whole field up in one table.