Adidas had an extremely busy Olympics. They continue to make waves with the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 as Tamirat Tola from Ethiopia ran to glory in the Men’s Marathon sporting a pair, alongside Benson Kipruto from Kenya racing to the bronze medal in these. In the Women’s race, Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia secured a second place wearing the same shoe, but at $500 a pair (if you can manage to secure a pair), they are not exactly in everyone’s reach. So what does Adidas have cooking on the running front for the rest of us regular runners?

Adidas Adizero Boston 12 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

This shoe from Adidas is epic – the Adizero Boston 12 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon running shoe. As a unique special edition, it’s a first for Adidas South Africa, joining the ranks of the world’s most prestigious marathons, such as Boston and Berlin, which all have their own official race shoes.

The Adizero Boston 12 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon shoe is built for mid to long-distance running and includes glass-fibre-infused ENERGYRODS 2.0, which limits energy loss underfoot. The 38 mm midsole combines ultra-light LIGHTSTRIKE PRO cushioning with durable LIGHTSTRIKE 2.0 EVA, complete with a Continental Rubber outsole that sets the scale at a manageable 260 g (UK8.5).

The men’s version of this shoe is predominantly black with lovely shocking yellow, green and blue accents, with the women’s version switching black for white. It retails for R3 000.  

Taking place on 20 October, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is one of the most popular races on the continent, with organisers on a quest to make this Africa's first World Major Marathon.

Adidas Ultraboost 5

The Ultraboost range has gone through a few cycles of popularity, especially amongst runners, however, don’t write the shoe off. We tested last year’s model, the Ultraboost Light (review), noting, “It’s a fun shoe to run in and the way it guides you on foot to offer a well-regulated running gait will be a big benefit to those looking for stability.”

Adidas believes the latest Ultraboost 5 gives runners the highest energy return yet thanks to a new midsole construction that offers 9 mm more Light Boost foam. It weighs 1 g less than the previous model, now at 292 g (UK8.5), with a 10 mm drop from a chunky 39 mm on the heel to 29 mm on the forefoot. The Torsion System should provide decent guidance all the way through your gait, with Primeknit uppers and a Continental Rubber outsole rounding off this R4k shoe.

Adidas Supernova Prima

Last year the Supernova range had a bit of rethink, focussing on comfort and fit. This year the Adidas Supernova Prima received 13% more DREAMSTRIKE+ super-foam (more than any other Adidas running shoe), helping with support especially around the ball of the foot to bring comfort to everyday training runs.

There’s also the new LIGHTTRAXION outsole which Adidas notes has been ergonomically designed to complement the mid and forefoot, alongside wider Support Rods for better support of the forefoot when striking the road.

The new Supernova Prima comes in a Solar Red colorway for men with Pulse Lime accents, and a Preloved Scarlett colourway for women with Purple Burst details. It is priced at R3 800.