Nike Is Already Teasing Its Answer to Adidas’s Game-Changing Super Shoe

At the 2026 London Marathon, Sabastian Sawe stopped the running world in its tracks.

Not only did the reigning champ set a new world record, he became the first person in history to run an official marathon in less than two hours.

For now, the industry remains fixated on Sawe’s shoes, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, unveiled just days before the race.

Rightly so. The Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 also claimed two other world records in London: the fastest debut and women-only marathon, courtesy of Yomif Kejelcha and Tigist Assefa, respectively.

Getty Images/Warren Little

The shoe currently holds the title of the fastest model on the roads. No ifs, ands or buts.

But while everyone was focused on history in the making, Nike quietly previewed the future with the clearest look yet at its upcoming super shoe.

In a press release distributed ahead of the London Marathon, the brand confirmed “multiple development prototypes approved by World Athletics.”

While specifics are still sparse, the photos are telling.

Nike

Even more foam

For starters, the midsole appears significantly larger than that of the Alphafly 3, a shoe already at the limit of World Athletics regulations.

While the organization is clear that the “maximum thickness of the sole must not exceed 40mm,” it only measures shoes at the center points of the forefoot and heel, defined as 75 and 12 percent of its total internal length.

Nike

“The thickness of the sole outside of these points is not relevant for the purposes of meeting the technical requirements,” the guidelines go on, leaving ample wiggle room for Nike to add even more foam into the platform of its top marathon racer.

Now exactly what that foam is remains to be seen. But the brand’s super shoes to date have all utilized some type of PEBA-based compound, branded as ZoomX since the original Vaporfly released nearly a decade ago.

Photo by Jack Seemer for Gear Patrol

An extended plate

Compared to previous generations, the Alphafly 3 made use of a larger carbon-fiber plate for improved stability on the roads.

It looks like that trend will continue into Nike’s next super shoe, but instead of growing wide, the shoe will take a page out of Puma’s playbook.

Nike

Like the Fast-R Nitro Elite 3, Nike’s upcoming racer features a plate that extends an inch or so beyond the toebox.

If it works anything like Puma’s super shoe, deemed the quickest in the world by a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, then its purpose is obvious:

A longer plate will add stiffness and propulsion, while minimizing the energy loss in each stride.

Nike

Up, up and away

Perhaps the most perplexing aspect of the Alphafly 4, assuming Nike calls it that, is the upper.

While Adidas went the minimalist route, equipping the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 with an almost transparent-like upper, the Alphafly 4 seems to go in a different direction.

Nike

The shoe appears to have a sock-like upper that extends up the ankle like built-in gaiter.

The tweak will almost definitely lead to additional numbers on the scale, but any increase in weight may be mitigated by bigger cutouts in the bottom of the midsole.

Nike

No firm release date

For now, Nike seems content letting Adidas have its moment in the wake of Sabastian Sawe’s win. The brand even took to social media to congratulate the runner in an unprecedented move.

That said, Nike’s new super shoe is already promising historically fast times.

Connor Mantz wore a version of the prototype to break the longstanding American record in the marathon back in 2025, as did Jacob Kiplimo to run two hours and 28 seconds in London for third place.

Nike

A day earlier, that would have been enough to set a new world record, but Nike’s press release proved to portend the inevitable with its opening line:

“The times are changing,” it read.

So, too, are the shoes.

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