The Fastest Runners Wore These Shoes at the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship
The IRONMAN World Championship run course has always brought us some late-race heroics and drama. This year, Kona was no different, with the winning move in the race not happening until after mile 20 of the run course. We almost had both winning moves in the men’s and women’s races happening at the exact same moment on course; this writer can’t remember a time when that’s ever happened in Kona. Alas, the race had other plans.
But we’re not here to relive the race itself. Instead, we’re here to look at the shoes that the fastest runners in the field used this past weekend. As a reminder, this is not the top 10 finishers at the IRONMAN World Championship; no, we’re looking specifically just at the time they took to run the marathon. As has been the case for a while, we see a lot of variety amongst our top 10 men and women runners, with Adidas, ASICS, HOKA, New Balance, Nike, On, and Puma all represented. ASICS had the most athletes wearing their shoes, followed by On and HOKA, respectively. Something interesting, though: there’s no real consensus on models worn even within these brands, outside of “part of the carbon racing line.”
Men’s Top 10 Runners and Their Shoes
Gustav Iden – 2:36:58
Shoe: On LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2
Price: $310 USD
Iden came up just short in his pursuit of Vincent Luis for the world title. He closed to within 39 seconds of the lead with 5 kilometers left to run, but that would be as near the front as he would get. Iden’s shoe of choice, the second generation of On’s carbon racer with the LightSpray upper, is one of the lightest shoes in the field, coming in at a published 5.6 ounces. There are intentional gaps in the foam construction, which On says allows for smoother, more responsive feel. That LightSpray upper, though, will cost you; it’s $60 more expensive than the standard Cloudboom Strike 2.
Vincent Luis – 2:38:36
Shoe: Nike Apex
Price: $350 USD
Luis, the long-time Nike sponsored athlete, is one of the first professionals to wear the latest Nike road racing shoe. The Apex is a departure from the geometry of the Alphafly and Vaporfly; namely, it’s a zero drop racer with double stacked Air Zoom units in the forefoot (that’s the orange and yellow upfront). There’s a familiar FlyKnit upper and the latest ZoomX LT foam here too. The shoe was only added to the World Athletics approved list earlier this month. For us mere mortals, availability starts in early January.
Pierre Le Corre – 2:38:50
Shoe: On LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2
Price: $310 USD
Le Corre, another On sponsored athlete, used the same LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2 that Iden did. Like Iden, it appears Le Corre opted to use the included-with-purchase Elite Run High Sock. According to On, the sock is meant to provide compression and reduce blistering and work with their racing shoes over long distances.
Matt Hanson – 2:40:34
Shoe: On LightSpray Cloudboom Strike 2
Price: $310 USD
Another Kona, another appearance on the top run splits for Matt Hanson. Unfortunately for Hanson, though, he was unable to use that run to launch himself into the top 15, missing out on an IRONMAN paycheck by 9 minutes. Hanson has been sponsored by On for a couple of years now, and he, too, wore the latest version of the top-end racer — though he opted for white and green instead of the more common yellow iteration.
Jonas Schomburg – 2:41:45
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Ray
Price: $300 USD
Schomburg finished 7th on the back of his marathon, and opted for the shoe that Hayden Wilde made famous for triathlon on its debut last year. The MetaSpeed Ray is the lightest weight option in the ASICS MetaSpeed line. It gets there with a thinner, lighter carbon plate than the rest of the line and a modified version of ASICS proprietary foam, FF Leap. Naturally, it’s also the most expensive option in the line.
Youri Keulen – 2:42:05
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Edge Tokyo
Price: $270 USD
Keulen finished 90 seconds behind Schomburg in ninth place. Instead of the super lightweight Ray, Keulen used the MetaSpeed Edge Tokyo in the new aquarium color way. The Edge geometry and carbon fiber plate is, according to ASICS, intended for runners who get faster through increased cadence. Like the Ray, there’s a 5 millimeter drop and a relatively lightweight platform in exchange for your $270.
Sam Long – 2:42:57
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Tokyo
Price: $270 USD
And here we find the third shoe in the MetaSpeed line-up. Long wears the Sky, which is intended for athletes who find speed through increased stride length. As one of the tallest athletes in the field and with long femurs to boot, it’s unsurprising to see Long in this particular model. (For what it’s worth, it’s my pick of the MetaSpeed line, too). Like all MetaSpeed shoes, it shares the 5 millimeter drop and general foam / plate construction.
Matthew Marquardt – 2:43:58
Shoe: Adidas Adios Pro 4
Price: $255 USD
Marquardt, who isn’t sponsored, used the prior generation of Adidas’ “traditional” carbon plated shoe, the Adios Pro 4. He released a reel on his Instagram the week of the race to detail his reasons for racing in the earlier generation shoe, which boiled down to not wanting to try anything new on race day. Like most racing shoes, it pairs a hypercritical foam and carbon plate to deliver maximum energy return. The newest version of the shoe, which came out in September, retails for $275 USD. You can find Marquardt’s prior generation at retailers for prices as low as $150.
Gregory Barnaby – 2:44:44
Shoe: Adidas Adios Pro Evo 3
Price: $500 USD
And here we find the most expensive shoe of the day. Barnaby’s wearing the ultra limited Adios Pro Evo 3, which is the shoe taking down all of the current run records (including the sub 2 hour marathon). Your $500 buys you a shoe that weighs less than 100 grams, Lightstrike Pro EVO foam, and a new carbon plate that wraps around the perimeter of the shoe. We’re yet to get a pair in for wear testing, but we’re excited at the prospects.
Mikel Ugarte Ramos – 2:45:30
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Edge Tokyo
Price: $270 USD
You’d be forgiven if you’d never heard of Ugarte Ramos prior to the race; his best finish in an IRONMAN event came with a third in Lanzarote in 2024. But his tenth best marathon helped carry him to a 13th place finish on Saturday. He, like Keulen, opted for the stride increasing Edge over the Sky or Ray in the ASICS line-up.
Women’s Top 10 Runners and Their Shoes
Laura Philipp – 2:50:43
Shoe: New Balance SuperComp Elite v5
Price: $275 USD
Philipp, the long sponsored New Balance athlete, once again unleashed a powerful run that earned her a boatload of cash in Hawaii. However, like Marquardt for men, Philipp isn’t in the latest and greatest version of New Balance’s racer. She uses the prior generation SuperComp Elite v5, which errs slightly on the plusher and heavier side (all of 7.6 ounces, but still). It also features one of the higher heel-toe drops of the shoes listed out here at 8 millimeters. The new generation has a revised fit and lighter weight, which may be why Philipp held off of trying the new one.
Kat Matthews – 2:52:50
Shoe: On Cloudboom Strike 2
Price: $250 USD
Unlike the men, who opted for the Lightspray version of the shoe, Matthews went for the traditionally upper version of the Cloudboom Strike 2. It is otherwise the same shoe; carbon plate, openings in the foam to allow for greater deflection, and a ride oriented towards smooth.
Taylor Knibb – 2:57:46
Shoe: HOKA Rocket X 3
Price: $250 USD
Knibb has long worn HOKA, and her weapon of choice has almost always been the Rocket X series. HOKA’s longest tenured carbon shoe features a dual-density PEBA foam and a new geometry on the carbon fiber plate. For this third generation, HOKA also removed the gusset, revised the upper, and gave the shoe more tacky rubber on the outsole to improve traction.
Julie Derron – 2:58:54
Shoe: On Cloudboom Strike 2
Price: $250 USD
Derron, like Matthews, wore the standard issue upper Cloudboom Strike 2. Like Matthews, she also opted for the white and pink color way that makes the shoe pop in person.
Marta Lagownik – 3:01:22
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Edge Tokyo
Price: $270 USD
Lagownik is another unsponsored athlete. She, like Ugarte Ramos on the men’s side, opted for the MetaSpeed Edge Tokyo. Looking through Lagownik’s Instagram posts, it appears she’s shoe agnostic; you can find her in a variety of brands throughout training, though it looks like she’s consistently worn the Edge as the race day shoe of choice for at least most of the Pro Series events this year.
Elisabetta Curridori – 3:02:03
Shoe: Puma FAST-R NITRO Elite 3 Digitokyo
Price: $300 USD
Curridori is another athlete who has a panoply of shoes dotting her Instagram. For Kona, though, she was the fastest athlete in a Puma, opting for the Digitokyo edition FAST-R Nitro Elite 3. Beyond the 95 gram weight savings and improvement in running economy over the prior generation, the Digitokyo edition also features a unique upper print meant to resemble the Tokyo skyline. Like the three other shoes with uniquely manufactured uppers, it’s one of the only ones to crest the magical $300 barrier.
Anne-Sophie Pierre – 3:02:25
Shoe: Nike Alphafly 4
Price: $280 USD
Pierre was able to snag one of the few pairs of the Alphafly 4 that released in late August. The rest of us are forced to wait until a full release later this fall. The Alphafly 4 retains the familiar 8 millimeter drop and sub 7 ounce weight, but the new version is apparently smoother and quieter than prior generations thanks to a revised forefoot Zoom unit and a revamped plate geometry.
Grace Thek – 3:02:41
Shoe: HOKA Rocket X 3
Price: $250 USD
Thek’s eighth fastest run was good enough to land her a top 10 finish in Kona. Another athlete who has worn HOKA for a bit, she too opted for the familiar Rocket X platform over HOKA’s allegedly fastest shoe, the Cielo.
Sara Svensk – 3:05:21
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Ray
Price: $300 USD
Svensk opted for the lightest shoe in the MetaSpeed line-up, which promises a high rate of energy return despite a more minimal plate compared to the “mortal” Sky and Edge.
Imogen Simmonds – 3:07:45
Shoe: HOKA Rocket X 3
Price: $250 USD
Last but not least, we find Simmonds. Another athlete in the HOKA pro stable, Simmonds too chose the Rocket racing platform over the Cielo.
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So I’ve tried on the Cielo x1 3.0 and although I felt like I could be fast in it, the heel is pretty narrow for a Hoka and significantly more narrow than the Rocket x 3.0. So it’s probably a bit better for when form breaks down on the marry.
The 2.0 was flat out stupid downhill and flat, but unwearable for anything beyond a 10K.
The new one I could see being used in an IM, but like the Alphafly, probably best suited for those who don’t suffer from much form breakdown.
The Rocket is far more forgiving. Not as fast, but forgiving. And if you respond well to carbon, still in the conversation.
I was interested in the 3.0…but I haven’t bought a shoe full price in the last year…I know, hard when my rules are gotta be green. So I might be buying a Metaspeed Ray…but. They almost got me to buy that shoe. Still not sure if I’ll go with a carbon shoe for my Half-Marathon. But given the success of On here I might grab the green shoe from them instead of Craft.