The Running Shoes of the Fastest Pro Men at the 2025 IRONMAN World Championship
Bike for show, run for dough, right? Not necessarily! Six of our top fifteen pro men run splits from this year’s IRONMAN World Championships came from athletes who did not wind up earning prize money. In fact, two of our top run splits were put up by athletes well outside the top 25.
ASICS had the most athletes out of the top run splits, with five athletes in their line-up of various MetaSpeed shoes. Adidas was a surprise second place, with four athletes showing up in the top time splits. Perhaps unsurprising given their recent heavy focus on triathlon, On was well represented, with three athletes wearing their footwear. Saucony, HOKA, and Puma each had a sole athlete in the top 15.
It is perhaps a giant shock that Nike is nowhere to be found here. After having great presence in the top run splits at both Nice and Kona in 2024, there were zero top 15 splits (or top 15 results, for that matter) for the Swoosh.
Here’s what the top 15 pro men runners were wearing during Sunday’s race.
Photos: Eric Wynn and Kevin Mackinnon
1.) Casper Stornes – 2:29:25
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Ray
Stornes wore the freshly legal ASICS MetaSpeed Ray to his unbelievably fast run split. The Ray, which ASICS claims is the lightest of the super shoes, has made headlines recently as Hayden Wilde wore a pair of production model Ray’s at T100 French Riviera prior to the authorized use date on the World Athletics approved racing shoe list.
The Ray features, as you probably can guess, a carbon-fiber plate and the latest proprietary foam blend from ASICS, dubbed FF Leap. It’s lighter than the previous FF Turbo+ that was used in the MetaSpeed Sky and MetaSpeed Edge Paris line. Total published weight is 4.5 ounces, two ounces lighter than a comparable MetaSpeed Sky. The Ray will set you back $300.
2.) Patrick Lange – 2:31:33
Shoe: adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 2
Just in case you thought that the MetaSpeed Ray was expensive, let us present to you the $500 adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 that Lange wore to a characteristically fast marathon. The most noteworthy part of this shoe is that the foam itself is not compression molded; that allows for more air volume to be trapped between strands of material and, voila, more cushioning. Coming in at a scant 4.6 ounces, it is only beaten in lightness by the ASICS.
3.) Gustav Iden – 2:32:15
Shoe: On Cloudboom Strike LS
The Cloudboom Strike LS has, of course, the mandatory maximal cushioning experience and carbon plate that you would expect. The Strike LS’ claim to fame, though, is the LightSpray upper. It’s a seamless upper created with a single 1.5 kilometer long filament. It enhances molding to the foot — critical for triathletes. It’s also friendlier to the environment than traditional construction methods. The shoe is a quoted 6 ounces. It is currently sold out.
4.) Kristian Blummenfelt – 2:34:38
Shoe: On Cloudboom Strike LS
Another member of the On family, Blummenfelt had his own pair of the Strike LS. He faded slightly over the back half of the marathon, but still did more than enough to ensure a Norwegian sweep of the podium.
5.) Matt Hanson – 2:34:49
Shoe: On Cloudboom Strike LS
Sensing a theme here? Hanson is also renowned as one of the fastest runners in the sport, and has been with On for the last few seasons. Unlike Iden and Blummenfelt, who had the prototype white / black colorway of the shoe, Hanson wore the “retail” (well, when it was available at retail) colorway of the shoe.
6.) Jonas Schomburg – 2:36:49
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Tokyo
Schomburg, an ASICS sponsored athlete, wore the recently released MetaSpeed Sky Tokyo. It’s slightly heavier than the MetaSpeed Ray that Stornes had, but it is still a lightweight six ounces. The Sky and Edge pair of MetaSpeed shoes have been worn by multiple professional athletes over the last couple of seasons, perhaps most famously by Kat Matthews to much success.
This year’s version of the Sky sees it, too, adopt FF Leap in critical sections while still retaining the plush characteristics of FF Turbo+ in others.
7.) Henrik Goesch – 2:39:50
Shoe: Saucony Endorphin Pro 4
Goesch wound up finishing in 17th place, leaping up the standings with the seventh best run. Goesch has run in Saucony’s for the last few years. He opted for the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4, the original carbon-racer in Saucony’s line-up. It’s slightly heavier than some of the other shoes on the list, coming in at 7.5 ounces. But with a broad base under the mid foot, and a “just right” 8 millimeter drop from heel-to-toe, it should capture more of the market. As the successor to my personal winner for the IRONMAN shoe test in 2024, I’ll be sure to put these to the test soon.
8.) Sam Long – 2:39:54
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Tokyo
Long biked and ran his way into a paycheck on Sunday. He’s been a long-time athlete with ASICS, and wore the latest version of the MetaSpeed Sky. As you’d expect given Long’s leg length and height, he opted for the model designed for athletes who extend their strides for speed.
9.) Matthew Marquardt – 2:40:24
Shoe: adidas adizero Adios Pro 4
Marquardt, despite having to deal with cramping again and a bike crash, was still able to come onto the run course and earn a top 10 finish and billing as top American finisher. Marquardt wore the adidas adizero Adios Pro 4, which compared to Lange’s Pro Evo 2, is far more attainable. It’s still a carbon plated racer, but it weighs almost 2.5 ounces more. It’s also half the price of the Pro Evo 2, making it a relative bargain on this list at $250.
10.) Kacper Stepniak – 2:40:33
Shoe: HOKA Rocket X 3
The HOKA carbon footwear story begins with triathlon. It was the 2022 Kona race where the new and improved Rocket X 2 made its world debut. The shoe had a nearly three year long shelf life, with its replacement only releasing earlier this summer. The Rocket X 3 isn’t the lightest racer out there — it’s a published 8 ounces. But you find plenty of HOKA’s patented plush cushioning, a wide platform underfoot, and a snappy carbon plate. It’s one of my personal favorite carbon racers as it’s versatile and doesn’t punish you in the same way some others can.
11.) Marten Van Riel – 2:40:46
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Tokyo
Van Riel was able to battle back late in the marathon to pass Sam Laidlow for fourth place in his IRONMAN World Championship debut. He wore the ASICS MetaSpeed Sky for the race. As mentioned before, the Sky is designed for athletes who gain speed through increased stride length. It, too, is a six ounce carbon racer. The Sky has been a favorite amongst unsponsored athletes and age group athletes for the past few seasons.
12.) Jonas Hoffmann – 2:40:48
Shoe: adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
Hoffmann was another of the fastest runners who unfortunately did not take home a paycheck for his efforts, finishing up in 18th place. He wore the original generation of the flagship carbon racer from the brand with three stripes. The original generation Evo is slightly heavier than the newer one that Lange has, but it still maintains an eye-watering $500 per pair price point, even with the new one on the market.
13.) (tied) Finn Große-Freese – 2:41:10
Shoe: adidas adizero Adios Pro Evo 1
It’s perhaps noteworthy that Große-Freese ran so much of the marathon with Lange, as Große-Freese, like Hoffmann, wore the prior generation of the shoe Lange had on. It’s perhaps surprising that the shoe is still in stock in so many places (and still at full retail).
13.) (tied) Dario Giovine – 2:41:10
Shoe: Puma FAST-R Nitro Elite 3
The FAST-R Nitro Elite 3 is Puma’s entrant into the super shoe marketplace. Yes, there’s a carbon plate. Their claim to fame is the use of nitrogen in the midsole creation process, which Puma claims to give improved cushioning and responsiveness over a standard foam formulation. According to Puma, their testing shows a 3% improvement in running economy over their prior carbon racer; it’s a claimed over four minute savings for a three hour marathon runner. It is one of the shoes that has crept over the $300 mark, and has a claimed lifespan of 150 kilometers.
15.) Dylan Magnien – 2:41:18
Shoe: ASICS MetaSpeed Sky Tokyo
Magnien’s marathon brought him within striking distance of the final paycheck on offer in Nice. The final slot in 15th (Stepniak) and Magnien in 19th were separated by just 1:16 at the line. He, too, opted for the MetaSpeed Sky Tokyo for the flat looped course.
Harry Styles got NIKE covered with his 2:59 at Berlin with his Alphafly 3’s, and they’ll likely shift plenty of units thanks to this one speedy pop star
I don’t think NIKE is gonna worry about their IMWC placing
The “problem” Nike has, generally speaking, is that triathletes typically are at the front end of the bell curve of where the market will be in 2-3 years. So a slide in what pros using, which in turn shows up as a slide in what the average triathlete is wearing, might have downstream impacts.
Now, this might be relocating to PNW bias, but seeing plenty of Nike / Adidas on the feet of the XC teams at my daughters meets these days, so they’ll weather the storm fine. But something to keep an eye on.
marquadt has massive quads!!!
I did a marathon and half marathon this year. N=1, but Nike is still massively dominant, at least on the FOP of the race.
Having said that, after years of running in Nike super shoes, I got the Asics sky and it is indeed magical. Reminds me of the feeling I got when the first 4% came out. So I agree that Nike is starting to fall behind and need to innovate on the aging AF3.
My feeling on the AF3 is they feel spongy and you get the sense it’s not fast, but the pacing on my watch is as fast as ever. Meanwhile the Asics Sky Paris that I have has more firmness to it, and feels fast, but I don’t think the pacing has been any faster than my Nike AF3. If anything it’s a little slower or equal. I also get the sense the AF3 is more stable and preserves your legs longer over the distance.
That said, I’m racing my next Ironman in the Puma monstrosities. Well I plan to. I’ll do some speed work on them in a couple weeks and get my final sense of if I want to use them. Still haven’t run in them!
I am curious about the Asics Ray. I was surprised that some Asics runners haven’t done their recent marathons in them, but pro runners do tend to be a little more conservative than triathletes. At the speeds they run, for sure there’s less margin for error and willingness to take a risk.
I have the sky tokyo (FFS, the naming of shoes is so ridiculous). It is much softer than the AF3 and less stable for sure. I would not dare wear it if I had weak ankles, but my feet feel so much better than when running in the AF3 for more than 10 miles.
Speed wise, they are the same for me, with a totally different feel. AF3 feels much more stiff and propulsive, sky is smooth and soft.
I thought about the Ray, but I can’t imagine how unstable that shoe would be considering its 100% the “soft foam” of the sky and a 3/4 plate. I don’t think its worth the risk of injury for that insane light weight.
Interesting to read considering Asics marathon athlete Clayton Young rolled his ankles 3 weeks out and runs that Tokyo shoe exclusively. And he just tripped at the Tokyo Marathon world championships.
Yeah, just tying the name to the recent championships (and whether or not there’s a plus sign in there somewhere) is…not awesome!
It was also way harder this time around to differentiate between the Sky and the Edge. Thankfully they still have the different outsole colors, but otherwise you have to look for the scooping between the midsoles to otherwise figure out which one you’re looking at.
With regard to the Ray – it’s not too dissimilar from where Adidas is with the Evo; you’ll have some athletes still in the “standard” Adios instead.
Interesting evolution in the super shoe trends. It wasn’t that long ago that Nike dominated the super shoe category. It’s an exciting time for running shoe innovation!!
I would have enjoyed the article more if the shoe weights were listed in grams instead of ounces. I am American but I think of shoe weight in grams since the majority of shoe reviews that I read and watch use grams. Hopefully there aren’t any upcoming bike reviews using inches when talking about the stack and reach.
Freedom units for shoes. Sorry.
In 1990 - 35 years ago - Ralph Steadman (Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, The Curse of Lono) created this artwork to introduce the NIKE Air Max 180
Not too many years ago, the illustration was repurposed for a beer label …
… Cleverly hiding the shoe (for the most part) and Swoosh
On one hand, I’d say “that’s so lazy, Ralph” on the other I’d say “getting paid twice for the same piece? Bravo! And still getting to keep the original? Double-Bravo!!!”
It doesn’t matter what the pro’s wear pick the running shoes that you should wear comfortability. No matter the brand or how they look. Focus on the comfort and durability to race comfortablity for the duration of the race.
I would be game for trying other shoes but Nike still is one of the few to offer 8mm drop, which I really prefer. Not that I’m unhappy in AlphaFly 3’s, it s great shoe, IMO.
Seems like most of the brands are all settling out at 8 or 10mm for carbon racers. Even Saucony, long the purveyor of 4mm, has gone up slightly, and Asics seems to be trending towards slightly flatter.
HOKA appears to be one exception to that rule, of course. Though based on how stiff it made running uphill in the new Mach X3…maybe that’s not the right move.
None if these that I looked at are 8mm