In a highly anticipated showdown, Nike’s AlphaFly 3 and adidas’ Adios Pro Evo 1 will go head-to-head at the upcoming New York City Marathon. As the final Abbott World Marathon Major of the year, this event provides the perfect stage for these two “super shoes” to assert their dominance in the running world heading into 2024.

adidas faces tough competition with its ultra-limited Adios Pro Evo 1, priced at a whopping $500 USD. While Nike’s offering comes off an impressive performance at the Chicago Marathon, where Kelvin Kiptum set a new world record of completing 26.2 miles in just 2 hours and 35 seconds wearing the third iteration of the AlphaFly. On the other hand, adidas’ product has yet to secure top race finishes since its debut in mid-September, except for Tigst Assefa’s remarkable world-record-breaking performance at the Berlin Marathon on the women’s side.

Evans Chebet, back-to-back winner of the Boston Marathon, was adidas’ last hope for the NYC Marathon, but has since dropped out. However, fellow teammate Tamirat Tola may lace up the Adios Pro Evo 1 on Sunday, although he recently wore the award-winning Adizero Adios Pro 3 in the AJ Bell Great North Run. Nike’s Geoffery Kamworor, who wore the AlphaFly 3 in his second-place finish at the London Marathon, also withdrew from the New York City race, “passing the torch” to teammates Shura Kitata and Abdi Nageeye, both accomplished sub-2-hour and 5-minute marathoners. These elite runners may ultimately opt for the popular VaporFly 3, another successful race-day shoe.

However, Canada’s fastest marathoner, Cam Levins, may have plans to disrupt the dominance of adidas and Nike with his top-notch performance in the ASICS METASPEED EDGE+.

Regardless of which shoe claims the top spot on the podium on Sunday, both the Men’s and Women’s winners will secure the reputation of having the best marathon race shoe going into the 2024 season. It’s a battle for supremacy that sneakerheads and running enthusiasts won’t want to miss.