Kit & Gear

FIRST LOOK: adidas adizero adios Pro 4

The adidas adizero adios Pro 4 is the newest lightweight racing shoe in the adizero range, designed for long distance races up to the marathon distance. SportsShoes' very own, Georgia Malir, will be wearing them at the Berlin Marathon in the elite women's race, where she aims to run under 2h37. After testing them out in training, she says "The adios Pro 4 feel effortlessly fast. Locking into marathon pace in them feels smooth and efficient and I can't wait to race in them in Berlin!"

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We sat down with Development Director for Performance at adidas, Harry Miles and Product Manager for adizero, Sam Truax, about the launch of the new model, the adizero adios Pro 4.

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The Tech

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Thanks guys, let’s jump straight into the product, if you could give a brief overview of the Pro 4 and how this differs from the Pro 3.

Harry and Sam: The first big innovation that we bring from adidas is the Lightlock upper, this is a brand new technology from us; it’s a lightweight, one-way stretch, woven material. We use an internal locking band system in the U of the shoe, to provide tension, structure and silhouette, which allows a one-way stretch material everywhere else, to really wrap and hug the foot and provide a snug and secure feeling.

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We have an updated Lightstrike pro compound, from the predecessor, adios Pro 3. This is going to provide even more energy return, but also lighter weight and a softer feeling underfoot.

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We have incorporated the new rocking plate geometry from the adios Pro Evo 1 in the Pro 4 to improve overall running economy, which also translates to that smooth forefoot transition and toe-off.

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The last big update is the Lighttraxion outsole - this outsole in grey is a brand new compound from us, which allows us to go even thinner, losing weight, but not sacrificing grip and durability in our outsole. The last piece on the outsole is in the forefoot, the red chunk, this is a Continental, rubber piece to provide that no-slip-grip on the forefoot toe-off area.

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Overall the adios Pro 4 comes in at approximately 200g (UK Men’s size 8), RRP £220.

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What is the stack height and drop of the shoe and how does this differ from the Pro 3?

It is 39mm rearfoot and 33mm in the forefoot, meaning it has an offset/drop of 6mm, which puts it nicely underneath and approved by World Athletics.

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The model itself is totally different from the Pro 3, so every aspect of the shoe has been redesigned, reintroduced and revamped. The weight is approximately 30g lower than the adios Pro 3, the structure stays similar with 39mm in the rearfoot and 33mm in the forefoot, but with redesigned sculpting structures.

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You’ve covered a lot of the new features, but was there anything else that stands out on the new adios Pro 4?

One little easter egg that we like to talk about, well we don’t talk about enough, is underneath the heel banker, which is traditionally flipped down and has a little inspirational message, which says “This too shall pass”. It’s a really nice tie in and ethos to long-distance running - whether it’s been really difficult and you’re suffering or you’re in that runner’s high and it's euphoric, no matter what, you need to be in the moment and no matter what feeling, good or bad, will pass.

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What types of races would you recommend this shoe for and equally are there any specific training sessions this shoe would be suitable for?

The pole position here is half marathon to marathon racing and also fast long-distance workouts, that’s where you’ll find it performing at its best. We would definitely recommend other models in the adizero pillar that would be better suited for certain training sessions. The way that we’ve designed, engineered and also tested it with the athletes is to make sure that when you turn up on race day for the half and full marathon distance, that you get the most out of yourself and that’s where we would position it.

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In terms of it fitting into the wider adizero franchise, what shoe would you say to train in before putting on the adios Pro 4 to race in?

Across our whole range, I think we provide a really nice differentiation of running experiences, that then translates into how you would use them in your training. Whether it's super structured and diligent or free-flowing. We call the Boston 12 the trainer partner to the Pro, it has similar characteristics, but it's geared towards that more training mindset and daily repetition. It’s a lot more flexible and forgiving than the Pro, which people tend to gravitate towards.

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Does the Pro 4 offer any extra support or heel locking features?

We continue to use our sling launch system which is in the heel, which was well received in the predecessor model, the Pro 3. It’s something which, despite the Lightlock technology in the upper to maximise the heel fit and also the stability you get from a slightly more reinforced medial side, the Sling-Launch system stays on the shoe from the Pro 3 to Pro 4. The materialisation of it is slightly different, but the ethos of it remains the same. The other thing we changed were the lace loops, as the lace loops were maybe not optimal on the Pro 3. We’ve now radically simplified them, especially the bottom two, to be more reflective of what's further up the lacing system, which should create a better, more comfortable lock-down versus the predecessor.

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Do you have any information about the research, production and testing process that went into the Pro 4?

Definitely! We have six key rounds of shoes that we prototyped, going from very early prototypes that we validated, for example the rocker point here at 60% and then we built shoes at different rocker points. We transitioned then to an isolated foam prototype, where we looked at the shoe compound in isolation. We then transferred that to the streets of Kenya with professional athletes - you can see this has a very recognizable dirt from Iten, Kenya. We also did wear testing and lab testing here in Germany. Overall, we built hundreds of different pairs of shoes that we validated in the lab, with the pro athletes in Kenya, Ethiopia, Japan and North America, and then validated with consumer athletes here and in other markets too.

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When can our customers expect to be able to buy this shoe?

Special edition Ekiden version will be available 1st December. January will be the launch of the full commercial proposition.

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