New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! Subscribe today.
Boston delivered: perfect temps, absurdly fast fields, and prototype chaos underfoot. The result? The fastest top-15 averages in race history, a course record from Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi in Under Armour’s unreleased super shoe, and a breakthrough win for Kenya’s John Korir in Asics’s next-gen MetaSpeed Sky prototype. Adidas, On, and Puma all showed up with unreleased gear — proof that we’re deep into the hyper shoe arms race, where there’s another, almost as exciting, race going on in the lab. Below, we look at the fastest running shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon:
John Korir Surges Ahead in the Latest Asics MetaSpeed Sky Prototype
John Korir surged to victory at the 2025 Boston Marathon, clocking the biggest win of his career — and adding a powerful new chapter to his family’s Boston legacy. His older brother, Wesley Korir, won this same race in 2012. John made his move in the Newton hills, cracking the field, and gliding to the finish with a smooth, efficient stride that made 4:40 miles look casual, clocking a 2:04:45, the second-fastest time in Boston history.
On his feet were the fastest overall pair of running shoes in Boston: a pair of MetaSpeed Sky prototypes (as confirmed by Asics representatives), Asics’s next-gen super shoe currently in development. It features a rumored new foam compound and is designed specifically for top-tier elites — aiming to compete directly with the latest ultra-premium “hyper” models like the Adios Pro Evo by Adidas.
Unlike the standard MetaSpeed Sky and Edge models, which cater to a broader range of runners, the EVO is being positioned as a limited-use, maximum-efficiency, “hyper” racing tool for high-performance athletes. It’s already listed on World Athletics’ approved shoe registry, signaling that it’s race-legal at the elite level.
For Asics, this is more than a podium — it’s proof of concept. The brand has steadily rebuilt its reputation in the super shoe era, and the publicly available Sky Paris is now firmly in the conversation with Nike’s Alphafly and Adidas’s Adios Pro Evo as a top-tier race-day weapon.
Sharon Lokedi Breaks the Course Record in Under Armour’s Velociti Elite 3
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya crosses the finish line of the 129th Boston Marathon on April 21, 2025. (Photo: Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Sharon Lokedi stole the show in the women’s race, storming to a new course record of 2:17:22 while wearing the fastest pair of running shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon for women: a prototype of Under Armour’s Velociti Elite 3. It marked another breakthrough for Lokedi — who now owns marathon wins in both New York and Boston — and a defining moment for Under Armour’s run division.
Under Armour says the Velociti Elite 3 features a full-length carbon plate positioned higher than before and embedded in Under Armour’s next-gen HOVR+ midsole foam, that is said to deliver a lighter, more responsive ride than its predecessor and is wrapped with an ultra-thin web rubber outsole. Weighing in at a claimed 7.7 ounces (down from 8.5), it’s bound to be the lightest plated shoe the brand has ever made. But while it just made history, runners hoping to try it themselves will have to wait — the shoe isn’t expected to launch until 2026.
Hellen Obiri’s Runner-Up Finish in On’s Cloudboom Strike LS
Two-time Boston champ Hellen Obiri (Kenya) came just short of a three-peat, finishing second in a blazing 2:17:41 — just 19 seconds behind Lokedi. While she didn’t defend her title, her performance confirmed she’s still one of the best marathoners in the sport. Obiri ran in the On Cloudboom Strike LS, a new marathon-focused racer that On says it designed in close collaboration with elite athletes.
The “LS” stands for LightSpray, a super-lightweight, stripped-back version of the Cloudboom Strike. Built with aggressive geometry, a dual-density Pebax midsole, and On’s signature CloudTec cushioning, On says the Strike LS is made for one thing: going fast on race day. It features a minimalist upper and an exposed carbon plate for max propulsion — and no, it’s not designed for long-term mileage. Think: race-day only, no fluff.
Obiri’s podium confirms what the prototype testing hinted at: On is now officially in the front pack when it comes to performance marathon footwear, and everyday runners can wear a similar Cloudboom Strike that we reviewed here.
More of the Fastest Running Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon, as Worn by Top Finishers
Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania finishes in second place next to Cybrian Kotut of Kenya in third. (Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2, which claimed the remaining two podium spots on the men’s side — Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu (2nd in 2:05:04) and Kenyan Cybrian Kotut (3rd in 2:05:04) — was just announced early this month and comes with a more aggressive rocker geometry in the forefoot.
The Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 — worn by Canadian Rory Linkletter (men’s 6th in 2:07:02) and American Annie Frisbee (women’s 8th in 2:23:21)— is claimed to be 3.5% more efficient than any other super shoe on the market and got considerable attention for Puma’s bold, quantifiable claim.
Jess McClain of the United States crosses the finish line. (Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB — worn by top American female Jess McClain (women’s 7th in 2:22:43) — is now said to be lighter with 100% PEBA DNA Gold midsole foam.
Men’s Results and Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon
Place Name Country Time Footwear 1 John Korir 🇰🇪 Kenya 2:04:45 Asics MetaSpeed Sky Proto 2 Alphonce Felix Simbu 🇹🇿 Tanzania 2:05:04 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 3 Cybrian Kotut 🇰🇪 Kenya 2:05:04 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 4 Conner Mantz 🇺🇸 USA 2:05:08 Nike Alphafly 3 5 Muktar Edris 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 2:05:59 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 6 Rory Linkletter 🇨🇦 Canada 2:07:02 Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 7 Clayton Young 🇺🇸 USA 2:07:04 Nike Alphafly 3 8 Tebello Ramakongoana 🇱🇸 Lesotho 2:07:19 Nike Alphafly 3 9 Daniel Mateiko 🇰🇪 Kenya 2:07:52 Nike Alphafly 3 10 Ryan Ford 🇺🇸 USA 2:08:00 Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3
Women’s Results and Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon
Place Name Country Time Footwear 1 Sharon Lokedi 🇰🇪 Kenya 2:17:22 Under Armour Velociti Elite 3 2 Hellen Obiri 🇰🇪 Kenya 2:17:41 On Cloudboom Strike LS 3 Yalemzerf Yehualaw 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 2:18:06 Nike Alphafly 3 4 Irine Cheptai 🇰🇪 Kenya 2:21:32 Nike Alphafly 3 5 Amane Beriso 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 2:21:58 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 6 Calli Thackery 🇬🇧 Great Britain 2:22:38 Nike Vaporfly 4 7 Jess McClain 🇺🇸 USA 2:22:43 Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB 8 Annie Frisbee 🇺🇸 USA 2:23:21 Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 9 Stacey Ndiwa 🇰🇪 Kenya 2:23:29 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2 10 Tsige Haileslase 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 2:23:43 Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 2
The Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon: Final Thoughts
If Boston 2024 was a brand battle, 2025 was a science fair. Nearly half the top finishers were laced into something unreleased, untested by the masses, and optimized for the margins. The takeaway? Innovation isn’t slowing down, and the lines between the lab and the open roads are increasingly blurring each year. And in this new era of hyper shoes, success at the pointy end of the elite field might also depend on what prototype you can get your hands on.
In that same vein, the gap between the elites with unreleased racing shoes and the everyday runner is also increasing—far beyond simple talent. The good news is, materials and technologies from these prototypes are quickly trickling down to shoes you can buy and wear en route to your own PR.
