Adizero Adios Pro 5 vs Hyperion Elite 6

£220 is a lot for a pair of running shoes, but it's £30 under the Adios Pro 4's £249.99 RRP, and on paper you get more for it. adidas has swapped the old EnergyRods for an ENERGYRIM carbon ring taken from the Adios Pro Evo 3, packed more Lightstrike Pro foam directly under your foot, and brought the listed weight down to 177g. The early reviews are strong. Doctors of Running and RTINGS both rate it best for half and full marathon racing, with a softer, bouncier ride than the Pro 4 and a heel that no longer slips. It's less convincing at 10k pace, where some testers found the soft forefoot a touch less snappy, and it was never meant for easy miles. If you race 13.1 or 26.2 and can hold your form late on, this is one of the first carbon racing shoes we'd shortlist, next to the Vaporfly 4.

Brooks rebuilt the Hyperion Elite for version 6, with new DNA Gold foam, a stiff SpeedVault+ carbon plate and a wider midfoot, and the early reviews are the warmest the line has had. This is a carbon racing shoe for the half and the full marathon, and at 192g on our spec sheet it's properly light. Fordy Runs rates it the best Hyperion Elite so far and a shoe built for 26.2 miles. RTINGS likes it for marathon racing too, and less so for 5k and 10k. Two complaints come up again and again. The forefoot is so stiff it barely bends, and the heel collar is lined with separate pads that can rub your Achilles. It lines up against the SC Elite v5 and the other big-name marathon shoes, and £240 is a lot of money, so check the price table before you pay RRP.