Adizero Adios Pro 5 vs Deviate Nitro Elite 4

£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.

At 170g, the Deviate Nitro Elite 4 now weighs the same as Puma's more aggressive Fast-R Nitro Elite 3, and that shifts who it's for. It keeps the steadier, heel-strike-friendly shape the Elite line has always had, but most reviewers found the midsole livelier than the Elite 3's and the outsole better too. One long-term tester said it was the first Deviate Elite they'd enjoyed since the original, and Believe in the Run went further, calling it Puma's best race shoe so far. We see it as a carbon racing shoe for 10K and half marathon, and a marathon shoe for runners who find the Fast-R too twitchy. The catches are a narrow midfoot, thin forefoot rubber and early wear reports from a couple of testers. At £215 RRP it's priced alongside the big names, so check the price table before paying full whack.