Adizero Distancestar 1 vs Vaporfly 3

The Adizero Distancestar is a track distance spike built to cover everything from the 1500m up to the 10,000m, which makes it one of the more versatile racing spikes you can buy. It sits below the specialist end of the Adizero range, so if you want a single spike for a whole season of track efforts rather than one event, this is the honest pick. A glassfibre plate underfoot gives you a firm, snappy platform without the aggressive geometry of a pure middle distance spike, so it stays comfortable across longer reps. At £90 it is one of the more accessible spikes on the market, which matters if you are a club runner buying your own kit. If you want something sharper for pure 1500m to 3000m work, the Adizero Avanti is the more aggressive sibling. For most distance track athletes, though, the Distancestar does the lot.

The Vaporfly 3 is Nike's carbon racing shoe for runners who want to go fast without the towering stack of an Alphafly. It is a pure road racer, built for 5k up to the marathon, and it does that one job very well. At 194g it is light, the 8mm drop keeps you rolling forward, and the carbon plate gives you real pop when you commit to race pace. This is not a shoe for plodding. It rewards a quick, efficient stride and comes alive the harder you push. If you have run in earlier Vaporflys you will know the feeling: fast, slightly twitchy, and unmistakably a tool for race day. The newer Vaporfly 4 refines the formula, but the 3 remains a serious marathon shoe, and when it drops below RRP it is one of the better-value carbon racers you can buy. We rate it for runners who already have a daily trainer and want a dedicated PB weapon.