Adidas - Terrex Speed Ultra

Terrex agravic speed ultra for my first ultra this past weekend. Definitely one you need to be confident in though

Have tried a few and here are my thoughts Saucony endorphin edges Very similar to endorphin pro 3s in ride. They are a fast shoe but let down badly by the grip (atrocious on wet rocks) and i struggled with the upper. Go half a size up to normal for these Brilliant for open firetrail Speedland SFD Is it carbon plated? Well they are in there but they offer the least assistance of any i have tried. Broad base and good grip with the absolute highlight being the lock down from the boas. Down side is they drain like shit without cutting the plug out and if you do that they let water in from any wet ground. Price is absurd for what you get Adidas terrex speed ultra This shoe is fast! Probably the quickest trail shoe i have used BUT They are incredibly unstable on anything even remotely uneven, hit a rock wrong and goodbye ankle. The instep rubbed my arch badly so only got 30k in them before passing them on l Hoka tecton x2 These have been an absolute workhorse for me. 400ks in my first pair and they have tons of life left in them. Maybe not the quickest ride but they are on par with the speedlands for stability but much lighter (cheaper too) Highlight for me is the way they drain Downside would be the tongue could be longer and thicker. Had issues with lace bite early on but got the fit dialed now. Great shoe for up to 50ks for me so far. Hoka tecton X3 Very bouncy ride, for me the most on par with road going super shoes. Took me a little to like and trust these shoes but now my go to race shoe. The grip is easily the best of all I have used including the X2s (can't beat vibram megagrip imo) They are wearing well and the ride settled down a touch to not throw me on bad landings( note it still will a bit) Down side, the lacing system not allowing a heel lock. Have to use thicker socks than normal (i prefer steigens) to mitigate the heel not locking 100% The upper is thicker than the X2s and doesn't drain quite as well but on par with most others

Tecton x2 is one of my favourite trail shoes. Not a soft ride and not the quickest I have used but does everything I want really well. Is hard wearing too. Personally I would say the tecton x3 is the quicker shoe. Much bouncier ride though does sacrifice some stability for it. Adidas speed ultra. You dont have issues rolling ankles? You will in these shoes. Fastest shoe ive tried on open fire trail but you hit the slightest bump wrong and it tries to murder you. Definitely not for heel strikers. Fit didn't agree with me either so gave them away. I will echo other that the prodigio pro might just be the best all round shoe I have used on the market. Not plated but holds speed just as well and handles technical terrain with ease. Sizing can be tricky with them though Have tried the metafuji trails on and the heel felt wildly squishy and unstable. Seeing them used on trails confirmed that for me. Everyone I have seen using them collapses in badly through the heel once they get off the forefoot

Adidas Terrex Ultra

I’ve got both and they’re very different shoes. The Nike is softer, but more stable and not quite as exciting a ride. They fit really well and are comfy on foot. The adidas is a seriously fast shoe, but it has an aggressive rocker and feels unstable to me. The fit is poor too, particularly around the heel. On paper, I think the adidas is a faster shoe, but I’ve chosen to the Nike for most of my events as I trust the fit and feel underfoot.

For trail use i find my adidas terrex speed ultras still have speed in them after 700k. Kjerag 2 should also last long, but im not at high mileage yet. not high stack though, so a different sensation.

Foot shape and running style makes a massive difference for shoe selection. If you have a normal to narrow foot and are a predominantly forefoot lander then the speed ultra is the best shoe so long as the terrain isn’t to technical. If the terrain is slightly more technical but still some sections you can open up I think the prodigio pro is the best. If you are a heel striker/ mid foot lander then Norda 005’s (if you want soft) If the trail is super technical and you have a narrow foot the nnormal kjerag 2 is an amazing shoe for precision. If you like a slightly stiffer high stack shoe the arc’terx sylan2 that is about to be released is awesome. It has a vibram lite base sole and a way more mild rocker than the 1. (I have a prerelease pair as I work at a shoe shop) Basically there are lots of shoes I would consider depending on a what the race is like

I’m a certified Nike hater so I’d say there are a thousand better options. The adidas speed ultra is comfortable and speedy but a bit unstable. I recently get the speed ultra 2 and it’s been great. I’ve always ran in hoka Speedgoats which are super cozy but I was running slow. As I’ve sped up, I have switched to the ultra speed.

I have the Saucony Endorphin Edge, the Nike Ultrafly, the Adidas Speed Ultra, S/Lab Genesis, S/Lab Pulsar, Hoka Tecton X1 et X3, etc. I have over 60 shoes, trail and road. Each of these super shoes is very different ... For 12km technical races, I've been using **Pulsar SG** for the past few years because it's the lightest + most nimble + deeper lugs. But it's not the most versatile imho, it's quite narrow and I would not run longer distances. I would say my top 3 so far : 1- Tecton X3 : first pick for training and for races over 25km, if it's not too technical 2- Endorphin Edge : first pick for less than 25km, if it's not too technical 3- Nike Ultrafly : first pick for soft midsole, training any distance I'm not sure what I would use for a technical 12km+ race. Maybe S/Lab Genesis but I've not tested enough. Regarding, Adidas Speed Ultra, it's a very narrow shoe, not a fan so far. Tecton X1 is fine for training. I tried Norda 001 but returned it, I was not really impressed for the price. I will probably try Norda 005.

And here's the latest updated trail collection. Trail running takes up around 40% of my mileage so there's an appropriate number of trail shoes compared to the road shoes. Like with the road shoes, pretty happy and feeling set with these for now and through most of 2026. The only trail shoes coming next year, so far, that I have some mild interest in is the Brooks Cascadia Elite, but it could be redundant when compared to shoes like the Tecton X 3 and Cloudultra Pro. The trail shoes that are getting the most mileage lately are the Cloudultra Pro, Prodigio Pro, MTC H1 & T1, and Enduris 4. I have over 200 miles each on two pairs of Tecton X 3, so backing off those for a while. Ditto for the Speed Ultra and Vectiv Pro 2, which I also have two pairs of each and with around 150 miles on each pair. Really enjoying the MTC H1 for the road-to-trail excursions (13\~15 miles) which I like to go on every Sunday. The Agravic Speed and Puma DNE Trail are two other shoes I use for road-to-trail, but the H1 just feel and ride better for the road and flatter trail terrains. Can't say I really 'need' anything more now but I'm sure I'll always be checking on new stuff coming out. https://preview.redd.it/k6edk126940g1.jpeg?width=503&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1edfeb64134c7dfde6873e6f375d6cd30027362f

I'd go with the Adidas Speed Ultra, the terrain is not too gnarly and you're a forefoot striker plus you can get them cheap right now with Adidas's blackfriday sale. I've used them quite a bit on trails and gravel and they are the fastest shoes around for me. For backup shoes I'd go with a pair of road super trainers like the Endorphin Speed or a road to trail variant like the M2C H1. One wildcard choice: North Face Vectiv Enduris, these shoes can soak up big miles and are great for later stages of a 100 miler. The downside is that they are a bit heavier than other race shoes.