Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 vs Saucony Endorphin Elite 2: Which Carbon Racer Fits Your Running Style?

Introduction

Carbon plate racing shoes keep getting softer, and two of the newest examples show just how differently brands interpret that trend. The Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4 and the Saucony Endorphin Elite 2 both use supercritical TPE foam, both sit near the same weight, and both promise fast marathon racing. Yet after testing them across relaxed miles, stride work, and mile repeats, they delivered almost opposite experiences on foot.

There was also a third shoe in the mix: the original Saucony Endorphin Elite. Running it back to back with the new model revealed a lot about what each generation gets right, and where the trade-offs sit.

Evaluation Criteria

The comparison focused on how each shoe behaves across pace ranges rather than on spec sheets alone. Comfort at relaxed jogging pace, speed assistance at tempo and faster efforts, stability, fit, and overall ride feel all factored in. Durability expectations and reliability during long efforts were considered as well, since a race shoe that only shines in one narrow pace band limits how useful it is in training.

Specs and Fit: Weight, Stack, and Sizing

The two new racers are closer than you might expect on paper. Both use supercritical TPE instead of PBA foam, a compound Adidas actually pioneered as a racing material. Weights land around 212.5 grams for the Adios Pro 4 and roughly 239.5 grams for the Endorphin Elite 2, with the Elite 2 carrying more foam in the heel.

That extra foam shows up in the width measurements too. At the widest heel point, the Endorphin Elite 2 measures about 90 millimeters versus 78 millimeters on the Adios Pro 4, roughly 15 to 20 percent wider. That width contributes to noticeably better stability in the Elite 2 despite its softer platform.

Fit is where the two diverge sharply. The Endorphin Elite 2 runs very snug in a normal size, so tight in the toebox length and curvature that going up half a size is worth considering if production sizing matches early samples. The Adios Pro 4 fits more conventionally, with a bit more forefoot room in the larger size. The original Endorphin Elite, for reference, fits true to size and comfortably.

Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4: Fast But Flawed

The Adios Pro 4 feels like a step back toward a more traditional racing shoe. When you get up on the forefoot and push the pace, it works: the ride is direct, transitions between paces are easy, and there is genuine control up front. At speed it feels light and responsive, even if it never quite feels special.

The problem is everything behind the forefoot. At relaxed paces, the heel foam collapses dramatically, bottoming out with a strange suction-cup sensation in the midfoot that many testers found distracting across every single run. Jogging miles bring almost no bounce, no speed assistance, and a flat, deflated feel. The heel is also narrow, which makes the soft back half feel unstable.

Across roughly 42 miles including a 20-mile long run, the experience stayed consistent: serviceable at the front, mushy and odd at the back. If you are a forefoot striker who spends most runs at faster paces, there is something here. Heel strikers and relaxed-pace runners will likely find the ride distracting. The upper itself is good, and the fit is comfortable enough in the right size.

Saucony Endorphin Elite 2: The Bounciest Ride Yet

The Endorphin Elite 2 is the more radical shoe. The step-in feel is wild: extremely soft, extremely bouncy, with an aggressive rocker that curves your toes upward dramatically. It has been described as the bounciest racing shoe ever tried, and the label holds up. At relaxed paces it feels like running on marshmallows, delivering genuine speed assistance while jogging, so much that holding an easy pace becomes difficult.

The ride is unlike anything else on the market. It works best in two zones: slow, easy running where the rear cushioning shines, and very fast running where popping off the forefoot feels like the best version of a ZoomX-era racer. The middle zone, a powerful flat-footed midfoot strike with heavy force, is where the foam compresses all the way down and the ride falls flat.

Drawbacks are real. The forefoot foam cannot stand up to hard sustained power, the extreme softness is distracting during tempo efforts, and the snug fit battered toenails during strides, similar to other aggressively curved racers. It is a fun, exciting shoe, and for most hobby runners it is likely the more enjoyable pick of the new two, but it does not feel like a fully reliable race-day choice yet.

Saucony Endorphin Elite: The Original Still Wins on Race Day

Running the original Endorphin Elite immediately after the new one is a revealing exercise. The fit is dialed and comfortable in a true size. The ride is firm, quiet, and free of distractions: no collapsing mushy heel, no bottoming-out plate feel, no odd sensations. It simply goes away on the foot, which is the highest compliment a race shoe can earn.

It is not as lively as the Elite 2, and the firmer midsole feels flat by comparison, but speed is right there whenever requested. It performs across the entire pace range a serious marathoner actually runs in, from surge pace to hill-climbing efforts, with zero complaints. The trade-off is a firmer feel at slow paces and exposed foam in the rear that suggests limited durability.

For runners chasing a fast marathon time who value reliability and confidence over novelty, the original remains the benchmark. It is the shoe that proves fewer flaws matter more than flashier specs.

Overall Buying Advice

If you want the most fun, comfortable, and exciting ride for everyday faster training and are happy to find your pace and hold it, the Endorphin Elite 2 is the winner between the two new models. It is softer, more stable, more cushioned, and more fun than the Adios Pro 4, and it will suit a wide range of runners, especially those who land midfoot to forefoot and enjoy a max-cushion feel.

If you are a forefoot-focused runner who wants a direct, traditional racing feel and can tolerate a distracting heel at slow paces, the Adios Pro 4 has an audience, though it is hard to recommend broadly given the collapsing rear foam.

If your goal is a personal best and you want the fewest flaws possible, hunting down the original Endorphin Elite remains the strongest choice of the three. It is firmer, less flashy, and more reliable, and that reliability is exactly what a race day demands.

Conclusion

None of these shoes is perfect, and each asks for a different runner. The Adios Pro 4 is a fast forefoot shoe undermined by a distracting heel. The Endorphin Elite 2 is a genuinely new, wildly bouncy experience that trades reliability for fun. The original Endorphin Elite quietly outperforms both when it matters most. Match the shoe to how you actually run, and choose the flaws you can live with.