Adidas Supernova Rise First Run Review: A Solid Workhorse Daily Trainer

Introduction

The Adidas Supernova Rise is designed to be a daily trainer that fills a noticeable gap in the brand’s lineup. At £130 in the UK and $140 in the US, it sits below the price of many premium daily shoes, several of which now launch at £160 or £170. Our multitester first impressions come from several initial runs in the shoe, including easy mileage, quicker training paces, and even a mixed road and trail race where the road sections offered a fair test.

Key Specs and Design

The Supernova Rise weighs 277g on average for the men’s version and 234g for the women’s version, with a 10mm drop and a stack height of 35.5mm at the heel and 25.5mm at the forefoot. The upper is a mesh construction with Adidas’s Comfort heel fit, which places cushioning foam and softer material around the heel for comfort and support.

The headline feature is the new DreamStrike Plus midsole, which takes inspiration from the Lightstrike Pro foam used in Adidas’s top-end racing shoes. It is paired with a support rod system built into the outsole for added stability and support. On paper it reads as a versatile daily trainer, and the foam feels soft to the touch in the hand, though that impression shifts once you start running.

Fit and Sizing

Across our testers, fit in the Supernova Rise was largely true to size. Most wore their normal running shoe size and found plenty of forefoot space, a nicely padded heel and tongue, and no heel slipping. The shoe leans narrow, particularly through the midfoot, so runners with wider feet may not get along with it. The generous padding in the upper and tongue also made it harder for some testers to achieve a firm lockdown, with laces needing to be tied down tightly to feel secure.

One tester described a slightly sloppy lockdown despite the comfort, while another found the midfoot lockdown generally good with just enough toe box room. The overall advice is straightforward: go with your regular size unless you have particularly wide feet or already struggle with Adidas’s narrower midfoot fit.

Ride and Performance

On the run, the DreamStrike Plus foam is not as squishy as it feels in hand. It firms up underfoot, the stack almost feels lower than it is at the forefoot, and the shoe gives a compliant, responsive platform rather than a deep sink. The support rods stiffen quickly to add immediacy, and the rocker combined with the 10mm drop creates smooth transitions with a feeling of tipping into toe-off.

Testers consistently described a lively, bouncy character that encouraged quicker, more uptempo running. Some loved that energy, running faster at a lower heart rate and feeling like they were working less hard. One tester felt the bounce was a little aggressive and noticed it in the knees late in a run, wondering whether the balance had been tempered enough. Another found the foam balanced but not especially bouncy, describing a solid, comfortable workhorse that fades into the background. Paces from around 9:30 per mile up to marathon pace were handled well, with the shoe clearly at its best at the firmer, faster end of daily training.

The outsole handled wet, windy, and treacherous conditions well, with solid rubber coverage at the forefoot and heel and confident cornering, though one tester noted a couple of slippy moments on very wet road sections where part of the midsole area is quite smooth. Compared with rivals, testers saw echoes of the Pegasus and Puma Velocity Nitro 2, the Saucony Triumph and Ride lines, the On Cloudsurfer, and the early Nova Blast in terms of bounce. The Boston 12 was seen as more racy and lightweight with a smoother transition, while some lighter shoes like the Puma Liberate Nitro 2 feel nimbler on the foot.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The chunky padding and denser engineered mesh upper divided opinion, and the shoe is not the lightest in its class, so it is unlikely to be a first choice for racing. It also does not deliver the deep, plush cushioning of big-stack daily trainers like the Invincible or Nimbus 25, and runners who love those max-cushion rides may find the Rise a touch too firm.

Early Verdict

The early consensus is that the Supernova Rise is a solid workhorse daily trainer that strikes a happy balance: cushioning that is neither too soft and heavy nor too thin and firm, feeling lighter and more precise on the foot than its weight suggests, with a stable, reliable platform underneath. It is well priced for the category and should suit easy runs, recovery runs, and daily miles, with enough energy to push the pace when wanted.

Adidas also offers a 30-day trial: if you are not happy with how the Supernova Rise performs after 30 days, you can send it back no matter how many miles you have done in it, which is a genuinely fair policy. Runners who enjoy a lively uptempo daily trainer, and who can live with the narrower midfoot fit and generous tongue padding, will find a lot to like here.

Conclusion

The Adidas Supernova Rise is not a shoe that dazzles on the first run, but it does the fundamentals well: comfortable fit, dependable outsole grip, balanced cushioning, and a versatile ride that sits between plush max-cushion dailies and lighter, racier trainers. For the price, it looks like good value and a sensible pick for daily mileage.