Four Running Shoes on Our Radar: Adizero Avanti TYO, Mach 5, Ultravanish Tempo and Ghost 15

Introduction

Four upcoming releases, four very different jobs: a 5-10K track spike, a lightweight daily trainer, a zero-drop ultra shoe, and a long-running staple of the neutral trainer category. None have been fully tested on foot yet, so this is a look at what the specifications suggest and who each shoe might actually suit.

Adidas Adizero Avanti TYO: A Track Spike With Serious Specs

The Adizero Avanti TYO is a 5-10K race spike that borrows heavily from two strong adidas models. It carries the energy rods from the Takumi Sen 8, visible as a hollowed-out section in the midsole outsole, paired with a six-pin spike plate. The rear upper closely mirrors the Adios 7, and the forefoot profile and construction sit near the center of the foot.

The real headline is a full Lightstrike Pro midsole, so generous that the shoe almost reads as a running shoe rather than a track spike, with very little carved away from the heel. One omission stands out: there are no extra lace eyelets here, a feature that worked very well on the original Adios Pro.

The specification is genuinely impressive, but for anyone who already owns a pair of barely-used track spikes, there is little reason to add another pair that will just collect dust. For athletes racing shorter distances on the track, though, this is one to watch.

Hoka Mach 5: A Lighter Take on a Familiar Shape

The Mach 5 is a revisit driven by plenty of viewer interest. The Mach 4 ran well without ever being spectacular, and the fit was a balancing act: some Hoka shoes run tight, others run huge, so sizing needed care.

The big change here is a new midsole material, ProFly Plus, which should shave a little more weight off an already light shoe. In hand it is minimal and impressively light, with the same outsole layout as before. That setup showed quick initial wear last time, though the wear rate levelled out over time.

The Mountain Spring and Puffins Beak colorway is a strong look, and the Radiant Yellow and Evening Primrose version is even more striking, though very much a summer shoe that will not weather grime well. If an improved, nimbler Mach 4 with a better fit sounds appealing, this one is worth a deal hunt.

Ultravanish Tempo: An Expensive Zero-Drop Gamble

At £175, the Ultravanish Tempo is a real financial gamble. It brings a striking semi-translucent upper in the Zoom Fly SP style and a very low sub-200 gram weight in sample size, which immediately puts it in rare company.

As a zero-drop shoe, it can carry a lot of foam without the geometry getting complicated: around 32mm in the heel by all accounts, well below the 40mm that some zero-drop ultra shoes run with all the way through. Worth noting is that some shoes marketed as zero-drop are not quite as flat as they claim, and heel geometry can subtly build up around the arch area.

Listed as a slim fit shoe built on a narrower last, it could suit runners with narrow feet who find modern uppers overly voluminous. Rubberized EVA rounds things off with reasonable forefoot and heel coverage. It needs a little more research before committing, but it is the kind of ultra shoe that could earn a place in a rotation.

Brooks Ghost 15: Consistency Over Excitement

The Ghost 15 is the 15th iteration of a Brooks staple, using DNA Loft version 2 midsole foam. Notably, Brooks has not moved to the nitro-infused version 3 that has been rolling out across the market, even though the brand’s own advertising currently leans heavily on nitro-infusion messaging.

The drop sits at 12mm, which is considerably more aggressive than most modern trainers and could be a consideration for runners used to lower drops. The changes here appear limited to the upper and outsole, so this is very much a shoe for people who want the consistency the Ghost lineup is known for.

It looks like a solid daily trainer option, but if you already have plenty of shoes covering that use case, it is hard to justify. For Ghost loyalists it should be an easy pick, and for others the recently released Glycerin 20 may be the more interesting Brooks option. Expect an October or even November release, so there is time to wait.

Overall Buying Advice

If you race on the track, the Avanti TYO has arguably the most impressive spec sheet of the four. If you want a light, nimble daily trainer and can find a good deal, the Mach 5 is a reasonable bet. The Ultravanish Tempo appeals to zero-drop ultra runners with narrow feet who are comfortable with the price. The Ghost 15 is best left to established fans of the lineup.

Conclusion

None of these four are automatic buys, and that is the honest takeaway. Match the shoe to the job it does: spikes for track racing, the Mach 5 for lightweight daily miles, the Ultravanish Tempo for zero-drop ultra ambitions, and the Ghost 15 for brand loyalists who value consistency above novelty.