The Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra is Adidas’s first run trail-running shoe to use the EnergyRods and Lightstrike Pro from found in its top road-racing shoes. The result is is a trail super-shoe fit for fast running over any distance, though the bouncy, slightly wobbly design is not without its drawbacks. The Agravic Speed Ultra is set to launch in Spring 2024, but Nick got hold of the shoe at UTMB 2023 and has been racking up the miles in it including a 50km run as part of an 80km ultra.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:14 – Design & Key Stats
02:00 – How’s The Fit
02:38 – The Run Test
08:28 – Verdict & Alternatives
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Hello and welcome to run testers my Name's Nick and this is our review of The Adidas terx agravic speed Ultra so the agravic speed Ultra is Adidas's Trail racing Super Shoe it Launched at UTMB in Shaman this year This version is still called a a Proto a Prototype but I believe it's very close Or the version that will be released to The public in Spring 2024 it's an Expensive shoe it's going to cost €230 Or $230 weighing at 274 G or 9.7 o in my UK Size 9 we haven't got the info on stack Height and drop yet imagine that stuff Will come out when the shoe does go Formally on sale key info here is that The mids sole is made from Light Strike Pro the same bouncy foam you see on Adidas's Road shoes and you also have Adidas's energy rods in the midsole Though these are slightly different to The ones on the road shoes they've got a Slightly more plasticky looking feel to Them and there's four rods at the front That spread a bit wider to come right Right to the side of the shoe to add Some stability and then two rods go back Into the rear of the shoe got very Pronounced rocker design with the shoe Uh the adid just says this is to Encourage 4ot striking uh even over very Long distances you got a bucket seat Design at the back so your foot sits
Within the foam there to create a little Bit more stability for what is a high Stack shoe for the trails and then the Width of the shoe is also very 4ot Focused with this pinch Point around the Midfoot and a fairly narrow heel and Then a very broad 4ot there again in Line with what Adidas says about it Encouraging 4ot striking that's where Most of the stability in the shoe is you Have a continental rubber outsole with Lugs that range between 2.5 and 3.5 mm In length it's now so designed for a Broad range of terrains but it's fair to Say it's not really built for soft Ground or to bite into very deep mud you Have a woven upper with a gusted tongue There is some protection around the toes But in general it's quite a lightweight Material that's designed not to soak up Water on River Crossings but also just Doesn't have a lot of protections that You sometimes see on trail shoes in General ad that's obviously Tred to keep This nice and light as a racing shoe So the fit's been really good for me in What is my normal running shoe size my Normal size for Adidas this is a uk9 Which is a US 9.5 radas I have that Across their range sometimes end up Being quite cramped with certain adid Das shoes like the adios Pro 3 or some Of the older adios and Boston shoes but With the agravic speed Ultra it's been a
Really comfortable fit for me I've used This shoe for long runs over like 4 Hours a 50k that kind of thing and it's Been really comfortable no slippage Around the heel nice amount of room in The forefoot in general a comfortable Hold without feeling at all oppressive It's got a very breathable upper so yeah I would stick with your normal running Size with this Shoe so I've done 110 km in the Adidas Terx agravic speed Ultra and that Includes the first 50k or 30 Mi of a 80k 50 Mi ultramarathon I did in my local Forest in eping Forest that's where most Of my running has beenen in the shoe and It's generally been on fairly good dry Trails in the summer here in the UK so Quite broad Forest Trails with not much On them occasionally diving off into the Woods for a little bit of single track Some grass running a little bit of mud Very occasionally and I did also use it For one run out in shamany before I left There I was running on some Routier Rockier tracks a little bit of rain then As well with some steeper descent Slightly more technical stuff there but Overall have been running on pretty good Trails in this shoe as well as doing the Ultra I've done some general training in It including a hard hour running just Over like 10 miles and some easy runs as Well so first run I did in the shoe was
10K out in shamony and I spoke in the Video about my worry about the pinch Point of the back of the shoe here as a Heel striking Runner whether it was Going to really prove that stable I Didn't have any major concerns on that First run but I did worry about it Especially over longer distances I will Say that hasn't really been a problem at All in my testing like I've really Enjoyed using the shoe I felt very Comfortable shuffling around in it at Slow speed and then also comfortable Running at PACE in it now I've mostly Been on like I say pretty runnable Trails nothing too worrying in terms of Technical stuff but actually I think Maybe overall my concerns aren't as Founded as I thought in that first video While it is narrow and pinched at the Back is still a pretty stable shoe I Found and you move swiftly onto the Foref foot because of the rocker on the Shoe and that is a big wide platform That is stable grips well and offers a Fair bit of security so early on in my Use of the shoe I went and did just a 15 M easy run in the forest to see what it Would like over the distances and it Just felt really comfortable like The Rocker is aggressive but it's not Actually something that's that Noticeable on the Ry at those more Relaxed long distance Paces it just
Moves you smoothly onto your forefoot You carry on you tick over very nicely Your legs turn over really nicely with The shoe and it really wasn't that uh Intrusive the whole design of the shoe Like it feels good and it feels fast but It doesn't feel like it's really Affecting your gate a lot if you don't Necessarily run with a very pronounced For foot strike already like I don't it Felt very comfortable to me on runs of Any distance that's why I decided to use It for the ultra actually uh because it Felt so good on that 15 M run I want to See how it would feel over Ultra Distances before the ultra though I did Do a hard hour on the shoe because this Is why I to test the speed of it as well Because lots of very comfortable trail Shoes out there and a lot of these Trail Super shoer plates don't really feel Like the ones you get for the road I Will say the agravic speed Ultra feels The most like a road Super Shoe that I've tested so far so in that hard hour I was progressing on heart rate every 20 Minutes actually meant my Pace stayed Fairly uh similar because of just Cardiac drift and also I was running on Undulating Trails it was hard to keep Picking up the pace so over the course Of the hour like I said I ran just over 10 miles and it felt very much like a CaRu on the road does for exactly that
Kind of session which I do quite a lot Those kind progression runs over the Course of an hour and felt really good Like it wasn't like I was on big very Hilly trails with lots of nasty little Technical bits but over a nice runnable Loop with a little bit of a hill in it Some mud some little bit of um grally Road it felt very fast really good so I Certainly think it's got the pace here To go out and race really hard marathons And uh half marathons on the trails I Think it's pretty quick shoe that you Could use for shorter distance events as Well obviously however though it has Ultra in the name so I did use it for an Ultra and so for the first six laps of This 50 m Ultra I was doing with 5 Mile Laps I used the terx agic Ultra and then I swapped to the Nike Ultra five for the Last four laps to try and compare them Now wasn't really a fair comparison at The end because I only had seven good Laps in the race and six of them were in The Adidas shoe and it felt fantastic I Was ticking over at around 5K 8 Minute Ming for those 30 miles and just felt Really comfortable like it's a nice Loop In the forest was running that has Basally a fair bit of uphill first half Downhill second half little bit of grass A little bit of single track in the Forest or some routs but mostly just Very nice comfortable runnable trails
That you could speed up on if you wanted But generally it was just getting into a Rhythm and that's what the shoe feels Really good for like it adapts nicely Over to rain so that you can just Maintain a really good Rhythm it's soft Enough and flexible enough that it Doesn't get too put off if you do hit Slightly more Jagged ground or roty Ground or anything like that and then if You are on a nice stretch of flatter Ground or you know just general runnable Stuff you can really push the pace if You want to because it is such a bouncy Mido so yeah it felt fantastic like a Cruise through the first like 35 miles Of that race with five in the ultra fly Before it all went you know went very Wrong in various ways you can see in the Ultra vid if you want to know how how it All went wrong but certainly the shoe Felt great for me like did 50k in it in About 4 hours I think and would very Happily use it again for races really of Any distance and certainly you can do That slow pacing it for many hours while Also I think it has the pace to pick it Up and go very fast over shorter races As well the grip has also been good for Me like I say not been on very very Muddy Trails or anything like that but Sou sticks well to a good range of Surfaces gives you a little bit of bite If you do come across the oddd muddy or
Wet patch but it's not really going to Be good for sustain soft ground running Obviously but if you are on things like Grass and uneven ground and rotted Ground General the shoe provides quite a Good platform I think because although It is big and high stack it hasn't got The full stiffness of a plate in it so Your the shoe does adapt a little bit to Uneven ground whereas some of the Plained shoes will kind of turn your Foot to the side if you land on the Wrong edge of something so yeah all in All felt very good running with it on Grip some concerns will still remain About the suitability of the shoe for Lots of Runners if you are on very Technical mountain tracks because it is Obviously a slightly different platform Lots of other shoes and if you're not Landing on that big for especially when Steaming downhill naturally I think you Might have a bit of problem if you are On uneven ground like I would take those Kind of desense very carefully in the Shoe just partly because I'm not a great Natural descender and I haven't done Lows of it so I would be quite careful In general but I think there are trail Shoes out there with broader bases that Maybe a bit better for stability and That kind of thing but I will say that TX has really come off fine in all the Runs I've done in it including some
Descending so yeah do think it's a Really good shoe all Around So the Adidas terx aggravate speed Ultra Is a big success I think it is the most Super shoey feeling Trail shoe I've come Across with that large strike Pro midar With the aggressive Rocker with the Energy rods in there you do get a Booming fast ride that is very quick for Races of any distance it really has the Comfort and I think the flexibility and Stability for long Ultras especially on Slightly Tamer Trails can't comment too Much about Mountain stuff CU I think That'll depend a lot on the runner and Also I've done barely any mountain Running in this shoe but I think if You're on good trails for the most part It's a very enjoyable shoe to use just To keep ticking your legs over and then If you want to go and charge through a Half marathon or a 10K on the trails Think it' be a really good option for That because it's not the light is shoe But it is pretty light and it's got that Bouncy midell to give you a lot of oomph And speed on the trails obviously it's Very expensive and it's not actually Available yet so we'll revisit the shoe In some ways come spring when we do Finally see the version that goes on Sale and see if there has been any Differences and what the price is all
Around the world if you really are Keen To buy the most uh super shoy style shoe For the trails this is probably it Having tested loads of them this I do Think it's the best on that front Compared to things like the ultrafly the New Balance FC Trail the summit Effective Pro the hch next to this is The one that's going to give you the Biggest feeling of that bounce and Propulsion you get from Road chues and I Think although it doesn't still quite Live up to the levels of shoes like the Agos Pro 3 on the road it does get Pretty close to it and it does that by Sacrificing a little bit things like Stability and that kind of thing and it Hasn't got the most aggressive out soole So that saves a bit of weight and there Not the most protective upper either but As a racing shoot I think it works Really well so so compare get to some Shoes Nike ultrafly is the obvious one I Did use them both of them in the race I Really liked using the ultrafly this Year I think it's a more comfortable Approachable shoe like it's certainly Got more stability and as someone who Was doing their first ultra distance Runs this summer I really enjoyed using It for that it ticks over nicely it's Very comfortable but I do think the terx Aggravate speed Ultra is a faster shoe It's a bouncier shoe it's a more uh
Enjoyable shoe to go and run hard Sessions in like that hard hour I talked About in the run test I don't think I'd Really enjoyed doing that in the Ultrafly so much I think this is a much More naturally fast ride and I think Over Ultra distances the ultra I think Is like I say a friendlier shoe if I was On a hard technical course I think the Ultra would be the shoe I'd use as Someone who would be a bit more wory About descending it's got a bit more Stability at the heel but I think a lot Of people would still prefer the add Shoe for that because it is a bit faster It is still stable flexible enough I'd Say then the shoe I think that really uh Undercuts all these big super shoes that Have come out from people like Nike and Adas is the aex Fuji Speed 2 which is a Brilliant shoe it's a lot cheaper than The others it's got a fermaid it's a Narrower shoe and it's got that carbon Plate in there and it feels a lot like a Road shoe uh in the way it has a big Rocker and that so I say firm aggressive Carbon plate ride it's a lot lighter It's quicker it's a lot cheaper I think If I was going to go and tear up a 5k or 10K on runnable Trails I'd use that over Any of these shoes including the Adas Terx speed Ultra and it is cheaper I Think if you are looking at the longer Distances the um A6 feels a little bit
Narrow and not as comfortable and Supportive as the Adidas or some other Shoes out there so maybe it wouldn't be The perfect Ultra Shoe for lots of People but as a trail racer I think it's A fantastic option it's a lot cheaper so I think it's quite hard to recommend any Of these shoes that go north of200 $200 When the Fuji speed is so much cheaper Because it's an excellent shoe that will Suit most people's uses for trail races Really well if you are looking at those Big Ultra events and there is more of a Case for these bigger more cushion shoes Of super Foams in the midsole but over Shorter stuff or for training on trails And running hard on Trails I think the Fuji speed does a really good job and if You look at the rest of the trail Super Shoes out there things like the hch next To the Sak and Dophin Edge they are Pretty more stable reliable shoes and I Think they do a really good job across a Range of distances is but I do think the Terx agic speed Ultra has more punch in The mid sole it's a more exciting shoe To pull on it's a fast shoe to pull on And it's one I think that does a better Job as a pure racing shoe I'm not sure It's one that is as adaptable as those Shoes or I'd feel more confident going Into like tricky trails in something Like the tector next to in particular But if I was going to go and race hard
In a one-off event I was feeling good The trails I was comfortable on and I Felt confident I could run on them then The terx aggrav speed Ultra be the shoe To use I think as the fastest of these New breed of Super Shoes I've tested so Far uh for those longer events all and All really exciting shoe really Interested to see what happens when it Gets launched next year if there is any Changes to the shoe obviously this Review is very early but thought we'd Get it up just because I have used the Shoe a lot since we got a hold of it in Um shamon and we're really Keen to see How it goes down next year after its Full Launch
