The Adidas Adizero Takumi Sen 11 Is Ready for All 5K/10K Races

The Adidas Adizero Running franchise was officially founded in 2004. More than 20 years later, it's allowed countless athletes of all levels set personal and world records across every distance imaginable. As it continues to innovate for the marathon, the Three Stripes' mileage-obsessed division also keeps pushing the boundaries in the world of training and shorter races, presenting hard-to-beat solutions like the Takumi Sen 11.

Designed and developed specifically for fast 5K and 10K runs, the latest in the beloved Adizero Takumi Sen franchise builds off of the success of the three most recent offerings. Visually, the new silhouette aligns with most of the current Adizero Running series (the Boston 13 marathon trainer is the exception), with profile 3-Stripes extending onto the full-length LIGHTSTRIKE PRO midsole. Its build also updates the materials and layout seen in previous versions, delivering improvements informed by athletes' insights.

The LIGHTLOCK upper provides a better fit and enhanced upper relative to the Takumi Sen 10 while also providing more robust coverage than what's found on the ultra-lightweight, $500 Adios Pro Evo 2. The lacing and tongue setup has also been reworked, with reinforced eyelets from vamp to collar helping minimize the pressure felt atop the foot when attempting to optimize lockdown. Padding around the ankle seems about as minimal as it was on its immediate predecessor, but updates to the aforementioned elements should help with any heel slippage that might've caused rubbing before. In any case, the Takumi Sen 11 is built to engage the forward-half of the foot, making it suboptimal for heel-strikers.

Akin to the Adios 9, Evo SL, and Adios Pro 4, the 11th Takumi Sen design features a full-length LIGHTSTRIKE PRO midsole. A quick glance at the slab of foam reveals a different geometry and compound than what appeared on the last few models. The stack height sits at 33 millimeters, down from the Takumi Sen 10's 34 millimeters; the heel-to-toe drop should still be around 7mm, although that's yet to be confirmed by the brand. Nevertheless, the changes to the midsole likely address stability issues that plagued its predecessor, while ensuring the responsive foam is jam-packed in all the right places (check out the filled-in sections underneath the pinky toe and medial mid-foot).

Expansive Continental rubber traction is also replaced with the same LIGHTTRAXION compound that's emerged via other running products. The milky, semi-translucent finish found on the silhouette allows for the lone piece of rubber from the industry-leading tire maker underneath the big toe to steal the spotlight. Early reviews of the Three Stripes' tread proposal have mentioned a less confident feeling in wet conditions, but its reduction in weight when compared to full-on rubber compounds is a good-enough trade-off for some folks.

A glass-fiber infused ENERYRODS 2.0 system is visible via the center of the outsole. Elsewhere, "戦" (Sen, which translates from Japanese to English to mean "battle" or "competition"), appears on the underside of the right shoe's blinker, nodding to the series' legacy in Japan.

Enjoy official photos of the Adizero Takumi Sen 11 by Adidas below. Launch colorways include a "Footwear White/Core Black/Lucid Red" scheme that's appeared on other marquee footwear designs in the last six months, as well as a vibrant "Flash Aqua/Zero Metallic/Mint Ton" option. Additional looks are expected to surface in the coming weeks.

Firm Adidas.com release details haven't been shared by the brand as of yet, but that's expected to change soon. It's likely the Takumi Sen 11 retails for $180 like its predecessor.

Outside of the Three Stripes family, the Nike VaporFly 4 promises a lighter, more competitive ride than the VaporFly 3.