I’ve never worn adidas shoes before so when Sportsshoes asked RunUltra to review the new adidas Terrex Agravic Ultra trail running shoes, I jumped at the chance to try them. These shoes are eye-catching, not only in their colours but in the sturdy build and lug size, which always attracts a trail runner.
Features
- Price – £159.99 at Sportsshoes
- Weight -299g
- Drop -8mm
- Stack Height – Heel 34mm, Toe 26mm
- Lug Depth – 4mm
- Width – Standard
“The Terrex Agravic Ultra has been created in close collaboration with one of the world’s fastest ultra-trail runners, Ekaterina Mityaeva.”
Given the solid look to the shoe, I was surprised how light they were when I took them out of the box. I couldn’t wait to get them on and promptly went out for a walk in them. The first thing I noticed was how high the heel shape was in comparison to my other trail shoes and unfortunately this had an immediate detrimental effect on my heel, which wasn’t used to anything rubbing the back of it.
A couple of weeks later, having let my heel…. well.. heal, I got the adidas shoes on again with a plaster on my heels and extra thick socks on to protect them. It also happened to be the first snow of the season and it was a great opportunity to see how the shoes felt.
Since moving to the Peak District I have had to change the type of trail shoes that I wear. When you have tough terrain to run on, both rocky and boggy, it’s important to have a shoe with a good strong upper, and a rand that gives your toes protection from rocks and slabs. Although the Adidas start out stiff and do require some breaking in, they have protected my feet well and will last in tough terrain. Which brings me to the next feature I’m interested in.
The upper is made with at least 50% recycled content. This is called Primegreen, which is a series of high-performance recycled materials with no virgin polyester. The shoe also features a TPE bio-based plate that’s made out of 90% renewable carbon. “The plate runs the entire length of the shoe for lightweight, durable rock protection over long distance mountain trails”. So, not only have adidas made a good contribution towards making a recycled shoe, the build quality means you should get a long life out of them.
“In trail running, the most important thing is to keep your feet fresh and we tried to implement this. The shoe has protective plates that work perfectly on descents, especially on technical trails where there are a lot of stones. They allow you to keep your legs fresher in the second half of the race.”
Although the shoe looks from the outside as if it’s highly cushioned, it’s actually got a great all-round combination of cushioning and responsiveness and it uses the famous adidas Boost plus Lightstrike that gives a nice high energy return on the rocks.
The lugs mean business and for a shoe that’s aimed at a combination of terrains, I feel very confident skipping around all types ground including some road work (round me the roads might as well be tracks anyway!). I’d like the tongue to be a bit bigger; it’s both narrow and thin and personally I find the top of my foot suffers if I tie the shoes tightly. However, my feet feel comfortable inside; I have a wide forefoot and the Agravic are just wide enough. I liked the feeling of the shoe comfortably encasing my foot, keeping it secure and in place. I’ve used them now on long runs; including a 7-hour run/hike in ALL the terrain; rocky tracks, open moorland, deep bog and road with no issues.
Conclusion
I think the adidas Terrex Agravic Ultra has a lot of potential. It is an expensive shoe, and the style of heel does require the shoe to be broken in over time before using “in anger”. However, off-setting those issues this a shoe that will take you anywhere; on any terrain, over any distance, and will last you a long time.
Sportsshoes have kindly offered RunUltra readers an exclusive 10% discount on the adidas Terrex Agravic Ultra if you use the code RUNULTRA10 at checkout and will last until 31st January.
Header photo courtesy of Hayley Sanders
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About the author: Kate Allen is Editor of RunUltra and in her spare time can be found running and racing with her dog Mac around the hills of the Peak and Lake District.
