100 km Under 6 Hours: Kubheka and the (Very Human) Alliance between Determination and adidas Technology

• Sibusiso Kubheka closes 100 km in 5:59:20 at the Nardò Ring during adidas’s “Chasing 100”; Charlie Lawrence (6:03:47) and Aleksandr Sorokin (6:04:10) also dipped under the previous mark.
• The “wall” was 6:05:35 (Sorokin, 2023). Today’s performance lowers it by 6′15″. Official ratification still pending.
• Technical protagonist: adidas Adizero Evo Prime X, a prototype shoe “tailor-made” for each athlete + new Ultracharge technology (pressurized foam for more rebound).
• CLIMACOOL cooling ecosystem: pre-cooling and per-cooling (vest, insulating jacket derived from motorsport, “cooling neck”) to keep core temperature down and extend endurance.

The Wall Doesn’t Collapse: You Go Through It

On the 100 km, the limit is never just a number: it’s a complex system built on discipline, management, mindset. Today you saw it turn into 5:59:20: six hours become five fifty-nine and change, roughly a 3:28/km pace held when many, by kilometer 30, are begging for mercy. It’s the effect of determination (training, routines, clarity in the “dark” hours) and of a setup engineered to strip away friction: a measured circuit, surgical fueling, active thermoregulation and—above all—technology and product.

The Shoe as a Tool: adidas Adizero Evo Prime X

Here adidas worked from a simple principle: “one shoe per person”. The Adizero Evo Prime X was customized athlete by athlete: a midsole with densities and stiffeners tuned to biomechanical data, a minimal upper for hold and breathability, with a clear objective: maximize running efficiency. The most “lab-grade” novelty is Ultracharge: prototypes are placed in a high-pressure vessel five days before the race to fill the foam’s micro-cavities with air, increasing energy return when fatigue ‘squashes’ the landing. In practice, less loss at every step—especially after the 60th–70th km.

The Rules Issue (and Why It Matters)

World Athletics sets a 40 mm cap on the stack height of road-legal shoes. Rumors around the Evo Prime X point to a stack of about 60 mm in the prototypes used in Nardò. If that’s confirmed, Kubheka’s time will remain historic but might not be ratified as a world record. This is the edge between innovation and rules: brands push forward; regulations set limits. Either way, the technical lesson stands: personalization and the right materials can bend the fatigue curve.

Running “Cooler” to Run Longer

The other half of the record is thermal. The CLIMACOOL package included pre-cooling (cooling vests and an insulating jacket derived from motorsport) to lower core temperature and heart rate in the first hour, and per-cooling during the effort with “cooling neck” pieces shaped over major arteries, swapped at regular intervals. For you as a runner: less heat = less cardiac drift = cleaner mechanics = lower energy cost. You won’t see the effect in photos, but the splits will spell it out.

The Numbers (and What They Say)

Today’s standings read: Kubheka 5:59:20, Lawrence 6:03:47, Sorokin 6:04:10; all under the previous reference of 6:05:35 set by Sorokin in 2023. It’s a collective leap, not a one-off flash: when top athletes and the right tools align, the bar shifts for everyone. There’s still the formal step of ratification (measurements, checks, footwear compliance). But stamps aside, this looks like a new benchmark.

What You Take Home (Even If You’ll Never Run 100 km)

• Take care of the fundamentals (mileage, strength, threshold) and protect your headspace in the tough hours: determination is software.
• Choose hardware that fits your way of running: a shoe is a compromise among return, stability, weight, geometry. When the match is right, the body spends less—for longer.
• Manage temperature and pace: cooling, hydration, cadence. They’re “free” watts you pocket for the finish.