The New Adidas Supernovas Are a Surprisingly Supportive Running Shoe

The two things that stuck out for me with the Supernova Rise were the comfort and the support they offered. As a heel-striker, I definitely noticed and appreciated the extra foam in the back of the shoe—my legs felt fresher than I expected after a 10-miler, my longest run in a couple months. I’m also an overpronator, and if I don’t have enough support, I usually end up feeling it in my ankles and lower calves the next day. My first run in the sneakers was on a lot of uneven (and muddy, thanks to the rain a couple days before) grass, and I was really expecting to wake up with lower-leg soreness the next day. But I didn’t feel anything, which was a welcome surprise, and I credit the extra support for that.

While the shoes are marketed for the everyday run, they felt pretty nice with faster paces too. At the end of a few of my test runs, I threw in a handful of strides (short efforts and quicker speeds), and the turnover was super smooth; I didn’t feel like I was fighting to maintain my pace.

Bottom line

I find myself continuing to reach for the Supernova Rise for most of my runs now—as long as I don’t have a tempo workout or speed session on the schedule. I’ve just really been enjoying the solid level of cushion and support the sneakers offer, plus the ability to pick it up for a bit if I need to flush out my legs.

While these aren’t marketed as a racing shoe, I think they’d still be a solid choice for people running longer-distance events, like half marathons or even full ones, if your goal is to finish comfortably and strong (and not necessarily shoot for a specific time or to PR). I would just recommend getting a solid lacing strategy down beforehand (or maybe even swapping them out), so you don’t need to worry about retying them midrace.