Stephan Scholten with the Adios Pro 5 in its Solar Turbo launch colorway during the r/RunningShoeGeeks AMA. Image: u/adidas via Reddit
Most shoe launches arrive pre-packaged. A press release, a product page, a controlled event with a handful of invited media. What Adidas did last Sunday was something different. Stephan Scholten, the company’s Senior Director and VP of Product for Running, walked into a running community forum on Reddit and told the gear obsessives there that some of them know these shoes better than the spec sheets. Then he sat for an hour and answered questions directly.
That kind of candour is rare from a major footwear brand at launch. But the most useful thing to come out of that AMA on r/RunningShoeGeeks has nothing to do with marketing. It is a direct confirmation from the man who owns the product decisions about how the Adios Pro 5 actually fits your foot.
- Who: Stephan Scholten, Senior Director and VP of Product for Running at Adidas
- Where: r/RunningShoeGeeks, Reddit
- When: September 28, 2026, 17:00–18:00 CEST (16:00–17:00 BST / 11:00–12:00 ET)
- Focus: Adizero running footwear range with emphasis on the Adios Pro 5
- Key buyer takeaway: Pro 5 uses the same last as the Pro 4. Scholten personally recommends going half a size up.
Why an Adidas VP Doing a Reddit AMA Is Unusual
Scholten introduced himself as a long-time lurker on r/RunningShoeGeeks. He visits the community to see what runners are loving and what is frustrating them and described the AMA as a direct conversation about the Adizero range rather than another product announcement. The thread covered shoe structure, fit, product roadmap questions and the broader Adizero line. It ran for one hour.
That context matters. There is a meaningful difference between a brand posting a FAQ and a VP of Product opening a thread with an admission that the community sometimes understands these shoes better than internal spec sheets. Scholten has 13 years at Adidas, 10 of them specifically in running. He is not a spokesperson reading from talking points.
What Scholten Confirmed About Adios Pro 5 Sizing
The most actionable detail from the AMA for anyone considering a purchase is this: the Adios Pro 5 uses the exact same last as the Adios Pro 4. The Pro 4 was widely noted across the running community for a narrow toe box. Scholten’s personal recommendation in the thread, knowing that history, was to go half a size up on the Pro 5.
That is a different class of sizing advice. It is not a reviewer estimating from a few test miles or a retailer hedging with standard caveats. It is the person who signed off on the last telling the buying public that the structural fit characteristic from the previous generation is present in this one too.
FatMarathoner’s reporting on Scholten’s AMA comments is based on the public Reddit thread and community reporting from r/RunningShoeGeeks. We have not independently verified his exact remarks with Adidas. The half-size-up recommendation reflects his personal guidance for runners who found the Pro 4 narrow in the toe box. Runners with wider feet or higher-volume forefeet should try the shoe in person where possible before committing at $275.
Does Independent Testing Back Up the Sizing Warning?
It does. Early reviews from several credible running sites are consistent with what Scholten said in the AMA. Doctors of Running found the shoe snug throughout in a men’s US 9.5, with the toe box tapering quickly on the lateral side. RTINGS flagged a narrow midfoot and shallow toe box that limits internal space, particularly relevant for runners whose feet swell during longer efforts. Run to the Finish described it as narrow through the midfoot with limited overall volume despite the outsole appearing wide from underneath.
The picture from independent testing aligns with the VP’s guidance. This is not a roomy race shoe. If you are between sizes or have experienced tightness across the forefoot in Adidas racing footwear before, sizing up half a step is the safer call.
| Source | Fit Assessment | Sizing Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Stephan Scholten, VP Product (AMA) | Same last as Pro 4, narrow toe box confirmed | Half size up recommended |
| Doctors of Running | Snug throughout, toe box tapers quickly on lateral side | True to size but borderline |
| RTINGS | Narrow midfoot, shallow toe box, limited volume above toes | True to size with caveats |
| Run to the Finish | Narrow midfoot, limited overall volume despite wide outsole base | True to size unless wide foot |
The Pro 5 in Context: What Changed and What Didn’t
We have been tracking this shoe since it first appeared on the World Athletics approved shoe list and covered the full technical breakdown alongside the leaked New York colorway earlier this week. The short version: the Pro 5 is the most significant structural departure in the Adios Pro line in six years. Adidas has replaced the EnergyRods system that ran through the midsole with an ENERGYRIM perimeter carbon ring that wraps around it instead. The result is 35mm of updated Lightstrike Pro foam directly underfoot, a claimed 9% energy return gain over the Pro 4 and a 12% weight reduction down to 177g in a men’s US 8.5. The upper is a new Lightlock 2.0 build with ventilation zones and a revised heel construction. Price is $275.
What has not changed is the last. That is precisely what makes the AMA comment land the way it does. Adidas has rebuilt the shoe almost everywhere except the shape that determines how it fits your foot.
The AMA thread is worth reading if you follow the Adizero range closely. A VP of Product engaging directly with a community that pulls race shoes apart at a forensic level is genuinely unusual, and the discussion covers structural and roadmap ground that press materials don’t touch. For anyone buying the Pro 5, the practical upshot is straightforward: the last hasn’t changed from the Pro 4. If that shoe ever pinched across your forefoot, go half a size up. You’ll thank yourself somewhere around mile 20.