Adidas Takumi Sen 10 Preview: Midsole, Outsole, Release Date

The Adidas Takumi Sen is a speed training and short-distance racing shoe. The current version offers bouncy speed and a responsive ride in a lightweight package. Part of the Adizero series of shoes, the Takumi Sen slots in as the 5k/10k racing companion to the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3. 

Version 8 of the shoe was the last time we saw a major refresh. Released earlier this year, the Takumi Sen 9 retained the same midsole of the Takumi Sen 8 and added a slightly revised upper. For the Takumi Sen 10, we're seeing a ground-up redesign. Here's everything we know right now.

Adidas Takumi Sen 10 Overview

Part of the 5k and 10k racing segment, the Takumi Sen competes with other lightweight, moderate-stack race shoes. One of the first in the category, there's now competition from the Nike Streakfly, Hoka Cielo Road, Saucony Sinister and New Balance SC Pacer. Each of the shoes have a different take on the formula, but the ingredients are a lightweight construction (7 ounces or below) and a top-tier foam.

The Takumi Sen 9 uses Adidas' Lightstrike Pro foam, which is the same compound as the marathon-racing Pro 3. The Takumi Sen 10 will likely retain that midsole foam and stay competitive with the Cielo Road, Streakfly and Sinister, all of which use non-plated PEBA (the SC Pacer has New Balance's FuelCell foam, which is a supercritical TPU and EVA blend).

With the Takumi Sen 9 releasing in 2023, rumor has it that we won't see a Takumi Sen 10 until late 2024 or early 2025. With pictures leaking now, it's possible that timeline will shift and we'll get an early preview of the shoe in 2024. Sign up below, and we'll send you updates on the shoe as soon as we have them.

Adidas Takumi Sen 10 Midsole

The Takumi Sen 10 looks to keep the supercritical TPEE Lightstrike Pro foam with the glass fiber EnergyRods. Lightstrike Pro is one of the bounciest, most responsive foams in the game, and it has a firm, slightly dense feeling that activates at pace. The biggest change in the 10 will likely be a revision to the layout of the rods.

Through the bottom of the platform in the leaked picture, we can see the layout of the rods implied by the forefoot channels. While we can't confirm that this set-up is different than the 9, it's likely that the ride will be fairly similar to the current version. We also can't see the stack height from the angle of this picture, but it's likely that it will stay the same.

Adidas Takumi Sen 10 Outsole

The Adidas Takumi Sen uses Continental rubber (yes, from the tire manufacturer) on all of their performance shoes. This is a grippy and lightweight compound, one of the best at performing in the rain. In version 10, we can see they've retained the Continental rubber from the brand's logo still appearing on the outsole.

One way that we can identify that the model in the leaked pictures is the Takumi Sen 10 and not a new colorway of the 9 is from the outsole rubber layout. The current version has a J-shaped strip that goes around the rear of the platform. In the 10, we see they've removed the strip in favor of a bi-sected rubber layout that has individual applications on the lateral and medial sides of the shoe. 

Adidas Takumi Sen 10 Upper

The Takumi Sen 8 and 9 have some of the snuggest uppers out there. The shoes are notoriously hard to get on and off the foot, which is due to the low-volume fit and tightly gusseted tongue. The new version looks like it has a similar toe-box from the pictures.

Final Thoughts

The Takumi Sen series is our favorite speed day shoe. The 8 and 9 are all-time classics, so it's likely that Adidas won't mess with the formula too much. That's all we have now—for more insights on the Takumi Sen 10, sign up below and we'll let you know the latest details.