'Smart' shoe with ivy league price.

The Adidas 1 is marketed as "the world's first intelligent shoe," and at $250, it should be a genius. Powered by a 3-volt battery, it uses a sensor, a microprocessor, and an electric motor that adjusts a cable in the heel to provide, Adidas says, an appropriate level of cushioning for whoever the runner and whatever the surface. (See the cross-section below for details.)

We had three staff members run in the Adidas 1 and in the normal-IQ Adidas Supernova Cushion, $85, built from the same shoe last and therefore with the same basic fit. Its cushioning comes via EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate), a commonly used material. Runners made a total of eight 4- to 5-mile runs on …