Adizero Pasta ravioli with Sagra makes Dubai Marathon carb-loading communal

Carb-loading stopped being a private pre-race routine and became a communal moment in Dubai as adidas and Havas Middle East rolled out a city-scale activation around the 2026 Dubai Marathon. The centerpiece was a limited-edition "Adizero Pasta" ravioli produced with local pastificio Sagra and handed to registered runners at a live fuelling event at the Adizero House of Fast at Kite Beach on 31 January. Runners collected complimentary portions by presenting their race bib or runner ID, turning preparation into a visible part of marathon week.

The activation translated the Adizero performance ethos into food, "translating the Adizero performance ethos into a food format that bridged sport, craft, and culture," and was explicitly positioned to keep the moment grounded in local culinary expertise. adidas extended the idea beyond the beach by partnering with Careem to make Adizero Pasta available across Dubai for a limited time. Campaign planners framed that distribution as a way to scale a niche runner behaviour into a wider city moment: "By integrating the ritual into an everyday platform, the brand scaled a niche runner behaviour into a wider city moment - reinforcing accessibility while remaining rooted in performance culture."

Operationally the activation focused on immediacy and inclusion of registered participants. The Adizero House of Fast at Kite Beach served as a gathering point one day ahead of the race, creating what organizers described as a shared pause in the city's marathon build-up. Sagra supplied the pasta, providing local craft credibility for the product designed to serve as fuel during marathon week; an Instagram post for the activation described the offering as serving "fuel for runners during Marathon week in Dubai" and as inspired by the Adizero EVO SL.

The Adizero Pasta activation sits alongside a distinct adidas regional effort from late 2024: the Adizero Desert Runner launch, which used a 100-meter-wide anamorphic art installation by David Popa in Sharjah’s Al Madam area to celebrate a region-exclusive shoe. Havas Red Middle East reported that the Desert Runner project emphasized sustainability with eco-friendly and recyclable materials and generated measurable earned media results. Havas Red Group called the installation a "Breathtaking 100-meter-wide anamorphic art piece ... pays homage to the boundless potential of the desert and the spirit of the modern runner," and noted it was "Constructed by a team of three artists and technicians over eight days."

The practical takeaway for Dubai runners and local food-curious readers is simple: adidas leaned into the rituals that matter to runners and used local partners and everyday platforms to make preparation a communal experience. The Adizero Pasta activation prioritized craft and access rather than stunt alone, but organizers have not published distribution numbers or campaign metrics for Adizero Pasta. For now, the rollout shows how brands can make a pre-race ritual public and shareable; expect future activations to combine local makers, platform partners, and event timing to turn small rituals into citywide moments.