The Latest Research on Super Shoes & Running Performance
by Doug Stewart
Super shoes are here to stay, and we have seen performances improve significantly across various race distances as a result of their impact.
I wrote recently about the impact of advanced track spikes on performance but a number of other research papers have also been recently published exploring how wearing super shoes affects elite and recreational runners. Below is a brief summary of some of these.
Shoes worn by Kelvin Kiptum for his world record-breaking marathon run © Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Impact on recreational female and male runners
This paper from May 2024 explored the impact of super shoes or recreational female and male runners. This is important, as a lot of previous research had only been done on male runners. 11 male and 8 female runners (average age 28 years) participated in the study, which involved running in the Nike Alphafly 1, and on a separate visit, using a non-super control shoe. They did the test in a random order. Oxygen uptake was on average 3% lower, so they were using less oxygen for the same speed, when wearing the super shoes. Additionally, there was less cumulative tibial damage (on average 12% less) in the super shoes. This suggests that super shoes help recreational female and male runners and that there is less cumulative bone loading in them – which may allow athletes to complete longer runs than in traditional running shoes.
Calf Muscle Activity in Super Shoes
This paper explored the muscle activity when in super shoes versus non-carbon plated traditional running shoes. 7 long distance runners (average age 20) with an average personal best time of 14 minutes and 29 seconds over 5km participated in this research. Overall, in the super shoes, there was a 50% reduction in electromyography (EMG) in the push-off phase of running of the gastrocnemius medialis (one of the muscles in your calves). In the first half of the push-off phase there was also a significant difference in the gastrocnemius lateralis (also located in your calf). This suggests that the use of super shoes reduces calf muscles EMG at a given running speed during the push-off phase and this reduces energy cost at this speed.
Impact of Super Shoes on Competitive Female Runners
Finally, a paper from this year studied 18 competitive female runners in super shoes (Nike Vaporfly Next% 2) and a control pair, looking at metabolic power using a treadmill with an instrumented measuring force. When wearing the super shoes, the metabolic power improved by 4.2% compared to when runners wore the control shoe. Foot strike pattern was also assessed and did not appear to be impacted. Interestingly, this 4.2% improvement in metabolic power is smaller than that witnessed in male runners.
The results confirm what we have seen at the elite level and for amateur runners, that times are improving in super shoes. Now, we are starting to understand more around the impact on different levels of runners and how they assist every type of athlete. It is worth noting, however, that most of the research has been done using Nike Vaporfly or Alphafly, and that other shoes may not provide the same benefits as those discussed here.
In my next newsletter, I will share further research showing the impact of training in super shoes.
References:
Hata, K., Hamamura, Y., Noro, H., Yamazaki, Y., Nagato, S., Kanosue, K. and Yanagiya, T., 2024. Plantar flexor muscle activity and fascicle behavior in gastrocnemius medialis during running in highly cushioned shoes with carbon-fiber plates. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 1(aop), pp.1-9.
Martinez 3rd, E., Hoogkamer, W., Powell, D.W. and Paquette, M.R., 2024. The Influence of" Super-Shoes" and Foot Strike Pattern on Metabolic Cost and Joint Mechanics in Competitive Female Runners. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Werkhausen, A., Lund-Hansen, M., Wiedenbruch, L., Peikenkamp, K. and Rice, H., 2024. Technologically advanced running shoes reduce oxygen cost and cumulative tibial loading per kilometer in recreational female and male runners. Scientific Reports, 14(1), p.11903.