Ilaria Rosella Pagliaro The new shoes with "super spikes" promise to improve runners' performance over medium distances, with an increase in speed of up to 3.1%
Thus, a new generation of running shoes is taking track and distance running to a whole new level, giving an unprecedented edge not only to sprinters but also to long-distance runners. This innovative technology, also called “super spikes,” has, indeed, been proven to increase running performance by as much as 3.1% during middle-distance events.
Researchers in one international study looked at the effects of advanced footwear technology to better understand how super spikes affect running performance. So normal are spiked shoes now at the professional level that many question whether record-breaking times are the result of better athletic conditioning or merely the result of more advanced equipment.
Montgomery Bertschy of the University of Massachusetts explained that these shoes have a more substantial yet lightweight, flexible midsole and are often combined with a rigid carbon fiber plate.
Tests carried out on different types of shoes indeed confirmed that super spike shoes guarantee an average of about 2% improvement in performance. Indeed, runners gained an increase in speed that ranged from 1.8% to 3.1%. They were able to gain as much as 5 seconds while racing the 1500-meter race. Such improvements in performance have been found to relate to longer strides instead of a quicker step frequency.
Performance evolution debate
Ethan Wilkie, a biomechanics expert at the University of New Brunswick, says small advances in race times can make the difference between a medal and missing the podium altogether. The results of this study suggest that some of those gains can be attributed to the superior footwear athletes wear.
Furthermore, some investigations found that AFT technology tends to help women more than men, and it is also good on longer distances. However, it does not go in doubt that the choice of shoe, which is combined with the runner’s velocity and physicality, makes an important contribution to overall performance.
If anything, records that keep falling-like the 32 new records at the 2024 Paris Olympics-continue to indicate that for any slight advantage in performance enhancement, shoe technology will remain important to athletes.
