Is it the shoes? A simple proposal for regulating footwear in road running

Burns, Geoffrey T.; Tam, Nicholas

doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-100480

Cited by 62 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Likewise, during the same month, Brigid Kosgei broke the women's world record in the marathon by completing the distance in 2:14:04. She achieved this record when wearing a pair of the Vaporfly NEXT% [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

A Pragmatic Approach to Resolving Technological Unfairness: the Case of Nike’s Vaporfly and Alphafly Running Footwear

Dyer

2020

Sports Med - Open

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Background: Technology is often introduced into sport to facilitate it or to improve human performance within it. On occasion, some forms of novel technology require regulation or prevention entirely to ensure that a sport remains fair and accessible. Recently, the Nike Vaporfly and Alphafly shoes have received some concerns over their appropriateness for use in competitive distance running. Methods: This paper evaluates the use of these shoes against an existing framework for sports technology discourse and adopts a pragmatic approach to attempt to resolve them. Results: It is proposed that the three concerns regarding cost, access and coercion cannot be ruled out but likely remain short-term issues. As a result, it is proposed that these running shoes are acceptable forms of technology but that ongoing vigilance will be required as such technologies develop further in the future. Conclusions: The Nike Vaporfly/Alphafly shoes do push the perceived acceptability of running shoes to the limits of the current sports regulations. However, the alleged gains have not manifested themselves to a level that could be considered excessive when reviewing historical performances or when evaluated against a set of well-cited criteria. The sport will need to adopt a stance of ongoing vigilance as such technologies continue to develop or be optimised in the future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

A Pragmatic Approach to Resolving Technological Unfairness: the Case of Nike’s Vaporfly and Alphafly Running Footwear

Dyer

2020

Sports Med - Open

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“…7 Despite the rampant use of carbon fiber plates in athletics, 8–10 many seek to regulate the use of these plates in distance-running footwear based on the notion that they provide wearers an ‘unfair advantage’ over competitors without such technology. 11 These views persist even though it is inconclusive whether adding carbon fiber to shoe soles improves running economy. 12–16 To date, two studies have reported that adding optimally stiff carbon fiber plates to shoe soles improves running economy by 0.8 12 and 1.1% 13 , while another three studies reported that adding carbon fiber plates to shoe soles does not affect running economy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adding carbon fiber to shoe soles does not improve running economy: a muscle-level explanation

Beck

Golyski

Sawicki

2020

Preprint

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In an attempt to improve their distance-running performance, many athletes race with carbon fiber plates embedded in their 20 shoe soles. Accordingly, we sought to establish whether, and if so how, adding carbon fiber plates to shoes soles reduces athlete 21 aerobic energy expenditure during running (improves running economy). We tested 15 athletes during running at 3.5 m/s in four 22 footwear conditions that varied in shoe sole carbon fiber plate bending stiffness. For each condition, we quantified athlete aerobic 23 energy expenditure and performed biomechanics analyses, which included the use of ultrasound imaging to examine soleus muscle 24 dynamics in vivo. Overall, increased footwear bending stiffness lengthened ground contact time (p=0.048), but did not affect ankle 25 (p≥0.060), knee (p≥0.128), or hip (p≥0.076) joint angles or moments. Additionally, increased footwear bending stiffness did not affect 26 muscle activity (all seven measured leg muscles (p≥0.146)), stride averaged active soleus volume, (p=0.068) or aerobic power 27 (p=0.458) during running. Hence, footwear bending stiffness does not appear to alter the volume of aerobic energy consuming muscle 28 in the soleus, or any other leg muscle, during running. Therefore, adding carbon fiber plates to shoe soles slightly alters whole-body 29 and calf muscle biomechanics but does not improve running economy. 30 31 In competitive athletics, marginal differences distinguish champions from their competitors. For instance, if any of the top-five 2016 33Olympic women's marathon finishers ran 0.51% faster, they would have been crowned Olympic champion. Such miniscule 34 differences highlight the importance for athletes to optimize all factors that influence race performance. One way to further optimize 35 athletic performance is to don the best footwear. Using footwear that reduces athlete aerobic energy expenditure at a given running 36 speed (improves their running economy) can augment distance-running performance by decreasing their relative aerobic intensity. 1-3 37An established method of improving footwear to augment athlete distance-running performance is to reduce its mass. 1,2,4,5 Based on 38 literature values, if an aforementioned Olympic marathoner re-raced in shoes that were 100 g less than their original footwear, they 39 would have expended aerobic energy at an ~0.8% slower rate, 5 run the marathon ~0.56% faster, 6 and taken the gold medal back to 40 their home country. 42A longstanding footwear technology that has recently polarized the running community is the use of carbon fiber plates in shoe soles. 7 43Despite the rampant use of carbon fiber plates in athletics, 8-10 many seek to regulate the use of these plates in distance-running 44 footwear based on the notion that they provide wearers an 'unfair advantage' over competitors without such technology. 11 These 45 views persist even though it is inconclusive whether adding carbon fiber to shoe soles improves running economy. [12][13][14][15][16] To date, two 46 studies have reported that...

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“…A longstanding footwear technology that has polarized the running community is the incorporation of carbon fiber plates in shoe soles 7 . Despite the rampant use of carbon fiber plates in athletics [8][9][10] , policy makers are regulating the use of these plates in distance-running footwear based on the notion that they provide wearers an 'unfair advantage' over competitors without such technology 11 . These views persist even though it is inconclusive whether adding carbon fiber to shoe soles improves running economy [12][13][14][15][16] or distance-running performance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adding carbon fiber to shoe soles may not improve running economy: a muscle-level explanation

Beck

Golyski

Sawicki

2020

Sci Rep

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In an attempt to improve their distance-running performance, many athletes race with carbon fiber plates embedded in their shoe soles. Accordingly, we sought to establish whether, and if so how, adding carbon fiber plates to shoes soles reduces athlete aerobic energy expenditure during running (improves running economy). We tested 15 athletes as they ran at 3.5 m/s in four footwear conditions that varied in shoe sole bending stiffness, modified by carbon fiber plates. For each condition, we quantified athlete aerobic energy expenditure and performed biomechanical analyses, which included the use of ultrasonography to examine soleus muscle dynamics in vivo. Overall, increased footwear bending stiffness lengthened ground contact time (p = 0.048), but did not affect ankle (p ≥ 0.060), knee (p ≥ 0.128), or hip (p ≥ 0.076) joint angles or moments. Additionally, increased footwear bending stiffness did not affect muscle activity (all seven measured leg muscles (p ≥ 0.146)), soleus active muscle volume (p = 0.538; d = 0.241), or aerobic power (p = 0.458; d = 0.04) during running. Hence, footwear bending stiffness does not appear to alter the volume of aerobic energy consuming muscle in the soleus, or any other leg muscle, during running. Therefore, adding carbon fiber plates to shoe soles slightly alters whole-body and calf muscle biomechanics but may not improve running economy.

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Is it the shoes? A simple proposal for regulating footwear in road running

Cited by 62 publications

References 7 publications

A Pragmatic Approach to Resolving Technological Unfairness: the Case of Nike’s Vaporfly and Alphafly Running Footwear

A Pragmatic Approach to Resolving Technological Unfairness: the Case of Nike’s Vaporfly and Alphafly Running Footwear

Adding carbon fiber to shoe soles does not improve running economy: a muscle-level explanation

Adding carbon fiber to shoe soles may not improve running economy: a muscle-level explanation

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