Self-perceived middle-distance race pace is faster in advanced footwear technology spikes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Quantifying the potential benefits of advanced footwear technology (AFT) track shoes (i.e., "spikes") in middle-distance events is challenging, because repeated maximal effort trials (as in sprinting) or aerobic running economy trials (as in long-distance running) are not feasible.

Methods

We introduce a novel approach to assess the benefits of AFT spikes, consisting of a series of 200-m runs at self-perceived middle-distance race pace with 10 min recovery, and conduct 4 experiments to evaluate its validity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and utility.

Results

In Experiment 1, participants ran 1.2% slower in spikes with 200 g added mass vs. control spikes, which is exactly equal to the known effects of shoe mass on running performance. In Experiment 2, partic

SUBMITTER: Bertschy M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11863278 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature