Locomotion Lab, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 354 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0354, USA.
Nike Sport Research Lab, One Bowerman Drive, Beaverton, OR, 97005, USA.
Sports Med. 2018 Apr;48(4):1009-1019. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0811-2.
Reducing the energetic cost of running seems the most feasible path to a sub-2-hour marathon. Footwear mass, cushioning, and bending stiffness each affect the energetic cost of running. Recently, prototype running shoes were developed that combine a new highly compliant and resilient midsole material with a stiff embedded plate.
The aim of this study was to determine if, and to what extent, these newly developed running shoes reduce the energetic cost of running compared with established marathon racing shoes.
18 high-caliber athletes ran six 5-min trials (three shoes × two replicates) in prototype shoes (NP), and two established marathon shoes (NS and AB) during three separate sessions: 14, 16, and 18 km/h. We measured submaximal oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production during minutes 3-5 and averaged energetic cost (W/kg) for the two trials in each shoe model.
Compared with the established racing shoes, the new shoes reduced the energetic cost of running in all 18 subjects tested. Averaged across all three velocities, the energetic cost for running in the NP shoes (16.45 ± 0.89 W/kg; mean ± SD) was 4.16 and 4.01% lower than in the NS and AB shoes, when shoe mass was matched (17.16 ± 0.92 and 17.14 ± 0.97 W/kg, respectively, both p < 0.001). The observed percent changes were independent of running velocity (14-18 km/h).
The prototype shoes lowered the energetic cost of running by 4% on average. We predict that with these shoes, top athletes could run substantially faster and achieve the first sub-2-hour marathon.
降低马拉松的能量消耗似乎是实现 2 小时内完赛的最可行途径。鞋的质量、缓冲性能和弯曲刚度都会影响跑步的能量消耗。最近，开发出了一种新型的高度顺应性和弹性中底材料与刚性嵌入式板结合的原型跑鞋。
本研究旨在确定这些新开发的跑鞋与传统马拉松跑鞋相比是否以及在多大程度上降低了跑步的能量消耗。
18 名高水平运动员在三个不同的阶段分别穿着原型鞋（NP）和两种传统的马拉松鞋（NS 和 AB）进行了六次 5 分钟的试验（每种鞋 3 双，重复 2 次）：14、16 和 18km/h。我们在第 3-5 分钟测量了亚最大耗氧量和二氧化碳产生量，并对每种鞋型的两次试验平均能量消耗（W/kg）进行了计算。
与传统的竞赛鞋相比，新鞋降低了所有 18 名受试者的跑步能量消耗。在所有三个速度下，当匹配鞋的质量时，NP 鞋（16.45±0.89 W/kg；平均值±标准差）的跑步能量消耗比 NS 鞋和 AB 鞋分别低 4.16%和 4.01%（分别为 17.16±0.92 和 17.14±0.97 W/kg，两者均 p<0.001）。观察到的百分比变化与跑步速度（14-18km/h）无关。
原型鞋平均降低了 4%的跑步能量消耗。我们预测，使用这些鞋，顶级运动员可以跑得更快，实现首次 2 小时内完赛的马拉松。
