“The further you get into technology, the further you go into gaming. That’s the general rule.

– Nick Johnson

In a world that is constantly evolving, it is now more important that ever to be able to adapt and accept the modifications within our society, especially in terms of technology, as it is inevitable.

A field that has grown in popularity in the last 2-3 decades is modifications in sportswear technology for athletes, especially footwear technology. Here in this blog I will discuss, the technological advancements which have occurred in footwear, in specific running shoe footwear, in the last decade or two, in terms of the impacts they are having on sporting performance and what technology is being used to elicit these changes.

The two primary materials that have been incorporated into modern-day footwear that are thought to elicit these performance enhancing effects are; a mid-sole section that is made from different variations of foam and a stiffening agent within the mid-sole, such as a carbon-fiber plate, as seen in the image below.

The foam acts as a cushioning agent, but its more significant role is its ability to store and return elastic energy during running, which ultimately reduces the energy cost of running and means that the athletes can run faster for longer. The carbon-fiber plate then results in less energy loss at the metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot, due to the stiffening of the carbon-fiber plate, which means that the joint does not have to bend or work as hard during running. For many years the issue with the carbon-fiber plate was that it resulted in an increase in the work at the ankle joint, but recently modifications in technology have resulted in the ability to curve the plate which reduced the extra work at the ankle joint, making it a successful asset to running shoe technology.

There have been many controversial debates and arguments about the development of this new technology in recent years, which sparked my interest in the topic. From the numerous articles published, podcasts recorded and research conducted, it has been identified that it’s these materials in the mid-sole of the shoes that is giving athletes the greatest energy return whilst running. The underlying question on this specific topic is where does it end? Are these technological developments in footwear going to continue to advance and what does this mean for the future of running shoe technology?

With the first sub 2-hour marathon being ran and the women’s world record being achieved at the Chicago Marathon this year, both in the new Nike Vaporfly footwear, more and more speculations are being made in regard to the unfair advantage this footwear brings. Currently there is no limit as to what materials can or cannot be used in footwear, or what is or isn’t classed as technological doping, but it is a growing topic of interest which is likely to be investigated further.

For a more in-depth look into the research of the current topic, here are two recently published journal articles which analyse how these modifications in footwear are improving running performance by analyzing the physiological adaptations that occur in the body during running and secondly, what are the biomechanical significance’s behind these savings in the energy cost of running.

Hoogkamer, W., Kipp, S., Frank, J.H., Farina, E.M., Luo, G. and Kram, R. (2018). A comparison of the energetic cost of running in marathon racing shoes. Sports Medicine, 48 (4), 1009-1019.

Hoogkamer, W., Kipp, S. and Kram, R. (2019). The biomechanics of competitive male runners in three marathon racing shoes: a randomized crossover study. Sports Medicine, 49 (1), 133-143.

Below is a link to an episode of The Science of Sport Podcast called ‘The Shoe That Broke Running’. It is hosted by sports journalist Mick Finch and sports scientist Ross Tucker. In the podcast they take an in-depth look as to why the new Nike Vaporfly shoe is so controversial and give a description of some of the technology that is involved in the shoe with the help of special guest Geoff Burns, who is a biomechanist who is currrently studying a PhD in running mechanics.

https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/the-shoe-that-broke-running/id1461719225?i=1000454638981

Also, here is an article which discusses sports journalist Cathal Dennehy’s, interview with OffTheBall.com in regard to Eluid Kipchoge attempting to break the sub 2-hour marathon. Here, the term ‘technological doping’ is discussed and it is interesting to see what the discussions about the footwear were in the build up to the race on October 12th 2019.

https://www.offtheball.com/other-sports/159-challenge-nike-shoes-913679