Branded Shoes & The Hype

The Research Concludes: Springy Running Won’t Help Increase Your Running Speed.

Ever since we were little, we knew we had to get ourselves running shoes to run this school marathon better than anyone else. The thing stuck in our minds has always been that the better the shoe, the better our chances of winning. So was that just a childhood fantasy or something legit? 

Today, in the modern world big brands like Nike, Adidas, and ASICS are coming forward with their best running trendy shoes that have been enhanced using the latest technology to provide us with a great running experience & hot in fashion. 

But the question is, is the hype worth it? Are these so-called fancy running shoes really affecting the way we run in some positive way or it's just in our head or the style that matters, maybe in the way brands positioned their products in our minds?

Aren’t we better off without these shoes in the first place?

How shoe weight influences our running performance?

Well if we do need shoes to run, we better make sure that those shoes add to the running efficiency not decrease it. Thus the weight of the shoes we wear while we run matters a lot. The heavier the shoes, the more energy will be required, causing fatigue and lowering running efficiency. So why do we even need shoes if the shoe weight affects running performance in a negative way? Why not run barefoot? 

Being barefoot is only as effective as wearing a lightweight shoe, it won't be increasing our energy in any way. There will be a requirement of energy to be absorbed by our legs and feet muscles as we are bare feet hit a surface. There will be no weight of shoes but no cushioning and comfort as well. So maybe we can stick with a nice pair of lightweight running shoes if we aim to win the next marathon or run in more comfort the next time. 

Springy shoe, the answer to all our running shoe questions? 

Shoe cushioning may help reduce muscular effort but energy might be lost at every step we run with the traditional running shoes on. Thus to prevent the lowering of speed, replacing this energy is important. So does adding the spring-like cushioning to running shoes add to their efficiency? Maybe they help improve the running economy but let's not exaggerate too much because these shoes do not provide with the energy lost at impact but only preserve the energy from foot impact to help keep the energy from dropping energy when we hit the ground to take the next step. So, no extra energy to run downhill, uphill, accelerate, or lower the running speed. 

What about the stiff shoes then? 

Well, these casual shoes might help but only if they are made to help and tuned for their stiffness for each runner. Not stiff and the shoe is not good enough, too stiff and the shoe makes our calf muscle work a little extra hard to produce needed force for ankle rotation. 

While the tuning may help, different constantly changing factors may affect the way tuning benefits the runner. The introduction of carbon fiber blades, as by Nike for marathon runners for 2 hours, cannot be relied on because carbon fiber blades might be unable to adjust stiffness with respect to changing speeds. 

Can we call the new era running shoes 'performance enhancers'?

The introduction of newer technology in the running shoe industry may improve the running shoe economy at most up to make a difference of around 2% given an ideal condition and a flat course. 

But in no way do these shoes provide an unfair benefit to runners as they only absorb energy and don't give them any extra energy to run. Maybe in the future, we will be able to come up with shoes that may give the purchaser an extra edge at running, but we will have to work with the shoes we have for now. 

For the recreational runners, maybe all of this doesn't even matter. What they want is a comfortable pair of shoes that help them achieve their fitness goals and minimize the chances of injuries.