The influence of a new sole geometry while running

Abstract

Running shoe construction influences the forces experienced by the human body while running. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the new sole architecture of the On running shoe reduces ground reaction forces compared with running barefoot or with a conventional running shoe and whether it changes the physiological parameters of running in shoes. Thirty-seven trained male participants were studied while running at submaximal speeds wearing their conventional running shoe, wearing the On running shoe and while barefoot. Additional biomechanical and physiological values were investigated to determine whether the On running shoe induced any changes in these parameters compared with conventional running shoes. The On exhibited similar ground reaction forces as conventional shoes, and these were different from the forces experienced while running barefoot, showing that the On was more similar to typical shoed running. No difference was observed in running economy between the On and a conventional shoe model. However, a slightly lower heart rate (HR) (≈1.3%) and blood lactate concentration (≈5.5%) were observed during submaximal running with the On running shoe compared with a conventional running shoe, as well as a greater lateral deviation of the centre of pressure mid-stance. The ramifications of the reduced HR and blood lactate concentration for competitive performance are unknown.

Keywords: ground reaction force; heart rate; running economy; running performance; running shoe design.

Figure 1.

The On running shoe with a novel sole design incorporating deformable open structures.

Figure 2.

Nine stance phases of a participant. The kinetic parameters were defined as the force loading and decay rates, LR_c1 and DR_c1, respectively, and the maximal vertical force, fz max dec (Stüssi, ; Stüssi et al., 1978).

Figure 3.

Forces in the running direction for the nine stance phases of a participant. The area under the curve represents the time integral, the momentum during the deceleration phase (integral fy int dec) and the momentum during the acceleration phase (integral fy acc) (Stüssi, ; Stüssi et al., 1978).

Figure 4.

Lateral deviation of the COP for all participants, dist x. 1 Black: barefoot; 2 red: conventional; 3 blue: On running shoe. ‘To’ indicates toe off and ‘HS’ represents heel strike. The lateral deviation, dist x, represents a measure of the mediolateral stability of the foot.

Figure 5.

Individual relative differences in submaximal HR between the On and the conventional shoe models. “No change”: difference in HR of less than 2.1% between shoe models; “advantage”: decrease in HR of >2.1% with the On compared with the conventional shoe; “disadvantage”: increase in HR of >2.1% with the On compared with the conventional shoe.