Effect of the racing shoes with the special heel structure on the elite runners’ lower limb biomechanics

Abstract

Running performance is the primary consideration for elite runners. Track shoes such as the Nike Vaporfly 4% shoe combine both advances in midsole thickness and longitudinal bending stiffness to reduce energy loss by about 4% for elite runners (H ebert-Losier et al., 2020). It was noted that changes contact area of rearfoot or striking patterns adjust the running mode during the stance phase, such as multi-segment foot kinematics during running (Deschamps et al., 2019). Brown (Brown & Silva, 2013) found that shoes with 8mm drops will benefit the storage and energy return due to the increase of the angle of the phalangeal joint of the sagittal plane compared to running shoes with 8mm drops for amateur runners. However, little research has investigated the effect of marathon running shoes with negative drops on the sports biomechanics of elite runners.