Effects of midsole cushioning on biomechanical and physiological performance measures in an elite ultra-trail runner: a case study

Abstract

With increasing popularity and due to the performance altering relevance of equipment, trail running has become of particular interest for the sporting goods industry. Research has shown that especially downhill running (DR) plays a decisive role in trail running performance (Genitrini et al., 2022). An athlete’s running velocity at _ VO2 max, lower body strength and leg stiffness (kleg) were identified to be adequate predictors of DR performance (Lemire et al., 2021). Kleg can be influenced by the midsole cushioning stiffness (kshoe) as shown during level running (LR) conditions by Kulmala et al. (2018). However, it remains unclear if kleg can also be influenced by altered kshoe during DR and thus positively influence DR performance.