The Super Shoe Study

Advancements in running shoe technology, particularly in the Nike Vaporfly line, have been shown to improve running economy/performance relative to traditional racing shoes. However, the new Nike line of “super shoes” has not been compared to other new, carbon-plated shoes that are now available. Therefore, we compared the effects of 7 different carbon-plated shoes and 1 traditional racing shoe on running economy.

Testing Methods

Shoes were tested in a random sequence at 16 km/hr in 12 male runners on two separate visits. Check out this link to see what running economy is, how it is measured, and how it impacts performance.

Results

The percent improvement in running economy for each shoe on average is displayed in the graphic. Of the shoes tested, only the Nike Alphafly and Asics Metaspeed Sky improved running economy comparably to the established Nike Vaporfly Next% 2.

Compared to the group averaged responses, here is a look at how my personal testing in each shoe broke down. The order is quite similar, but I tend to be on the higher responder end in terms of the benefits I gain from the super shoes.

Take Home Message

While some of the shoes tested performed better than the traditional racing shoe, only Nike Alphafly and Asics Metaspeed Sky matched the previously established Nike Vaporfly. From these data, it appears the running shoe market as a whole has not caught up to the advantages conferred by the Vaporfly.

Links to Research Paper

Preprint (Open Access)

Official Published Version