New Study: "Super" Spikes Improve Running Economy by 2.1% Compared to Traditional Spikes

Different biomechanics in the 800m vs 10,000m.

Different systems used.

Give a higher % back in the 10K as there's more variability in lap times leading to more potential for improvement, whereas in the 800m the max/min lap times have a much lower range therefore cannot be improved on as much. I.e. there's more of a limit on performance improvement in the 800m due to its nature, 1st or 2nd lap cannot be improved on that much whereas in the 10K 1st-25th lap can be improved on more.

Biomechanics deteriorate more in the 10K

The biggest benefits seem to be from stride length improvements. This may confer more of an advantage in the 10K as stride length may alter more significantly than in the 800m during the latter stages of the race and in general. Stride length will be less in the 10K and therefore maybe more potential for improvement.

You couldn't do the above suggestion in the above post because it's not race-specific, distance-specific. The suggestion would be able to show if super shoes or super spikes made an improvement but it wouldn't be relevant to race pace or race distance which is what the researcher wants to look at presumably (faster speeds/time trials). The researcher wants to see why race distance makes a difference to the % improvement. So race pace and race distance needs to be studied/compared specifically.

Results also indicate that over a 1500m race, our participants would take 17 to 21
steps less in super spikes as compared to traditional spikes

The more aerobic the event is (i.e. 10km, marathon), performance mainly depends on the rate of metabolic energy consumption, running economy. Whereas for sprinting and less so the 800m (but obviously it's more of a factor than in the 10k) it's more about acceleration and top speed, which may not have the potential for the same % improvement.

So it's distance specific.

I think it comes down to this: metabolic benefits are speed-specific, related to biomechanical differences between speeds.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Can We Quantify the Benefits of “Super Spikes” in Track Running?

The recent and rapid developments in track spike innovation have been followed by a wave of record-breaking times and top performances. This has led many to question what role “super spikes” play in improving running performa...

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aerobic metabolism is NOT a measure of running economy

I bet I know who wasted money on this propaganda

At what point do the super spikes stop working? People want to say 3:56 is the new 4:00, but is there anyone willing to say Jakob and Nuguse would only run 3:47 in old spikes? That would put El G at 3:39.

to Infantile, WTF?

From: Daniels JT. A physiologist's view of running economy. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1985 Jun;17(3):332-8. PMID: 3894870.

https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/abstract/1985/06000/a_physiologist_s_view_of_running_economy.6.aspx

"Still, being able to describe the VO related to a particular velocity of running provides a useful way of comparing individuals, or any individual with himself or herself under various conditions, and this VO gives a measure of running economy."

This is a great question and something I struggled with when trying to design the study originally. The reason we have the participants run at a sub-threshold effort is because running economy is an approximation of the energy used by an athlete's aerobic metabolism while running. We are making the assumption that at sub-threshold speeds all of an athletes energy is coming from aerobic metabolism, which is well accepted assumption by the exercise science community.

However, when running speed increases beyond threshold effort, athletes begin to rely on their anaerobic metabolism to produce a non-negligible portion of the energy used to run. Currently, there is no scientifically accepted way to quantify the energy production from an athlete's anaerobic metabolism. So, we could measure oxygen consumption at faster speeds (1 min at mile effort) but we would be missing all of the energetic contribution from the athlete's anaerobic system. Think about an effort where a runner is running well beyond their VO2 max, we would measure no difference in oxygen utilization because they physically couldn't process more oxygen if they wanted to.

It becomes problematic to try to use lactate to measure metabolic energy production because the lactate that reaches the blood is not all of the lactate produced by an athletes body during exercise. So lactate can be a good estimate of exertion for training purposes, it is not a good way to calculate an athlete's energy expenditure at faster running speeds.

Yes, 3:47 is about right. El G would have run 3:47 without his "enhancements."

We tried to be very intentional with the interpretation of our results. 25 seconds or 1 second per lap for a 30 min 10k runner does not mean that we are trying to claim the spikes provide a flat 1 second per lap benefit across the board. It seems to be a gradient where the faster you go, the smaller the benefits. In another study, we saw that the average time from the top 100 performers in the men's 1500m from 2021 to 2023 improved by 0.65% or 1.5 seconds for a 3:45 miler. If you told me El G could run 3:41.6 in super spikes, I would believe that.

Why so many dislikes? There are many studies that suggest this.

colorado.edu

Slower runners benefit most from high-tech shoes, other elite methods

How much do high-tech shoes, special diets and exercises, drafting behind other runners and other strategies actually improve your finish time? A new study

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One thing the study didn't account for is that the Victory 3 was such a crappy spike. Give me the Ventulas, Jasari or Victory Elite (had a carbon fiber plate that nobody seemed to care about in 2012). I would still rock those over the new stuff if I could get my hands on them.

Yes. I'd absolutely say that.

I'd also say it's pretty certain every major athlete during that era was on EPO, especially El G.

I have repeatedly asked that question, but no takers. No one wants to say Jakob and Nuguse are "only" 3:47x runners in the old shoes and El G could run 3:39 in the new spikes. They have to go with the law of diminishing returns in the new spikes - even though the manufacturers don't.

So everything faster than 3:47 in the old shoes is doped? And what confirms that?

There are those here who claim the shoes offer more of a performance boost than EPO, and even that the drugs don't aid performance.

So why do the best runners use them when they don't gain anything?

So where do the manufacturers say the faster you are the less benefit from the shoes? By your argument a mediocre 10k runner benefits more than an elite 1500 or 800 runner. So the shoes are event-specific? Really?

So everybody who has run faster than 3:47 but not in supershoes is doping?

A person who already has near perfect mechanics and form is not going to benefit from super spikes as much as normal people.

rado.edu/today/2019/02/11/slower-runners-benefit-most-high-tech-shoes-other-elite-methods

They are. Carbon plates are proven to reduce fatigue during longer distances which gives the runner a lot more benefit, as opposed to just speed in a shorter distance

The shoes are very big- I notice a huge difference. But, the younger people possibly aren't aware of the advances in nutrition, recovery, and training.

And the track surfaces. I started running in 1971 at 12 years old. I often wonder what a 2:00 800 in 1974 on a cinder track with spikes that basically just covered your foot would be now.

Add in the nutrition knowledge and training in modern shoes and the difference is significant.

A person with near perfect form benefits as much from peds as one with poor form. So perfect form can be improved on. That's why top athletes dope. And wear the latest shoes.

Where do the manufacturers say the shoes are largely remedial for lesser athletes but don't do much, if anything, for the best? And how does a piece of foam within a rim significantly improve form, which is produced by the entire body? Perhaps the laces are the key?