Can we stop pretending that these times with Trampoline shoes on trampoline tracks have any basis in reality?

no, study up on your physics wrote:

So where does the forward propulsion come from? This is where a lot of distance runners are confused, and sprinters are not. It may seem that you are pushing the planted foot backward, so the acceleration begins there. But no - the ground isn't moving, and neither is your planted foot. What actually happens is your body throws itself forward in front of that planted foot, accelerating its center of mass forward. The hips are pushed forward by the planted leg, but also involved is the knee drive of the recovering leg, and the arm swing.

It's mental error to think you can get much acceleration out of a footstrike, while your foot is on the ground. There just isn't enough distance to accelerate through to gain much speed that way. But if you have good form, you can easily counter any braking force from the air or whatever. Jakob is a natural at this, allowing him to use efficient range of motion

S. Canaday wrote:

no, study up on your physics wrote:

bouncing has nothing to do with running fast, at all. In a sprint it would make you slower.

100% of running fast is keeping your legs moving back and forth fast enough that your footstrike is at rest relative to the ground and causes no braking force.

All you need to do during footstrike is not fall over. There is no "leaping" forward or whatever, your own inertia draws you forward. Your shoe is raised off the ground naturally by your leg dragging it around the toe still in contact with the ground. Any "bounce" is completely irrelevant to this.

Outdoor 5000 meter times have not improved by .75 per lap. There were 12:46's being ran 12 years ago. There's no reason to claim the low 12:40 times recently are anything more than a renewed focus on the event, and the natural progression you'd expect after a decade. Only one runner has beaten the old WR, and he hasn't come close to it again.

Indoor records are improving because A) the turns are banked, which is a huge advantage and B) more people are doing serious indoor time trials for that very reason.

Might want to check your Physics....it is not all about "inertia". There is certainly an element of "energy return" and a vectors both horizontal and vertical that are key here. There is a lot more going on here, but it's not rocket science that "super shoes" and "super spikes" work.

Guys that used to run 2:22-2:21 marathons are running 2:17-2:18 easy now. Back when I ran in the US trials marathon things were't as deep for sure with competition...but we only had like 80-120 guys racing in the 2007-2012 races (and in 2007 the standard was only 2:22!). Nowadays 200 guys under 2:18 easy...but they aren't placing any better at Boston or Chicago because so many E. Africans are under 2:06-2:05 now!
Progression is fine and all but it's not due to "better nutrition." It's the science of the technology!
The biggest disruptor in the past several decades in running imo as been superfoam + carbon fiber shoe design (which really didn't start until circa 2016-2018, right?). It's not even debatable that for most people "super shoes" and "super spikes" improved Running Economy....which translates at a very high correlation to improvements in faster times and being able to manage a faster pace in an actual race.
And seriously you can't compare a sport like Running to Chess. I mean c'mon now.