Advanced Footwear Technology Slows Oxygen Uptake Drift and Reduces Neuromuscular Fatigue During Extended Running

To evaluate whether advanced footwear technology (AFT) reduces the rise in oxygen uptake (V˙O2) and neuromuscular fatigue during extended submaximal running compared with traditional running shoes.

Fifteen trained distance runners (7 women, 8 men; 23.2 [1.6] y; 65.5 [7.8] kg) completed two 60-minute treadmill runs at ∼75% of critical speed, wearing either control shoes (Saucony Kinvara) or AFT (Saucony Endorphin Pro 3) in a randomized crossover design. V˙O2 was measured continuously using a portable metabolic system, and ground-reaction forces were sampled at minutes 15, 30, 45, and 60. Linear regression was used to quantify V˙O2 drift. Neuromuscular fatigue was assessed via changes in vertical impulse during prerun and postrun vertical jumps.

V˙O2 drift was significantly lower with AFT (0.00056 [0.00060] mL·kg-1·min-1) than with control shoes (0.00088 [0.00071] mL·kg-1·min-1; P = .018). Postrun vertical impulse decreased by only 0.2% in AFT versus 4.9% in control (P = .016), indicating reduced neuromuscular fatigue. No significant differences were found in peak force, stance time, or stride rate between conditions.

AFT reduces the progressive increase in V˙O2 and attenuates neuromuscular fatigue during extended running. These cumulative benefits may enhance endurance performance over time and highlight the importance of evaluating footwear over sustained efforts.