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Updated: Mar 22, 2026
Comparative Analysis of Lower Limb Kinematics between the Initial and Terminal Phase of 5km Treadmill Running
Published on: July 17, 2020
Biomechanical Factors Associated with Intraindividual Differences in Running Economy Across Advanced Footwear
Dominik Fohrmann1, Marcelle Schaffarczyk2, Carolin Menge3
1Institute of Interdisciplinary Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457, Hamburg, Germany. dominik.fohrmann@medicalschool-hamburg.de.
Background:
Advanced footwear technology (AFT) can enhance long-distance running performance by improving running economy (RE). However, the range of the individual improvements is large. Different intra-individual responses in running biomechanics may account for some of the variation. Thus, this randomized within-subject crossover study aimed to identify biomechanical factors associated with changes in RE when running with different AFT models.
Methods:
Twenty-two trained long-distance runners (50% female) ran multiple 5-minute running bouts at their season's best marathon pace (15.0 ± 2.3 km⸱h- 1) while wearing three standardized AFT models (Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 2, Puma Fast-R Nitro Elite v1, Asics Metaspeed Sky+). During each condition, gas exchange data and three-dimensional kinematics and spatiotemporal variables were acquired. RE was determined as the energetic cost of transport. We used two complementary model selection strategies (Akaike Information Criterion model averaging and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) to identify biomechanical parameters associated with intra-individual differences in RE, and a repeated measures ANOVA to compare RE between shoes at the group level.
Results:
Across shoe conditions, shorter ground contact time was significantly associated with lower energetic cost of transport (β = 0.025, 95% CI [0.010, 0.040], t(42) = 3.33, p = 0.002), reflecting a ~ 1% improvement in RE per 4 ms decrease. We did not find group-level differences in RE between shoe conditions (p = 0.246).
Conclusions:
AFT models that reduced runners' individual ground contact time were associated with improved RE. This effect appears to depend on the individual athlete-shoe interaction since no single AFT model stood out as an overall optimum. These findings can help determine optimal footwear for athletes. Future studies should investigate the interaction of AFT properties and individual biomechanics to identify further RE improvements through footwear individualization.
