Marathon shoes vs. track spikes: a crossover pilot study on metabolic demand at different speeds in experienced runners

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to assess the metabolic cost (Cr) with marathon shoes (Adidas Adizero 3 [AA]) vs. track spikes (Nike Zoom Matumbo 3 [NZM]) on track. For this, five experienced runners were randomly assessed (NZM/AA) on a running track at 73% and 85% of best performance speed on 1500-m race. At first, speed (4.39 ± 0.53 m·s⁻¹), Crs with AA and NZM resulted 3.63 ± 0.29 and 3.64 ± 0.43 J·kg⁻¹·m⁻¹ (+0.3% with NZM, effect size [ES] small and p = 0.951), respectively. Besides, at second speed (5.20 ± 0.18 m·s⁻¹), Crs were 4.09 ± 0.28 and 4.07 ± 0.22 J·kg⁻¹·m⁻¹ (−0.5% with NZM, ES small and p = 0.919) with AA and NZM, respectively. It resulted in an increased Cr (+12.2%) between s1 and s2 with both shoe conditions (ES large and p = 0.009 and 0.011 with AA and NZM, respectively). There is a pattern yet to be confirmed for track spikes to become more beneficial at higher speeds (when duty factor becomes lower and therefore grip on track is crucial).

KEYWORDS:

• Endurance runner
• metabolic cost
• running shoes
• track test

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank the athletes for their cooperation during the study.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this investigation.