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For High-Heeled years now, researchers have been digging through data to determine if (and how much) super shoes improve running performance. And while the evidence is clear that these carbon-plated kicks do indeed improve running economy, the extent to which performance is affected between sexes has been unknown.
Now, new research has analysed the top 100 performances in every Olympic running event from the 100 meters to the marathon. It established 2016 (roads) and 2019 (track) as the starting points for widespread super shoe use.
Improvements in performance were lowest in the sprints (under 1%), medium in the middle distances (just over 1%), and greatest from 5000 meters through the marathon (around 2% on average.) But most surprisingly, in all events, females gained more benefit than men. For example, at the longer distances, females gained up to 3.5% vs a top gain of 1.4% for men.
The researchers said this could help to explain the dramatic drop in the female marathon world record, down to Tigist Assefa’s 2:11:53 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. But it also begs the question: why?
While the researchers could not explain the sex difference, they offered that it could be down to differences in body mass, competition running speeds, or running biomechanics between men and women.
They also noted that it is currently unknown whether brands scale the stiffness of their cushioning foams or the bending stiffness of their carbon elements to the mass, speed, or gender of runners.
‘However, assuming that this scaling does not occur in most [super shoes], it can be assumed that women’s specific biomechanics appear to benefit more from current designs,’ they said, adding that further understanding is needed to design optimal footwear for individual groups of runners, such as men and women, shorter and taller runners, or faster and slower runners.
