Keywords

Footwear, impact, running mechanics

Abstract

There are many different types of footwear available for runners in today’s market. Many of these shoes claim to help runners run more efficiently by altering an individual’s stride mechanics. Minimalist footwear claims to aid runners run more on their forefeet whereas more traditional footwear provides more cushioning specifically for a heel first landing. The purpose of this paper was to determine if runners, who were accustomed to running in traditional footwear would alter their running mechanics while running acutely in various types of minimalist footwear. Twelve subjects, accustomed to running in traditional 12 mm heel/toe differential footwear, ran in five footwear conditions on a treadmill at a controlled pace for two minutes after warming up in each condition for 5 minutes. While running in 12 mm heel/toe differential footwear compared to barefoot, subjects ran with a significantly longer ground time, a lower stride rate and greater vertical oscillation. There were not any differences in variables when running in the shod conditions despite the varying heel/toe differentials. Running barefoot proved to be different than running in traditional 12 mm drop cushioned footwear.

Original Publication Citation

MOODY, D., Hunter, I., RIDGE, S., & MYRER, J. W. (2018). Comparison of Varying Heel to Toe Differences and Cushion to Barefoot Running in Novice Minimalist Runners. International Journal of Exercise Science, 11(1), 13.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5974

Publisher

International Journal of Exercise Science

Language

English

College

Life Sciences

Department

Exercise Sciences

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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