Recent Improvements in Marathon Run Times Are Likely Technological, Not Physiological

Abstract

Every women's and men's world records from 5 km to the marathon has been broken since the introduction of carbon fibre plate (CFP) shoes in 2016. This step-wise increase in performance coincides with recent advancements in shoe technology that increase the elastic properties of the shoe thereby reducing the energy cost of running. The latest CFP shoes are acknowledged to increase running economy by more than 4%, corresponding to a greater than 2% improvement in performance/run time. The recently modified rules governing competition shoes for elite athletes, announced by World Athletics, that includes sole thickness must not exceed 40 mm and must not contain more than one rigid embedded plate, appear contrary to the true essence and credibility of sport as access to this performance-defining technology becomes the primary differentiator of sporting performance in elite athletes. This is a particular problem in sports such as athletics where the primary sponsor of the athlete is very often a footwear manufacturing company. The postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics provides a unique opportunity for reflection by the world of sport and time to commission an independent review to evaluate the impact of technology on the integrity of sporting competition. A potential solution to solve this issue can involve the reduction of the stack height of a shoe to 20 mm. This simple and practical solution would prevent shoe technology from having too large an impact on the energy cost of running and, therefore, determining the performance outcome. Key PointsRecent improvements in long-distance running world records are unlikely physiological but rather technological, if for no other reason that such a step-wise improvement in physiological attributes underpinning performance is unlikely. On the other hand, there has been such a step improvement in shoe technology.Current shoe designs for road running, and more recently for track running, that include a CFP seem to greatly reduce the energy cost of running and, as a consequence, most long-distance road running records have been broken in the last 3 years by athletes wearing CFP shoes.Current rules are therefore no longer fit for purpose, requiring revision to safeguard the integrity of sport. A potential solution to solve this issue can involve the reduction of the stack height of a shoe to 20 mm.

Technological advances in elite marathon performance

“…This retrospective, observational study using real-world data demonstrates a performance-enhancing effect of contemporary Nike marathon racing shoe models (4%, NEXT%, Alphafly, and other prototypes; neoteric Nikes) -which is greater for females than males. Due to similarities in technical characteristics of contemporary marathon shoes (22), we suggest that although the current findings are restricted to neoteric Nikes, they may be used a proxy to estimate the generalized effects on performance of recent technological advancements in marathon racing shoes. Our primary finding of performance-enhancing effects of technological advancements in marathon racing shoes, and to a greater extent for females compared to males, was supported by three separate analyses.…”

“…The Nike Vaporfly 4% first became available to the public in late 2017. Since then, many shoe manufacturers (22) have produced several iterations of shoe models with more refined characteristics of the innovative technology, i.e. embedded carbon fiber plate and thick midsole with novel foam material.…”

Longitudinal bending stiffness does not affect running economy in Nike Vaporfly shoes

“…Performance running shoe technology has recently become a polarizing topic, most notably due to advances in footwear technology, such as midsole energy return and longitudinal bending stiffness (LBS) [1][2][3][4][5][6] . The Nike Vaporfly 4% (VF) shoe utilizes both these technologies to give athletes up to 4% savings in running economy compared to two popular high-end marathon racing shoes 1,[7][8][9] , which translates to improved running performance 10,11 .…”

Ethical dilemmas and validity issues related to the use of new cooling technologies and early recognition of exertional heat illness in sport

“…The lack of quality control procedures, recently discussed in a critical review, 47 poses a real threat that some athletes could use this technology and potentially gain an unfair advantage, be that perceived or real, over their competitors if this validity/effectiveness information is not available to all-similar to the recent debate surrounding carbon fibre plate running shoes. 48 Medical/technical teams should always rely on accurate and valid core temperature monitoring (eg, specific temperature capsule systems 49 ) to avoid withdrawing an athlete from competition prematurely, potentially costing him the chance of winning an Olympic medal or, if using Table 1 Recent wearable technology designed to cool an individual in a hot environment during exercise…”