Comparative analysis of foam-only versus carbon-plated advanced footwear technology spikes in distance runners
At long-distance race paces, foam-only AFT spikes improved RE and were perceived as more comfortable than a plate-integrated spike in national-level athletes. Adding a carbon plate did not guarantee a metabolic benefit and may increase energetic cost when shoe stiffness exceeds an athlete-specific optimum. Spike selection, particularly for track events, should demystify carbon plates and prioritize the individualized selection of shoe stiffness and geometry matched to event distance, running speed, and athlete-specific biomechanics.
Authors
- Changda Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0017-3975)
- Lixin Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0324-5391)
- Haoran Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7059-572X)
- Shuhan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3041-3159)
- Yinshen Tian
- Dong He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9725-6405)
- Yanfei Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8093-7754)
- Yiwei Wu
- Qingjun Xing
Institutions
- General Administration of Sport of China (CN)
- Shenyang Sport University (CN)
- Beijing Sport University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Physiology
- Published
- 2025-11-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1703854
- Primary Topic
- Sports Performance and Training
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China