Effect of Racing Flats on Running Economy in Male Adolescent Runners

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether running economy differs in racing flats versus standard running shoes in high school cross-country runners. In order to measure running economy the oxygen cost of running (mL O2∙kg-1∙min-1) was measured in 20 male adolescent runners (mean age = 16.25 ± 0.97 years, 5 km best time = 17.52 ± 0.78 min) when running two separate trials at a controlled speed. The speed was determined by estimating treadmill running speed at 85% of each runner\u27s VO2max. Each trial required the participants to run while wearing the Mizuno Wave Elixir 6TM standard running shoe and the Mizuno Wave Universe 4TM racing flat. The results indicated that after running both trials at the same speed, the high school runners demonstrated a significant 2% reduction (P \u3c .001) in the oxygen cost of running when comparing the racing flat (60.94 ± 5.83 mL∙kg-1∙min-1) to the standard running shoe (62.14 ± 5.87 mL∙kg-1∙min-1). The results of the current study suggest that the use of the Mizuno Wave Universe 4TM racing flat significantly improved running economy, most likely due to differences in shoe mass between the racing flat and standard running shoe