@jpgloria.dpt: People overestimate running shoes. Abebe Bikila. Rome, 1960. Olympic marathon, barefoot, 2:15:16. A world record. 4 years later in Tokyo he wore shoes and ran 2:12:11. Also a world record. The shoes didn’t make him. He was already the best marathoner alive, in both. What a modern super shoe actually does: about 4% less energy at the same pace in the lab, 18 runners, prototype vs racing flats (Hoogkamer 2018). That’s real. It is also the same size as the gain from 2 to 3 strength sessions a week for 8 to 14 weeks (Denadai 2017). Some caveats: Bikila’s 3 minute improvement may be more from 4 years of training and a different course, not necessarily the shoes. 4% is running economy at a fixed pace, not finish time. Race-day gains vary by runner. He ran barefoot by accident. His shoes fell apart before the race. This is not a barefoot running argument. Kipchoge’s sub-2 was the 2019 Vienna time trial, 1:59:40, with rotating pacers. Not a record-eligible race. Reposted. Original from April. Refs: Hoogkamer W et al. Sports Med 2018;48:1009. Denadai BS et al. Sports Med 2017;47:545. #abebebikila #marathon #runningshoes #supershoes #runninghistory

1939

2026-10-28 16:55:34

To see more videos from user @jpgloria.dpt, please go to the Tikwm homepage.