Recent years have seen the exponential growth of advanced footwear technologies (AFTs) on the market.

A class of particularly performance-centric shoes, AFTs are identified by the synergic use of footwear elements working in tandem to deliver benefits to a user’s running economy. Signature features include strategic midsole materials, the use of rigid underfoot plates and rocker-style sole geometries.

Initially reserved for the elite, AFTs have fast become a norm among top-grade performance running shoes, achieving mass adoption. As such, continuous studies are being performed to evaluate their effectiveness and identify means of further enhancing their reported performance advantages.

The sum of its parts?
A notable proportion of the attention drawn to AFTs in recent years has surrounded plate technologies. Commonly engineered from strong composite materials, they’re utilised to increase stabilisation and enhance energy return.  

Nevertheless, some studies argue that the midsole material, providing a higher energy return from compression, may play a greater role than the increased longitudinal bending stiffness (LBS) given by a plate [1], [2]. This would suggest that strategic midsole selection is a critical consideration in the optimisation of a shoe’s performance, and ultimately, the improvement of a wearer’s running economy (RE).