Metabolic Comparison Between Barefoot, Zero-drop Shoe, And Standard Shoe Running In Well-trained Runners

The purpose of this study was to determine if running in zero-drop shoes (261g; size 43cm) is metabolically similar to running barefoot in well-trained runners, as well as to compare metabolic differences between zero-drop and standard, low mass running shoes (286g; size 43cm). Nine well-trained distance runners (25.7+ or -3.5 yrs, 178.6+ or -5.9 cm, 67.6+ or -8.5 kg, 72.0+ or -5.2 ml/kg/min) participated in this study. Runners completed two bouts of treadmill running separated by 48 hrs to 7 days. The first bout included a graded exercise test to exhaustion to determine maximal O sub(2) consumption (VO sub(2max)). The second bout involved running on a treadmill at 16 km/hr and a 1% grade. Runners ran 6 min in zero-drop shoes (ZD), standard low mass shoes (ST), or barefoot (BF), in a randomized order. There were no significant differences in VO sub(2) (57.8+ or -3.7; 58.0+ or -3.1; 57.5+ or -3.1 ml/kg/min), RER (.88+ or -.03; .89+ or -.04; .87+ or -.03), or HR (169.1+ or -14.8; 171.6+ or -13.4; 170.1+ or -14.9 bpm) between ZD, ST, and BF conditions.