You believe in your Muscle Runners - you know they make you faster by improving your sprint technique and sprint muscles. You can feel the whoosh of energy return on foot-strike through the shoes’ ForeStrike™ carbon plate technology and super light-weight (9oz/269g for size 8.5) among other standout features. Now, research from the University of Calgary backs up what you are experiencing with quantifiable data. Muscle Runners truly are spike-less sprint shoes.
The Research
Sports scientists at the University of Calgary pitted the designed-for-speed Muscle Runners against a traditional running shoe and sprint spike. The three shoes were tested over two speed conditions: 30m at 80% speed and 30m at 100% speed. The sports scientists measured:
- Sprint performance (end time, ground contact time & mean stride time)
- Leg muscle activation in certain muscles (via electromyography)
- Achilles tendon stress (normal force and Achilles tendon cross-sectional area)
The latter may need a bit of explanation … basically the Achilles tendon is crucial (as are other tendons) for producing speed and power. These bands of soft tissue, compress and then stretch when subject to load. Think of them as springs – indeed they serve that purpose in the human body. To get the most from them when sprinting, these tendons need to return energy fast and the shoes you are wearing have a big impact (literally!) in that respect.
How Good Are Muscle Runners v Conventional Running Shoes?
The spike-less speed shoes were superior to conventional training shoes in all areas measured.
Perhaps the standout finding - flat out 30m sprinting in Muscle Runners was far superior. The average time for the 30m sprint was 3.94sec in running shoes and 3.83sec in Muscle Runners.
In terms of ground contact time (GCT) the Antepes were again a clear winner.
Antepes: 0.140+/- 0.004sec
Conventional running shoe: 0.170 +/- 0.009sec
That’s a huge difference in GCT and very much indicates how much energy is wasted in conventional running shoes. Their often thick soles dissipate energy return rather than enhance it
That’s a huge difference in GCT and very much indicates how much energy is wasted in conventional running shoes. Their often thick soles dissipate energy return rather than enhance it. It’s the opposite with Muscle Runners where their designed-for-purpose features provide a very quick transition from foot contact to toe-off.
And to add further substantiation – the University of Calgary's Biomechanigg Lab's researchers discovered that at 100% speed the force* measured in Newtons generated by the Muscle Runners compared to the running shoe was substantially superior - circa 2700N compared to circa 2200N respectively.
Muscle Activation
The key lower leg muscles also showed higher EMG activity compared to the conventional running shoes. This shows that these key sprint muscles are working harder. The result over time will be stronger and faster specific sprint muscles.
Proof Of Concept
This initial piece of research vindicates that Antepes’ Muscle Runners are the truly fast training shoe. Next post we’ll see whether they can get close to, match, or even better sprint spikes in our head-to-head sports science shoe speed tests.
Research carried out by University of Calgary's Biomechanigg Lab over the summer of 2024 and concluded on September 12, 2024.
*Force = mass x acceleration
RESULTS
The Muscle Runner is now confirmed with the following superiority:
- Decreased Ground Contact Times
- Higher Muscle Peak Activation
- Increased Normal Force
- Improved Achilles Stress/Stimulation
- Increased Mean Stride Length
- Faster Speeds
And this is not just a statement from us but based on the research conducted by the University of Calgary's Biomechanigg Lab. See the actual test results here.
See the Antepes - Muscle Runner here.
Please reach out to us with any questions and feedback you may have. We can be reached at info@antepes.com
