I have to run a speed test on field turf soon. There are multiple sprint distances ranging from 40-60m. One question I have is about shoe selection. I have two different shoes. One of the shoes is 8.9 ounces with a lot of “give” at the mid foot/toe area. The other shoe is 10.9 ounces with a lot less “give” at the mid foot/toe area. Both shoes have cleats. I’m in decisive about what shoe I should use. My weakness is more on the speed-strength/elastic end of things when I’m running longer distances. The times are generally the same with both shoes, but this has been within a non-tapered environment. Instinctively, I would feel the “harder” shoe would be better for me, but I’m not sure if the 2 ounces is relevant or not.
I like as light as possible. Flexibility is also good, especially to avoid injuries long-term. So I would recommend that you go with the lighter shoe. That said, you will probably perform best in whatever you are most comfortable in.
i thought i read somehwere that said the stiffer the shoe the more force that can be transfered to the ground but i could be completely wrong. and if that were the case i would suspect it would only be beneficial in the first few steps, after that point i would argee with xlr8, and go with the lighter flexible shoe
If it is multi direction, you might go for a Nike Free trainer or even a SPARQ trainer. I generally dislike much of the spark stuff, but the shoes seem good for testing. Straight line only, the above posts are great advice. Hope it helps.
I would not wear Nike Free’s just from experience, yes they are flexible but they do not have enough support for testing multi directional or straight line… I wore nike free’s my freshman year of track at the meets and they are not conducive to fast times
i would tend to agree. I ran electronically timed 40 yard dashes back in my junior year of high school. Before training i tested in basketball shoes and ran a 4.77. 6 weeks later i retested but this time with nike frees and my fastes time was 4.84. Who knows if it it was a bad training effect or what but i definately felt like they were to flexible.
thanks, it is straight line and I will not be wearing free’s the shoes are Nike vapor jet 4.2 or puma v1.06 i FG, pumas are lighter but more flexible and the Nikes have a significant amount of “stiffness” at the mid-foot compared to the pumas what do you think? I run Thursday thanks in advance