Effects of midsole stack height and foam on the metabolic cost of running

Abstract

The modernisation of cushioning materials has led to increasing midsole stack height while minimally compromising the mass of the running footwear. Some have argued that increased midsole stack height itself may improve running performance (Burns & Tam, 2020), citing work on effective leg length across terrestrial animals (Pontzer, 2007). However, despite having governing bodies implementing limitations to this aspect of footwear construction, the isolated effect of increasing midsole thickness is not well understood.