LAUSR

The Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% shoe has been suggested to significantly improve running economy and thus greatly attenuate the metabolic perturbation and physiological constraint associated with marathon running performance. In this context, runners may expose a secondary running performance ‘limiter’, namely musculoskeletal soreness and micro-damage consequential to running at faster speeds for longer durations where a runner is no longer slowed by metabolic inability, but rather muscular strain associated with repeated high eccentric force output. Increases in delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), muscle micro-damage and inflammation have been observed during intense and/or long duration running activity, and have been linked to declines in running performance (Hikida, Staron, Hagerman, Sherman, & Costill, 1983). However, evidence indicates that softer surfaces may lessen the DOMS response (Brown et al., 2017; Skinner, Zelik, & Kuo, 2015), suggesting an opportunity for cushioned performance footwear.