ericMPro wrote:
Bryancd wrote:
ericMPro wrote:
Bryancd wrote:
tilburs wrote:
The evidence is pretty clear if you are running faster than 7:00/ml the benefit of them is there.
Like aerodynamics it’s likely that benefit applies across all paces, not just sub 7.
not so sure about this...
True I’m probably making too General a comment, but if the foam does provide the energy savings/return system Nike claims then that benefit would likely present across a wide range of paces.
My argument is that they're probably not helping much at easy easy run pace. Rather than thinking of it like aerodynamics, think of it like hydrodynamics and a hydroplane. Hydroplanes don't help you much, until they do, and then they help you a lot
Take it for what it's worth, but I heard an interview with a UMass researcher, Wouter Hoogkamer, who apparently looked into this and claimed the 4%s were just as likely, if not more likely, to improve slower runners than the elite.
Here's a link to the interview, and within the link is a link to a spreadsheet to plug in certain bits of into to see your potential improvements in the 4%s. I don't think the Next%s had been released or tested at that time, but I recall him saying something along the lines that they were supposed to be more forgiving to the general runner and could create even more efficiencies than the 4%. Anecdotally, I'm a *slower" runner, with a 4+ hour marathon and 1:45 half, and I *feel* faster in my Next% and have had some solid races in them.
https://scientifictriathlon.com/tts179/