Balancing Act: The Complexity of Running Shoe Development

On this episode, Matt is joined by two special guests from Brooks, Jennifer Sumner and Evan Day, biomechanists and researchers on the Brooks' Run Research Team. They give a behind-the-scenes look at how Brooks develops shoes not only for the elites, but for the every day, average runner. They discuss how biomechanics differ and what that means for designing and choosing shoes. They explain the differences between "stability" and "support" and look down the road at what's next for real-world runner testing.

Chapters

• 0:00 - Intro
• 3:59 - How Brooks develops footwear for the everyday runner
• 9:35 - Brooks's data on racing shoes for the average runner
• 14:32 - How biomechanics informs shoe development for the recreational runner
• 18:54 - Building for the elite athlete
• 25:19 - How the idea of the habitual motion path has evolved
• 39:16 - How could we rethink categorizing shoes for new runners?
• 49:37 - Support vs. stability
• 53:56 - Brooks's real world runner testing
• 1:03:54 - Wrap-up