Comparing strides: The impact of running cadence in zero drop shoes

This study looks at whether cadence (steps per minute) is affected by the type of footwear worn during running. By taking more or less steps while running, foot ground contact time is affected effecting the force expressed on the human body. Ground contact time is the amount of time the foot spends on the ground during each stride and by having more contact time on the ground, runners’ joints and muscles are impacted greater potentially increasing risk of injury. The overarching question is “How is running cadence affected when running in zero drop running shoes in comparison to running in shoes with drop?” I hypothesized that cadence can be manipulated by wearing different shoe types and that zero drop will increase cadence. The methods include having a self-determined participant run on a treadmill in all 3 types of footwear (habitual, zero drop and barefoot). They run for a 2-minute period, 2 times in each shoe and cadence, stride length and foot strike position is then calculated. The data presented so far shows that zero drop has a greater cadence and that stride length decreases as cadence increases. The relevance of this research is that it allows for runners to better understand the footwear they are wearing and how it may be contributing to injury. By increasing cadence, the foot spends less time on the ground causing less force and chance of injury. Therefore, zero drop shoes, having a higher cadence provides runners with data on how to choose. Poster submission was sponsored by Karine Hamm, (Instructor, Science and Technology Department) for course SPSC 3991 and was presented at the New Westminster campus on April 11, 2024, for Student Research Days 2024.