We cut through the hype around carbon plate running shoes and look at the research into this controversial innovation since it has hit the running shoe market in 2017. The folks in the white lab coats have been trying to answer questions like whether these shoes make you go faster, what the injury risks are, and which brand has the best carbon plate running shoe. Remember, if you need more help with an injury, you're welcome to consult one of our physios online via video call.
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Do carbon plate running shoes give you an edge?
What are carbon plate running shoes?
Carbon-fibre plates in the soles of running shoes for endurance/road running were first used by elite runners in 2016. They were introduced to the general public in 2017 with the launch of the Nike Vaporfly.
Since then, running shoe manufacturers have been involved in an “arms race” to copy and improve on this innovation.
The idea is that the carbon plate makes the sole of the shoe stiffer and that this improves running economy by returning more energy to the runner’s foot / altering the biomechanics of the runner’s foot / acting as a lever – the people in the white lab coats haven’t sussed out yet precisely how this works.
Some carbon plate running shoes also contain a lightweight, high-energy returning foam, and some experts reckon that this contributes more to faster times than the carbon plate.
Carbon plates give (some) elite runners an edge
A study published in 2021 the Journal of Applied Physiology looked at the marathon times of the Top 50 male and female runners in each annual Boston, London, Chicago, and New York marathon in the 2010s – the decade in which carbon plate running shoes were introduced.
They compared the times with and without carbon plates and found the following:
The finishing times of male runners wearing carbon plate shoes were 2% or 2 min 48 sec faster on average.
For female runners the average difference was 2.6% or 4 min 18 sec.
The finishing times of the 138 males who ran marathons in both types of shoe improved, on average, by 0.8% or 1 min 2 sec with the carbon plates.
The times of the 101 females who ran in both types of shoe improved, on average, by 1.6% or 3 min 42 sec when they ran in the carbon plate shoes.
A study on elite men only, using the same approach and published in 2023 in the Journal of Sports Sciences, cast its net wider by including 10K and half-marathon road races from 2015 to 2019. Its results on the average time improvements are in line with those of the study mentioned above. However, averages can be deceiving. Twenty-five percent of these elite men did not benefit from the carbon plate shoes.
A similar 2023 study on elite female road runners found that carbon plate running shoes shaved an average of 0.93% off their marathon times and 0.71% off half-marathon times but had no significant effect on 10K times.
What about recreational runners?
Now, what about mere mortals like me and most other runners out there? Might we benefit from carbon plate running shoes? Unfortunately, it seems that there is a lack of scientific research to answer this question definitively.
Yes, there have been studies that went beyond the big-data studies mentioned above and tested, under lab conditions, carbon plate shoes vs. “normal shoes”, as well as how various aspects of carbon plate shoes influence running performance, e.g. the stiffness of the carbon plate and the speed of the runner.
However, these studies still used unrealistically fast running speeds, so I’m doubtful how useful their results are for average recreational runners.
For example, in a 2019 study reported in the scientific journal Footwear Science, male runners tested “normal” shoes versus carbon plate shoes of varying stiffness at various speeds: 14 km/h, 17 km/h, and 20 km/h.
Now, very few of us are going to fork out money for carbon plated running shoes for any distance shorter than 5K. A 14 km/h speed (the slowest in the study) will produce a 5K time of just over 20 minutes. Here’s a reality check: The average Parkrun time in the United Kingdom in 2020 was 32 min 30 sec. As for a 5K at 17 km/h or 20 km/h or a longer race at 14 km/h or faster – let’s not even go there.
It is instructive that the study found that at the “slowest” speed of 14 km/h, runners had the best running economy in the “normal” shoe. And in terms of comfort, the runners preferred the “normal” shoe at 14 km/h.
In 2018, the year after Nike brought out the Vaporfly, The New York Times tried to verify the shoe company’s claim that it will shave 4% off a runner’s time.
They used data from Strava for about 500,000 half-marathons and marathons since 2014 where the brand of shoe was known in each case. It included runners from all over the spectrum: slow to fast, young to old, male and female, and novice to old-timer. They crunched the numbers and found that runners in Vaporflys ran, on average, 3% to 4% faster than similar runners wearing shoes without carbon plates.
The newspaper did go on to say that there are still several reasons for scepticism, including the fact that the shoe data on Strava are self-reported and self-typed by the runners. However, they concluded that “… from our perspective, the most honest answer we can give to the question ‘Do Vaporflys really make runners faster?’ is a qualified yes.”
Do carbon plate shoes increase the risk of injury?
In 2023, an international group of surgeons and sports scientists warned in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that the performance gains of what they called “super shoes” should be balanced with the injury risk that they pose.
While they admit that evidence is currently limited and anecdotal and that more research is needed, they point out that carbon plate running shoes have been shown to alter the biomechanics of a runner’s foot. This may cause additional loading on parts of the foot that are not used to it, which may result in injuries.
The authors of the article refer to recent research that reported on five cases of elite athletes who had been using carbon plate shoes and who ended up with stress injuries in their navicular bone (in the top inside of your foot), which is a notoriously difficult injury to get rid of.
They express concern that carbon plate shoes had originally been developed with elite runners and breaking marathon world records in mind, whereas they are increasingly being used by recreational runners.
They recommend that:
Runners who do switch to carbon plate shoes should do it gradually and only for easy runs at first so that their feet can get used to the new biomechanics. (In three of the five elite athletes’ navicular injury cases mentioned above, they ran a race or did a long run in carbon plate shoes without being used to running in them.)
Once the runner’s feet are used to the new type of shoe, the shoes can be used in competition.
To reduce the risk of injury further, they recommend that runners then switch to using the carbon plate shoes only for challenging runs such as tempo runs and races and do their easy run mileage in “normal” shoes.
Which brand of carbon plate running shoe?
I did a search for “carbon plate running shoes” in Amazon’s UK store, and 413 results came up. Among the first 50 results that were not sponsored, I counted 11 brands. This is testament to the fierce competition nowadays between running shoe brands to flog their carbon plate shoes to recreational runners, and it can all be a bit confusing.
In 2022, two researchers at the Stephen F Austin State University, in the USA, compared the running economy (VO2) of runners across seven carbon plated shoe models: Hoka Rocket X, Saucony Endorphin Pro, Nike Alphafly, Asics Metaspeed Sky, Nike Vaporfly Next % 2, New Balance RC Elite, and Brooks Hyperion Elite 2. They used a “traditional” racing shoe, the Asics Hyperspeed, as a benchmark.
As reported in the journal Footwear Science, they found the following:
The running economy in the Hoka Rocket X and the Brooks Hyperion Elite 2 was the same as that of the traditional shoe.
The Saucony Endorphin Pro and New Balance RC Elite were somewhat better than the traditional shoe.
The two Nike models and the Asics Metaspeed Sky came out on top, with the Nike Alphafly providing, on average, the best running economy at 3.03% better than the traditional shoe.
A few things to note: The researchers pointed out that the shoes used for the study were bought and that no shoe company provided any funding, so it seems that the study is unbiased. However, once again, the running speed was unrealistic for most recreational runners; the study used men with a 5K personal best of around 16 minutes.
So, if you are going to treat yourself to a pair of carbon plated running shoes, which brand should you go for?
From all the research above, it should be clear by now that no brand of carbon plate shoe will guarantee a recreational runner faster times. I would recommend that you take all the factors into account that you’ve been looking at until now when buying a pair of running shoes – factors that don’t necessarily equate to speed.
A 2023 scientific review identified forty factors that recreational road runners take into account when they decide what running shoes to buy. Performance was one of them, but the most important factors turned out to be comfort, cushioning, fit, and price.
Runners know only too well how often running shoe brands update their models. The Vaporfly tested in the study above, two years before this article was written, has already been superceded by two new models. So, I'm not going to link to any specific model of shoe on Amazon here because they will soon become outdated.
Instead, I have created a link that should take you to the latest models of carbon plate running shoe available in the relevant Amazon store where you are in the world.
My recommendation on carbon plate running shoes
In short:
Don’t bother with them if you don’t plan on smashing a personal best.
Also, don’t bother if you’re not yet following a good training plan – you’ll gain more from training properly than from wearing “super shoes”.
If you do buy carbon plate running shoes, rather focus on comfort, fit, and so on, like you would with any other running shoe.
Follow the advice above on reducing the risk of injury.
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About the Author
Maryke Louw is a chartered physiotherapist with more than 20 years' experience and a Master’s Degree in Sports Injury Management. Follow her on LinkedIn and ResearchGate.
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