Do Carbon-Plated Shoes Really Make You Faster?

The Research

Two recent studies dug into the question of whether carbon-plated shoes actually make runners more efficient and faster.

Study 1 (UNC, 2022): Nine competitive runners tested shoes with and without carbon plates, plus the Nike Vaporfly.

Study 2 (Japan, 2022): Nineteen runners with either normal or pronated feet tested carbon vs. non-carbon shoes on treadmill runs

Key Findings:

Carbon Plate Alone Isn’t Enough

Simply adding a carbon plate to a shoe didn’t significantly improve running economy in the Skechers models. The Nike Vaporfly 4%, which combines a plate with advanced lightweight foam, clearly outperformed the others, improving running economy across intensities.

Foot Type Matters

Runners with normal feet improved their running economy by about 1.5% in carbon-plated shoes compared to traditional models. Runners with pronated feet (collapsed arches/flat feet) saw little to no benefit. In fact, they sometimes wasted energy, since their foot mechanics limited how well the plate could store and return energy

What This Means for Runners:

• Not all carbon-plated shoes are created equal. The performance boost comes from the combination of the plate, advanced foams, and overall shoe design.

• Your foot type matters. If you have pronated feet, you may not get the same benefits as neutral-footed runners. Proper support could matter more than stiffness alone.

• Test your shoes. Don’t assume the latest “super shoe” will automatically make you faster, try them in training first.

• Bottom line: Carbon-plated “super shoes” can improve efficiency and speed, but the benefit depends on both shoe design and your own foot mechanics.

Citations:

Edgar, K. M. (2022). The Effect of Carbon-Plated Running Shoes on Performance. Master’s thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Urushihata, T., Haba, T., Nakagawa, Y., Kawamura, D., Umezaki, Y., & Kumazawa, I. (2022). Effect of Wearing Carbon Plate Shoes on the Running Economy of Pronated Feet. Journal of International Exercise Sciences, 1(1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.58796/jiesjapan.1.1_40