Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate relationship between shoe grip properties and running performance. To clarify the influence of the grip property, high grip (HG) and low grip (LG) typed shoes mounted miniature triaxial force transducers were developed. Isoprene rubber and polyester non-woven fabric were applied as outer sole materials in HG and LG, respectively. By using the shoes, distributions of lateral, longitudinal and vertical force components at 19 local positions were measured in running at 4.2m/sec. The experimental results showed that the distributions of traction coefficients, which is calculated from the horizontal force divided by the vertical force, were clearly different in HG and LG at 0-40% and 60-100% of stance phase. Furthermore, in comparison of ground reaction forces (GRFs) obtained from shoes with different grip properties, it was confirmed that lower grip property in both rearfoot and midfoot area decreased lateral GRF after heel contact and loading rate. Longitudinal GRF and traction coefficient were drastically decreased at 80% of stance phase by low grip in toe area.
