Ventilation characteristics of shoe during the swing phase of running

Abstract

Increased ventilation within shoes is crucial for mitigating the rise in temperature and humidity during prolonged running such as marathon. In this study, the distribution of ventilation through the shoe-upper during the swing phase of running was simulated to identify optimal locations for ventilation holes that enhance shoe ventilation. The Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method is employed to replicate the shoe's movement and posture during the swing phase of running. The results indicate that 1) in the region proximal to the metatarsophalangeal (MP) joint (FMP), there was a high volume of inflow from the dorsal side of the toes and a high volume of outflow from the lateral side, and 2) in the region distal to the MP joint (RMP), the inflow and outflow areas varied depending on the gait cycle during the swing phase of running, and the total ventilation volume is higher below the medial side of the first metatarsal and around the posterior part of the medial longitudinal arch. This study suggests that ventilation volume through the shoe-upper can be effectively increased by designing ventilation holes in areas with high inflow and outflow volumes in the FMP, and in areas with high absolute ventilation volumes in the RMP.