Abstract
Mid-foot sole of the shoes has important functions ensuring stability and shock absorbing to protect runners from injuries. Then, runners have to carefully choose the shoes with an appropriate sole structure suitable to individual running style. Subjective evaluation of the shoes, however, does not necessarily guarantee the best choice, necessitating us to employ some quantitative and objective evaluations. The purpose of this study is to clarify how subjective evaluations for stability and shock absorbing are affected by objective measurements regarding 3-D foot motion, plantar pressure and sole deformation in running. To accomplish this, simultaneous measurement of these data was done, together with a sensory test, using the shoes with four different sole structures. Empirical results suggested that runner's subjective evaluations regarding shock absorbing and stability are related primarily to sole hardness and antero-posterior difference in the deformation of the medial portion of rear-foot sole, respectively.
