The 40-yard dash is a frequently used test to assess sprint speed, which is an essential component for success in many sports (e.g. football). ‘Cleats’, running shoes and barefoot are three basic types of footwear that an athlete may use when training and performing, yet very little research has been conducted that compares the differences between them. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of these 3 different types of footwear on 40-yard dash sprint performance.
Method:
Healthy, physically active, male college students (n = 33) who were not on a varsity athletic team participated in the study. Participants provided and wore their own shoes, which were inspected prior to testing to ensure they met study criteria. All runs were performed on FieldTurf artificial grass playing surface, and each participant followed a standardized warm up before testing. Participants ran two 40-yard sprints in each footwear mode (barefoot = BF, athletic shoes with studded rubber cleats = CL, and athletic pavement running shoes with rubber soles = RUN) within one day using a random counterbalanced design. There was a 1-minute rest period between each sprint and a three-minute rest when changing footwear. Infrared timing gates recorded the time from when the participant’s foot left the starting block, to when the participant’s body crossed the 40-yard line.
Analysis/Results:
Mean ± SD measures for anthropometrics and footwear sprint speeds were as follows: Age = 21 ± 1.0 years, BMI = 24 ± 3.5 kg/m2; Shoe Size (U.S.) = 11.3 ± 1.2; BF = 7.668 ± 0.423 m/s; CL = 7.665 ± 0.190 m/s; and RUN = 7.589 ± 0.192 m/s. No significant correlations were found between any of the anthropometric measures. Repeated measures analysis found a significant difference in speed between BF and RUN (p= 0.04).
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that the type of footwear worn while running a 40-yard dash may affect run speed. This study has shown that there was no significant difference between BF and CL, and that RUN shoes may impair performance. The results from the present study provide valuable information that can be used by coaches, trainers and athletes when selecting footwear and evaluating sprint performance.