Hey Runners,
Are carbon shoes really all that they are hyped up to be - or are they secretly giving you injuries?
A recent systematic review from 2026 looked at all the available evidence to try and come up with an answer.
They found that in adults, carbon-plated footwear reduces metabolic demand during submaximal running by ≈2%–3%.
So what does this mean?
Lets imagine two different runners running a marathon.
One running with carbon-plated shoes and one running without.
The runner without the carbon-plated shoes might finish the marathon in 3 hours and 4 minutes...
But the runner with carbon-plated shoes would finish the marathon in 2:59 with exact same physiological effort.
Does that mean carbon-plate shoes will always make you run faster?
Not exactly.
You see, there are a ton of physiological and psychological things impacting your running performance besides just biomechanics.
But if all other things were equal, carbon plated shoes will make most people run slightly faster.
But what about injury risk?
Early research and case reports suggest that carbon-plated shoes change foot and lower-limb loading in ways that might contribute to certain stress injuries.
But we don’t yet have solid evidence proving they cause more injuries overall.
As with any shoe change, a gradual introduction and listening to pain signals is key.
But don't be afraid to hit race day with your favorite pair of super-shoes just yet.
Stay fast,
Nicklas
P.S. Shoes don’t make champions. Training does.
If you're ready to focus on what actually determines your performance, you can find my science-based plans here by clicking here.​
P.P.S Here are the references:
Kobayashi EN, de Toledo RRF, de Almeida MO, Sprey JWC, Jorge PB. Metabolic effects of carbon-plated running shoes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Sports Act Living. 2026
Xu Y, Zhu C, Fang Y, Lu Z, Song Y, Hu C, Sun D and Gu Y (2025) The effects of different carbon-fiber plate shapes in shoes on lower limb biomechanics following running-induced fatigue. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol
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