Title: How much do track spikes improve times in the sprints? - Freelap USA
Headings: How much do track spikes improve times in the sprints?
How much do track spikes improve times in the sprints?
Anatomy of a Track Spike
Measuring Spikes and Sprinting Speed
What Sport Science Discovered with Track Spikes and Speed
The Spike Test Results
How to pick the right pair of spikes
References

Content: What was found is the hardness of the plate increased the performance, and while some may think that horizontal forces from the friction of spikes matter, one must rethink the value when athletes are able to sprint across ice rinks at full speed as seen on Ken Jakalski’s video. In 1968 Puma and Adidas were in a spike war with both promoting a brush style spike with dozens of tiny spikes. The benefit of the amount of spikes is negligible and the real reason they were banned was because the rules didn’t permit the changes and the IAAF still bans more than 11 spikes currently. Full speed running is maximal velocity mechanics meaning more vertical forces are being placed on the ground up and down rather than behind the athlete. What we can conclude is that spikes have three roles. The first is obvious, being light enough not to slow down the leg when it’s swinging in the air and this has not been a problem for 50 years as the weight hasn’t been that heavy in the past. Legs being repositioned isn’t a limiting factor in the research, but nobody plans to compete in construction boots as most shoes now are light weight. Second is the need for a shoe that is hard to help transmit forces through the track. When athletes come to tracks, many can observe the hardness by dropping a ball and seeing how high it bounces back. Athlete want a hard track in competition, and the same rules apply with a hard spike.