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: While those aforementioned technologies are good at explaining why we may be benefiting from spikes, most athletes just want to know one thing. How much faster will I run? A race like the 100m will have several phases where track spikes may share their impact, but track spikes mainly help with the early few steps out of the blocks. During the initial departure out of the stationary position of either a three point start in football combines or block starts in track and field, a lot of forces are going backwards in order to go forwards. Anyone slipping on wet grass during acceleration will appreciate cleats over a smooth soled sneaker, and this is where most of the contributions are in the actual spikes. One can make a good case that the removable spikes prevent slips or errant movements rather than being an performance aid. What Sport Science Discovered with Track Spikes and Speed
Countless studies on foot mechanics and performance have been done, but the best and most straightforward investigation is seeing if one simply runs faster with different shoes, specifically the track spike models we use now and lesser options. Studies ranging from barefoot testing, different spike plates, and even different types of tracks ranging form soft to hard, and even “springy” options have been testing. What was found was not surprising, but spikes are better than barefoot for producing speed and several theories based on the variables they tested. Not only did the researchers time the sprints to see the difference in speed with electronic timing, they actually looked at the motion of the foot in amazing detail to see what precisely was the cause of the improvement.