A female-specific approach to the design of running footwear: beyond 'shrink it and pink it'

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Can the performance of female athletes be enhanced by a female-specific approach to the design of running footwear? For decades, running footwear has been designed using male subjects to inform the shape, comfort, and performance of running shoes regardless of whether the end-user is male or female. The standard approach has been to treat female runners as smaller versions of males - characterized by the phrase "shrink it and pink it." However, enough is known about differences in female anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics that a female-specific approach to the design of running footwear is warranted. Our long-term vision is to inform this process using both theory and experiments to understand how the female runner differs and also how females differ from each other across the lifespan and menstrual phase. Our aim is to help all females run faster, further, and for life. From sports bras to female-specific bike saddles and jock straps ("jills"), other sports equipment designed specifically for a female body have improved comfort, safety, and performance in athletic pursuits. Our hypothesis is that a running shoe designed for females should necessarily exploit differences in anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics to optimize female performance. The objectives of this partnered research project are to: 1) determine the effect of different materials on the biomechanical properties of a female-specific running shoe; 2) explore the association between comfort and in-shoe plantar pressure for a female-specific running shoe; and 3) determine the effect of different material properties on the biomechanics and performance of female runners. Our approach is to use a female-specific model to inform design and test prototypes on female athletes to measure success. The primary goal of this partnered project is to develop a running shoe designed specifically for the female athlete and to optimize the shoe for performance in the female runner. Differences in anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics will be considered in the design and testing of the shoe, with a market-ready shoe as the expected outcome.