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Should I use carbon fiber shoes?
Posted by Anthony Luke MD, MPH on April 16, 2026
The Starting Line: Are carbon fiber shoes good or bad for runners? Carbon fiber plate running shoes have become increasingly popular because they can improve performance. Research suggests that carbon fiber plates embedded in running shoes improve running efficiency by about 1–3% in many runners, meaning less energy is needed to maintain the same pace. Studies on widely used models such as the Nike Vaporfly hav...
Core Work Works to Prevent Running Injuries
Posted by Anthony Luke MD, MPH on April 9, 2026
The Starting Line: What is a better strength routine to help prevent injuries in newer runners - working on the core and hips or ankles and feet? A randomized controlled trial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine looked at whether two different pre-run exercise programmes could reduce lower extremity injuries in adult novice recreational runners. The study included 325 runners, who were assigned to one...
Best Heart Rate Monitor Reviewed by Science
Posted by Anthony Luke MD, MPH on April 22, 2022
The Starting Line: What has research shown to be the best wearable for monitoring heart rate? As of 2021, there are many wearables on the market which make up a 47.89 billion dollar market. Heart rate is an important output to measure since it's used to calculate many formulas related to exercise. Examples of calculations using heart rate include how hard you're training, calorie expenditure, ...
Cadence, foot strikes and stride length - step by step
Posted by Anthony Luke MD, MPH on April 22, 2022
The Starting Line: How do cadence and stride length relate? For beginner runners running with a more frequent shorter stride is often preferred rather then a long stride. A popular concept to think about now is considering your cadence which is how often your foot hits the ground in one minute. Ideally your stride should be close to 170-180 foot strikes per minute so each foot lands 85-90 times ea...
Work Shoes Slowing You Down?
Posted by Hanna Baker, CO on August 29, 2013
The Starting Line: Are your work shoes an important key to injury-free training? Many athletes spend hundreds of dollars per year on high-end running shoes, yet still suffer from footwear-related injuries. What many of those athletes don’t realize, is that the shoes they wear when they are not running may be causing some of those injuries. Whether a runner wears stilettos in meetings, or leather ...
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