In the quest to uncover the underlying mechanisms responsible for the performance-enhancing benefits imparted by advanced footwear technology (AFT), footwear researchers are employing an individual-level approach. In doing so, they hope to unveil individual-specific responses to AFT otherwise masked by a group-level approach. Classifying an individual’s response on the basis of running economy (RE) is a logical strategy given that the intended purpose of AFT is to enhance performance; however, caution should be taken when doing so. Metabolic measurement devices are far from perfect, and given the known errors associated with metabolic measurements we would like to reiterate a suggestion first made 40 years ago: when seeking to quantify the interindividual variability of improvement in RE associated with running in AFT, the best practice is to rely on a minimum of two same-day measurements of RE.

为了揭示先进鞋类技术 (AFT) 带来性能提升的潜在机制，鞋类研究人员正在采用个体层面的方法。在此过程中，他们希望揭示针对 AFT 的个人特定反应，否则会被群体层面的方法所掩盖。鉴于 AFT 的预期目的是提高表现，根据跑步经济性 (RE) 对个人的反应进行分类是一种合乎逻辑的策略；然而，这样做时应该小心。代谢测量设备远非完美，考虑到与代谢测量相关的已知误差，我们想重申 40 年前首次提出的建议：在寻求量化与 AFT 跑步相关的 RE 改善的个体差异时，最佳实践是依赖于至少两次当天的 RE 测量。