PUMA 2022 Line-Up with Laura Healey and Todd Falker | DOR Podcast #77

DOR Podcast #77: The Resurgence of PUMA Running

Today Senior Contributors Nathan Brown and David Salas are joined by two very special guests from PUMA: Todd Falker (Senior Product Line Manager) and Laura Healey (Manager, Footwear Innovation). They give us an inside look at how PUMA came out of nowhere with a great lineup of shoes in 2021 and what updates they have planned for 2022 and beyond. We also look at the development at two brand new shoes, the FAST-R and the RUN XX coming later this year and dig a bit into the biomechanical and tester feedback approach that PUMA is taking within their development.

Listen to This Week's Podcast Here!

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VIDEO

Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
1:18 - The Subjective: what's your favorite PUMA running shoe?
4:18 - Introducing Todd & Laura
10:40 - PUMA's lineup: a recap of 2021 and a look at updates
20:56 - The FAST-R
35:16 - The RUN XX: a women's-specific shoe
45:32 - Looking forward: Puma's upcoming projects and goals
52:00 - Wrap-up

Want more Puma? Find our Puma Velocity Nitro 2 review here.

Science Blog:
Does Traction Equal Performance?
By Contributor Andrea Myers

Traction is an important performance feature of running shoes, whether on the track, road, or trail. Logically, we know traction is important in running, because we all have experienced a decrease in pace on wet roads or muddy trails. We also logically know that increased traction is desirable, or we wouldn’t put spikes in our track or cross country racing shoes. What does the scientific literature say about the relationship between shoe traction and performance?

Researchers at the University of Calgary set out to answer this very question. They compared the Adidas adiZERO Adios racing flat to a modified version of the shoe with a soft rubber outsole manufactured by Continental, the tire manufacturer (Worobets et al 2014). The Continental version was called the High Traction shoe and the standard version was the control. The researchers quantified the traction of each shoe using a portable footwear traction testing system that was validated in lab conditions. The subjects were tested on a maximal effort timed running course that included a curved acceleration, an abrupt change in direction, and a straight acceleration.

They were tested on two surfaces: asphalt and a tartan track surface. The subjects were blinded to which shoe they were testing and 10 trials per shoe were conducted on each surface. The results found a statistically significant improvement in course completion time during trials with the High Traction shoe. The subjects also reported a statistically significant increase in perceived traction with the High Traction shoe (using a Visual Analog Scale).

The authors discussed the possible rationale for a shoe with increased traction to result in increased running performance, including “greater traction allows an athlete to direct the ground reaction force more horizontally, which would increase accelerations and decelerations in the transverse plane.” They also discussed the mental aspect of increased traction, specifically that athletes will perform better if they have more confidence in their shoes.

Recently at Doctors of Running
Nike Structure 24 - Slightly refined update for the mild stability trainer
Saucony Kinvara 13 - A fantastic new upper highlights the latest Kinvara update
Craft CTM Carbon Race Rebel - Powered by the light UD Foam Pro and a plate
Saucony Peregrine 12 - A lighter, yet more protective update to the trail runner
Hoka Speedgoat 5 - A well-refined update to a great trail series from Hoka

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NEXT: Nike Structure 24