By: Connie Cao

The track team of the University of Washington beat eight sub-four-minute milers, which four high school runners beat. In Paris, two women set a new record in the women’s 1500 meters and 5 000 meters. Multiple other athletes and younger also set new records. The only unanswered question is, “How so fast and why so fast?”

Sports scientists say that athletes are using specialized shoes that are coming to their aid. These shoes can help athletes feel less muscle fatigue and finish their races strong. With time, athletes will quickly adapt to these new high-tech shoes and set new records.

Geoff Burns, a psychologist and biomechanics expert, and other sports scientists believe that the only way to win a race is for the racer to compete at his or her best every time. Adapting to drinking the same fluids, consuming the same amount of food, and, most importantly, wearing the same shoes.

“Since I’m going to be wearing super shoes in races, I want to get a good feel for them in training,” Lindsay Flanagan, a record-setter of a marathon, said. “I’ve found that I can log more quality days and more mileage because my legs come around sooner.”

However, there are also several benefits to wearing flat shoes aside from super shoes.

A recent study from California State University found evidence that runners with flat shoes gain more fitness advantages than runners with super shoes. Although runners feel muscle pain, it improves overall their running economy compared to runners with super shoes.