Can Sneakers Improve SEAL Training Attrition?

Can a running shoe help improve graduation rates or lessen the amount of delays in completing SEAL training? Highly doubtful but Adidas claims that it’s new Springblade running shoe bounds the wearer forward verses upward. Might this in turn help reduce pressure on the bones and joints?

“What’s unique is that they (the springblade running shoe) don’t return energy vertically; they return it horizontally,” said Mikal Peveto of Adidas North America.

If that’s true maybe this improved efficiency can help in the reduction of one of the more pertinent causes of stress fractures. Although a rapid increase in training intensity and the wear of improper footwear also cause stress fractures. It is believed the physical stress placed on the lower legs when transferring from various running surfaces, such as soft sand to harder concrete, is the major culprit during SEAL training. Additionally, an article in the 2006-winter issue of the Journal of Special Operations Medicine titled Stress Fracture and Attrition in Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL Trainees stated the rates of stress fractures between April 2002 and November 2003 were as high as 5 to 9%. Do I think these shoes are the answer? Absolutely not but maybe their simplistic design and similar technological improvements on the horizontal transfer of energy are a step in the right direction regarding future research on the preservation of bones and joints.

Note: Mark owns no stock, received no payment or favor from Adidas or its subsidiaries nor does this article endorse Adidas products.