Carbon is not the only plate for running shoes.
Plates have been something of a hot topic in running shoe innovation in recent years. From top athletes to citizen runners, people are looking for shoes that can run faster by using rebound.
However, the use of plates in shoes is not particularly new. Plates called "shanks" have been built into shoes since the days of leather shoes before the advent of running shoes. Of course, the material used was not carbon.
Yes, the purpose was different from that of today's performance shoes. When the cuff of the shoe was raised, the sole inevitably fell down, so a "shank" was inserted to reinforce the shoe.
When it comes to plates in running shoes, everyone agrees that Mizuno's Wave Rider, a longtime seller since 1997, was a pioneer. While other companies were (and still are, of course) focusing on the development of midsole cushioning materials, Mizuno succeeded in enhancing the contradictory functions of flexibility and rigidity through the use of plates.
Currently, elite runners are looking for rebound in their plates. It is a single-minded function of running fast anyway. But of course, stability is always better. And for runners whose goal is to finish a full marathon, stability and fatigue reduction are certainly more important than rebound. But of course it is better to have natural rebound to aid running.
This is where "Mizuno Wave" comes in. As the name suggests, Mizuno Wave is a wave-shaped plate with a 3D structure that controls stiffness, flexion, torsion, and rebound.
The "Mizuno Wave" appears between the midsoles.
By embedding it in the midsole cushioning material, the soft midsole is given rigidity to prevent it from hitting the bottom and becoming unstable, and while the flexibility of the shoe is maintained as the foot bends, it is strong against lateral torsion and suppresses blurring while running. The result is an all-around performance.
By changing the shape of the plate and its combination with the midsole, it is used in shoes that can be used from sub-3 to sub-5. Furthermore, the Wave is of course effective in shoes other than running shoes, and is currently used in shoes other than running shoes, and the shape of the Wave is also diversifying. The Mizuno Wave is the core of Mizuno shoes.
On the left is "Wave Rider 25" and on the right is "Wave Rider 24," one generation earlier.
