Carbon Plate Running Shoes for Beginners: Worth It or Not?

The shoe that grabs the most attention in any store window is the fastest one: the carbon-plate model. It's also the one that gets advertised most. So it's no surprise that many new runners spend their whole budget on it. Here's what the research says, and what I'd do instead.

The technology works

It isn't smoke. In a lab study with 18 high-level runners running at 9–11 mph, a prototype shoe with a plate cut the energy cost of running by about 4% compared with established racing shoes (Hoogkamer and colleagues, 2018). How much of that carries over to a recreational runner isn't clear, and it probably varies from person to person.

One detail the ads don't tell you: that prototype wasn't just a plate. It combined a very light, springy foam, a thick midsole and the carbon plate. The effect comes from the whole package, so a plate dropped into any shoe doesn't guarantee the same result.

The possible cost

The plate may change how load is distributed through your leg and foot. The most repeated hypothesis is that if that stiffness lands on structures that aren't used to it (calf, soleus, fascia, midfoot bones), they may complain. It's a reasonable hypothesis, not a proven fact.

There are some clinical signals that call for caution. A group of sports medicine doctors described five cases of runners with bone stress injuries of the navicular, a bone in the midfoot, after they started using carbon-plated shoes (Tenforde and colleagues, 2023). That's five cases, not a study proving the plate caused them, and the authors say so. Even so, they recommend introducing these shoes gradually and not ignoring midfoot pain.

And honestly, we don't yet know much about what happens with long-term use.

What I'd do

• If your budget is limited, put it all into a good daily trainer. It's the shoe you'll wear most days.
• Consider carbon once you have a base: regular training, no recurring injuries, and a specific race to use them in.
• You don't need them for everything: their advantage is designed for race pace. For easy runs, a good training shoe is usually enough.
• If you try them, introduce them gradually, and pay attention to any midfoot pain.

This is one of the nine common mistakes in What the Running Store Won't Tell You, together with how to choose a daily trainer and when to buy for less, with every source cited at the end.

Sources: Hoogkamer W, et al. A comparison of the energetic cost of running in marathon racing shoes. Sports Medicine. 2018;48(4):1009-1019. Tenforde AS, Hoenig T, Saxena A, Hollander K. Bone stress injuries in runners using carbon fiber plate footwear. Sports Medicine. 2023. doi:10.1007/s40279-023-01818-z

This article is for general information and doesn't replace the advice of a health professional.