The most recent entrant into the running footwear marketplace is a novel running shoe from Enko. These innovative athletic shoes out of France were initially promoted in late 2014 and introduced by using a crowd financing project at Indiegogo at the beginning of 2015.

This shoe has mechanical spring loaded sections that are integrated into the midsole. This structure provides the footwear with increased shock absorption as well as energy return. This is believed to improve comfort along with running economy. The springs are interchangeable and are calculated based on the weight of the athlete. Calculations furnished by Enko indicate that the gains provided by the shock absorbers when it comes to mechanical energy is somewhere between 6% and 14% depending on the velocity of the runner.

It’s not at all apparent if the shoe will likely be widely adopted at this point, but some issues have been mentioned about the design and the way it could impact the lower limb biomechanics.