What if your shoes were slowing you down? đââď¸đ¨
- Stridematch Lab
- Jun 6
- 2 min read

At StrideMatch, we love questioning the obvious. What if the issue wasnât your legs, your training plan, or your motivation?What i
f whatâs holding you back⌠was right under your feet?
Thatâs the question weâve been chasing:
đ Can your shoes really affect your running form?
đ And if so â could they be the very thing slowing you down?
The answer is clearer than we thought.
đ§ Every shoe acts like a biomechanical lever
âShoes change your strideâoften without you realizing it,â says François Rivière, a biomechanics engineer at the University of Savoie. âEven small differences in cushioning, stiffness, or heel drop can shift your entire kinetic chain.â
This means:
Your calf might overcompensate for a stiff sole
A high drop might reduce hamstring engagement
An unstable shoe can wear out your stabilizer muscles
The outcome? Poor performance and skyrocketing injury risk. A 2023 ACSM study revealed that 70% of running injuries are worsened by poorly fitted shoes.

đŹ Running is science. And your feet are unique.
Stridematch uses SmartMorphAI, an AI that analyzes your gait and morphology with millimetric precisionâjust from a simple smartphone video. It detects:
Footstrike type (heel, midfoot, forefoot)
Cadence and stride length
Hip/knee angles and asymmetries
Morphological profile
Then, SmartFitAIÂ searches through 1,200+ shoe models to find your perfect match.
đŻ There is no universal "perfect" shoeâonly the right shoe for you
What Stridematch proves is that personalization is everything.Your surface. Your weight. Your form. Your injury history. These variables define what works.
Thereâs no best shoeâonly a shoe thatâs best for you.
đ Shoes influence more than comfort
Wearing the wrong shoe can result in:
Up to 6% energy loss (Journal of Sports Sciences, 2022)
A 38% higher injury risk (BJSM, 2023)
Premature wear on joints and tendons
The right shoe, on the other hand:
â Boosts running economy
â Reduces joint load
â Extends muscle endurance
Maybe better running doesnât mean harder training. Maybe it just means smarter choicesâstarting with what you lace up.
With StrideMatch, youâre not running blind. Youâre running with data. With science.With shoes that move you forwardânot hold you back.


