#95 The Science of Footwear Design (ft. Saucony’s Andrea Paulson)

Matt is joined on the podcast by a special guest: Andrea Paulson from Saucony. Andrea gives us an inside look into shoe research and development at Saucony. Matt & Andrea discuss the shifting views on shoe stability and how new shoes like the Saucony Tempus are looking to help the runner. She gives a scientific history of misole foams and a preview of where innvation is taking them, and much more. Andrea Paulson is the Vice President of Product Engineering & Human Performance at Saucony. She leads different, yet connected, divisions that work on every aspect of shoe design, construction and future innovations, as well as biomechanical testing, gathering performance & personal preference data. The Subjective: What stats do you focus on when selecting a shoe? Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 3:59 - Defining shoe stability and how it's changing 7:49 - New ways of addressing stability with the Saucony Tempus 12:04 - Midsole foam history & development 26:58 - Accounting for individuality in shoe design 33:50 - Foam science & innovation 41:36 - The complexity of shoe design & supply chain 45:24 - Does footstrike really matter? 49:12 - Foam compression durability 55:14 - Endorphin Pro 3 sneak peak 57:46 - Wrap-up