Thermal Running

Image A: Insoles before Run

Image B: Insoles after Run

I chose to take pictures of the insoles of my running shoes both before (Image A) and after running (Image B). Running is something I do everyday; I thought it would be interesting to see how much heat transfer occurs from my body to my shoes through the running process, as well as which areas of my foot are utilized the most. As is noticeable in Image A, the insoles of my shoes before running were around 68-70 degrees Fahrenheit (corresponding to the large yellow/green areas). Surprisingly, the heels of my insoles were warmer, producing a red image corresponding to approximately 71 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not sure why this was the case for the insoles "at rest;" because I hadn't used my shoes in over 12 hours, I expected the insoles to be the same temperature throughout in the "Before" picture. Image B shows my insoles after running, during which the overall temperature of the insoles increased to be around 75 degrees. However, the middle part of my feet around the area of my arches was the hotter than the heel area (~80 degrees F versus 75 degrees F). I attribute this to mid-foot striking. When I run, I strike the ground mid-foot, allowing the area to be more weight-bearing; thus, my feet are in greater contact with the insoles around my mid-foot.