Can Orthotics Make You a Faster Runner?
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The question runners most want answered about orthotics isn't "will they fix my plantar fasciitis" — it's "will they make me faster?" Performance is what most runners care about most, and anything that promises to improve it gets attention.
The honest answer is complicated. For healthy runners without mechanical problems, orthotics don't improve running economy and may marginally worsen it. For runners with mechanical problems — overpronation generating injury, inefficient energy transfer, asymmetric gait — orthotics can remove the limiting factor that's costing them training time and efficiency.
The performance question is really two separate questions: direct performance enhancement, and indirect performance improvement through better health and consistency.
The Direct Performance Question: Running Economy
Running economy — how much oxygen you consume at a given running speed — is the physiological measure most relevant to performance. A runner with better economy runs faster at the same effort or the same speed at less effort.
The evidence on orthotics and running economy is modest and mixed:
Potential for marginal improvement: Reducing excessive pronation motion may reduce the energy "wasted" in controlling excessive foot motion. The foot acting as a stable lever during push-off is more energy-efficient than a foot that continues to rotate after push-off. For significant overpronators, some studies show marginal improvements in running economy with posting.
No benefit for neutral runners: Studies on neutral-arch, injury-free runners show no running economy improvement with orthotics, and some show marginal decline — the added weight of the insole, even small amounts, has measurable effects at competitive distances.
Plate technology vs. traditional orthotics: The performance footwear research that has driven massive improvement times is primarily about carbon fiber plates and midsole foam compounds — not orthotics. The mechanisms are different: plates store and return energy; orthotics primarily correct mechanical alignment.
The honest conclusion: if you're a competitive runner trying to optimize racing performance, traditional orthotics are not your performance lever. Footwear selection (maximally cushioned, carbon-plated race shoes) has a far larger documented effect on racing performance.
The Indirect Performance Question: Training Consistency
This is where the performance argument for orthotics in injured runners is strongest.
Injury is the single largest limiter of running performance. An athlete who can train consistently for 52 weeks a year improves faster than an athlete who trains for 30 weeks and recovers from injury for 22. For a runner with recurring patellofemoral pain, shin splints, or plantar fasciitis driven by overpronation, orthotics that reduce the injury frequency allow more training — and more training over time means better performance.
For overpronating runners with a history of:
- Shin splints that end training blocks early
- Knee pain that limits mileage increases
- Plantar fasciitis that requires rest periods
...the performance benefit of orthotics is not measured in running economy but in weeks of uninterrupted training. This is a real and meaningful performance effect, even if it doesn't show up in a laboratory running economy test.
What Running Efficiency Actually Requires
For runners focused on performance, the factors with the strongest evidence for improvement are:
Training volume and consistency: The most important driver of running performance. Injury prevention (through any means — orthotics, strength training, load management) serves this directly.
Footwear: Modern maximally cushioned shoes with rocker geometry improve running economy by 3–4% compared to traditional shoes. For competitive runners, this is substantial.
Cadence: Higher cadence (steps per minute) reduces ground contact time and overpronation forces simultaneously. Increasing cadence by 5–10% above natural is associated with reduced injury rates and marginally improved economy.
Hip and glute strength: The hip extensors and abductors are the power generators in distance running. Weak glutes mean the lower leg compensates — more calf/Achilles demand, more pronation-driven instability. Strengthening the posterior chain is a performance intervention with dual injury-prevention benefits.
Running technique: Efficient arm swing, trunk lean, and foot placement affect economy. For overpronators, technique changes (slightly more hip extension, midfoot striking) can reduce pronation forces while improving efficiency.
Orthotics fit into this picture as an injury-management tool that enables training consistency, not as a primary performance enhancer.
When Orthotics Help Performance Indirectly
Runners With Asymmetric Gait
A measurable leg length discrepancy — even a few millimeters — creates gait asymmetry. One hip drops lower, one side absorbs more impact, the torso compensates. Orthotics with appropriate lift correction can reduce this asymmetry, improving gait efficiency and reducing the side that's bearing excess load. For runners with true structural leg length discrepancy, this is a genuine performance and injury prevention intervention.
Runners With Significant Overpronation
Significant overpronation wastes energy that could go into propulsion. The internal tibial rotation, hip drop, and trunk sway that compensate for excessive foot motion represent inefficiency in the kinetic chain. For a runner with 15+° of calcaneal eversion, a well-calibrated medial post that reduces this to normal range can improve mechanical efficiency — though the magnitude of the effect is usually small.
Runners Who've Been Limited by Recurring Injury
For a runner who runs 30 miles per week without injury with orthotics, versus 20 miles per week with recurring shin splints without orthotics, the performance difference compounds over training years. The 30-mile runner will be significantly faster in two years.
The Weight Consideration
Orthotics add weight to the foot — typically 30–80 grams per insole depending on the design. At competitive distances, foot weight matters more than shoe weight (foot weight is amplified through the running stride). For runners who race competitively, wearing orthotics in training and racing in lighter, thinner-soled race shoes (without orthotics) is a common approach.
This works if:
- The runner's mechanics are adequate without orthotics at race-level effort
- The race shoes provide enough inherent support for the distance
- Training with orthotics maintains the mechanical correction through the training block
The alternative — running all racing distances with custom orthotics — is also valid and used by many competitive runners who need the support regardless of the weight cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
I run under 40 minutes for a 10K. Should I be worried about orthotics slowing me down?
At recreational speeds, the marginal weight and any economy effect of orthotics is not perceptible. For elite runners (sub-30 minute 10K), weight and economy effects are significant. At your level, if orthotics are managing an injury pattern, the training consistency benefit almost certainly outweighs any marginal economy effect.
My coach says orthotics will weaken my feet and hurt my performance. Is that true?
There's a theoretical argument that passive arch support reduces intrinsic foot muscle activation. The research on this is mixed — some studies show reduced intrinsic muscle activity with orthotic use; others show no significant effect. The practical relevance for most runners is limited: adding foot strengthening exercises (short foot exercises, toe-spreading, single-leg calf raises) alongside orthotics addresses this concern.
Can I train with orthotics but race without them?
Many runners do this. Training in orthotics manages the mechanical load during the high-volume phases; racing without them reduces race weight. This works best for runners who don't have significant structural issues that require support at all times. If your mechanics require orthotics to avoid injury, racing without them during shorter events may be tolerable; racing full marathons without them if you need the support is risky.
My Achilles is always tight after long runs. Will orthotics help?
Possibly — if overpronation is contributing to eccentric Achilles load. Reducing the torsional demand on the Achilles from internal tibial rotation can reduce post-run tightness. But Achilles tightness from running also reflects calf muscle fatigue and training load; stretching, load management, and heel drop exercises are the primary interventions, with orthotics addressing the pronation component if present. For more on this, see the Achilles tendonitis running guide →
What's the fastest I could get from orthotics alone?
Running performance is determined by VO2max, lactate threshold, running economy, and training history. Orthotics affect only a small slice of running economy and are not a substitute for training. The biggest performance gains still come from consistent training, appropriate recovery, and smart programming — with orthotics serving to enable training consistency for runners with mechanical issues.
Orthotics won't make a healthy runner faster. But for runners whose mechanics are generating injury or inefficiency, removing that limiting factor restores training consistency — and training consistency is what makes runners faster over time.
For guidance on whether you're in the category of runners who might benefit mechanically, see the custom orthotics for runners guide →
For more on the heel pain that often comes with heavy running training, see the guide on heel pain while running →
Take the foot assessment to find out if your running mechanics suggest orthotics →