1. Mr. Foederers Awesome Tracksuit: Increasing Friction At Your Time of Need AKA Why Nike Should Invest Millions on this

2. How Increasing Friction Has Improved Track Racing Spikes: Sliding friction is increased by placing spikes in the bottom of track shoes. The spikes increase the roughness of the shoe and dig into the surface of the track, preventing the athlete from slipping backwards as he or she pushes forward. This way, more of the runners energy is used to push him or her around the track and less is lost to sliding.

3. How Increasing Friction Has Improved Track Parachute training: Fluid friction is increased during training by having athletes strap parachutes to their bodies. The parachutes catch the air, increasing the drag force that is felt by the runners. The parachute pulls the runner backwards, opposing the forward motion. By requiring more force to move forward, the athletes get a better workout and are more prepared for the actual race.

4. How Increasing Friction Has Improved Track Rubber Soles: Rubber on the bottom of track shoes helps to increase sliding friction between the runner and the track. The rubber helps prevent the athlete from slipping backwards as he or she runs. Rubber grips the surface of the track better than other types of soles (like leather which has a very smooth surface and a low amount of friction). This allows more of the runners energy to be used to push forward and go faster while less energy is lost to friction.

5. How Decreasing Friction Has Improved Track Better Fitting Shoes: Sliding friction is reduced in track by wearing good socks and well fitting shoes. If the foot is allowed to slide, painful friction blisters can form as the skin rubs against the runners sock or shoe. Athletes combat this problem by wearing proper fitting equipment that prevents the foot from sliding.

6. How Decreasing Friction Has Improved Track BodyGlide: A way to decrease the sliding friction caused by rubbing two body parts together is by putting a lubrication between them. BodyGlide creates a balm that helps reduce the chafing many runners experience (particularly between their thighs). The lubrication helps by filling in the gaps along the surface of the skin, changing the sliding friction to fluid friction. This decreases the total frictional force and decreases chafing. By lowering the amount of pain experienced, athletes can perform better.

7. How Decreasing Friction Has Improved Track Aerodynamic Clothing: Fluid friction is decreased by wearing specially made suits in competition that lower air drag. Suits like the aerodynamic Swift apparel designed by Nike were used by many U.S. Olympians to reduce air resistance. The material used has a smooth surface which produces a lower amount of friction than human skin. Swift apparel is placed over most of the athletes body to include their arms and hands. The decrease in fluid friction has allowed the athletes to increase their speed.

8. Recent Improvements to Track Synthetic running surfaces (first introduced in the 1950s): Over the past few decades, the number of synthetic running surfaces have greatly increased. In addition to providing more cushion to the runner, it has also increased the sliding friction between the runners shoes and the track. This has allowed for less slippage and greater speeds by athletes. Beijings track for the 2008 Olympics has been rumored to be the fastest track yet designed. Evidence for this could be seen by the number of World Records set at the 2008 Olympic Games, including the Mens 4 X 100 meter relay where the Jamaican Team had a time of 37.10 seconds. Aerodynamic clothing: Clothing has continued to be re-designed in order to decrease fluid friction. The more aerodynamic an athlete, the faster he or she can run. Nikes Swift apparel first made an appearance at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 by Australian runner Cathy Freeman. She used the apparel to help her win the Gold Medal in the Womens 400 meter. Greater developments have been made since then to help athletes increase their speed by hundredths of a second.

9. Mr. Foederers Awesome Track Suit Nike should create a new line of Swift gear that has collapsible, light weight wings between the arms and the body of the runner. These wings can be used to increase and decrease air drag as required. When running into the wind, the runner can keep his or her arms down to the side. The runner will be very aerodynamic in this position. If the wind is at the athletes back, the arms can be opened up like a sail, increasing the wind resistance. The runner can be pushed around the track, helping the runner achieve greater speeds. By decreasing fluid friction when running into the wind and increasing it when the wind is at the runners back, an athlete wearing this piece of clothing can gain a frictional advantage. The longer the distance of the event and the greater the wind at the track, the greater an impact this piece of equipment will have. This would be a great investment for Nike because they already have Swift gear designed. All they would have to do is put wings on an already existing aerodynamic suit.

10. References Australian Academy of Science. Physics in Sport: Forces on an Athlete. June 2003. 22 February 2010..http://www.science.org.au/nova/033/033box03.htm BodyGlide. 22 February 2010..http://www.bodyglide.com/#/home Smock, Doug. Beijing Running Track Will Be the Fastest Ever. Design News. 15 August 2008. 22 February 2010..http://www.designnews.com/article/47689- Beijing_Running_Track_Will_Be_The_Fastest_Ever.php Speckman, Stephen. Veil Slips Off Swift Speedskating Suit. Deseret News. 12 January 2002. 22 February 2010..http://www.deseretnews.com/oly/view/0,3949,60000066,0 0.html