Forefront Striking

jacquiroxx922

I danced for about 16 years, and naturally run on the balls of my feet. Today I went for a long run with my training group, and someone told me that I should try to strike mid-foot to avoid injury to my Achilles tendon and/or calves. Does anyone know anything about this?

I generally run 3 miles at a time, but I'm starting to increase my mileage as I'm training for a ten mile run in May, and a half marathon in June. I don't want to hurt myself, but I think it may be difficult to try to change my strike. I can't find a lot of information online about it, so I'm hoping someone here knows a little more!

PS- I know the title is wrong, I meant to say Forefoot Striking, but I'm distracted and typed it Forefront for some reason. My bad!!

MartinaNYC

I don't know about injuries but I used to run your same way and then I forced myself to change the habit- it took me some time and effort but it was totally worth it. I now run much faster, I feel that my calves are working harder, and the back ache I used to get every now and then has almost 100% disappeared!

ka97

I run exactly the same way!!! I feel like a total freak sometimes. I've tried changing, but it's really really hard. I think I've gotten slightly better, maybe. There's also some out there who suggest that attempting to change one's running gait causes more injuries than the gait itself, so who knows.

As far as injuries, I have had numerous calf strains and achilles tendonitis. I've learnd that I just cannot wear heels, and switching completely to flats has helped as I no longer have that additional strain in my day to day life.

I was told several years ago that I would not be able to complete a half marathon unless I changed my stride. But, I'm happy so say that I have indeed completed several. My suggestion would be to increase your mileage slowly so that your body has time to adjust, be sure to warm up and stretch, and do lunges and calf raises to strengthen the calf muscles.

LilRedRooster

I actually switched my stride. When I first started running, I wore conventional shoes, and struck on my heel mostly, and occasionally midfoot. But I bought some Vibrams, which have absolutely no cushioning on the heels, and now have a definite forefoot/midfoot strike. My knees are much happier, though I do notice that when I take time off and get back into it, I've had a few calf strains because it does put more pressure on the tendons in there.

The key I've found is cross-training in other areas (like elliptical and weight training, along with Crossfit), with fewer runs initially, so that the miles gradually build up and I'm not overusing the muscles before they're ready. Gradual is definitely the key there. If you allow the muscles to build up, there is no reason why you can't run with a forefoot strike; it just might take you longer to build those miles up than someone with a heel strike and lots of cushioning.

Which brings me to my next point: What shoes are you wearing? If you're wearing conventional shoes with a lot of heel cushioning, forefoot striking is going to be pretty hard on your calves, because you have to overcome the heel raise that's naturally built in. Do you have shoes that are low or mid-rise with heel height?

scottb81

If you are not having any problems then there is no need to change.

A couple of years ago I changed my form from heel to forefoot strike with the help of vibrams. Eventually, I adjusted to a more midfoot strike for longer runs and forefoot for shorter/faster runs. I found the midfoot strike for longer runs took some strain off the calf and didn't tire it out as fast.