Running- heel first or not?

With regular running shoes, I find it very difficult to not heel strike. I have to really think about it, and it feels awkward, to try anything else.

Now, if you try running barefoot, or with minimalist shoes, you'll find it much more natural to land on the ball of the foot. Most of us are not used to that, so it's important to gradually ease into this type of running (I've been injured by doing too much too soon barefoot). I will say that it's easier on the knees to forefoot strike rather than heel strike, but in my experience, a good cushioned pair of running shoes can limit the impact on the knees.

I coach triathlon to kids- we teach foot landing using skipping. You will naturally find that you land midfoot, and then your heel taps the floor. Forefoot overloads the calf and achilles. But it doesnt really matter if you heel strike. It does create braking force, but there isnt much evidence it is detrimental (physiologically) until you are running fast (like sub 6 minute miles). So run however feels natural. I found my heel striking stopped when I went through the process of improving my cadence. It comes bacj when Im very fatigued, but thats fine.

I'm a mid foot strike fan. I'd never tell someone to intentionally heel strike. In my opinion, a heel strike and severe over striding that causes excessive brake forces is the big recipe for injury. If your stride is shorter and quicker with a heel strike that quickly rolls to midfoot, I don't think it's that big a deal.

Let me add that when the toe-shoe craze hit a few years ago, several people I know got foot injuries while using them. Running barefoot-- even on a treadmill-- is a risk. (Some people might get away with it, however.)

I gathered from a couple of running books that you should develop your own natural stride through repetition. The only thing I've somewhat reinforced is an increase in cadence over what I might naturally fall into. (I push my cadence also in cycling and swimming.)

The problem with "just do whatever stride feels natural to you" is that when any noob goes to buy "running shoes" they're gonna be sold something with a giant heel block on it. Which is specifically built for heel-strikes. That's been the default for decades.

Flat/"zero drop" shoes are intended for mid- or forefoot strikes but you're not gonna know that unless you've read a bunch of recent running info.

I've been running for 40 years -- I mostly run mid-foot, maybe slightly heel strike -- but I have a short stride and higher turnover. I'm not a fast runner at all. The only time I get hurt is when I try to push speed by striding longer, not moving my legs faster. You don't need minimalist shoes to force yourself to land mid-foot, just don't stretch your legs out as far, run upright. When you run downhill, feel like you're leaning slightly forward to stay upright, don't lean back. I've never had knee issues, just hamstring and the older I get more aches and pains. But unlike what guy above says, even though I wear standard shoes (even Hokas sometimes which are seriously cushioned, I don't heel strike.) If you have questions feel free to ask.

I have to say that I think this is a very important subject, because developing good form will prevent long term injuries.

First, let's talk about running shoes. I am obsessed with them. I own just about every brand and type. I recently tried a couple brands of these barefoot running shoes. When I say barefoot running shoes, I mean a shoe that is zero drop, has a flat sole & wide toe box, has no cushioning, and has no arch support. A shoe that allows your foot to feel the details of the ground. This type of shoe is intended to let your feet do the work, and are basically just there to protect the bottom of your feet from harsher surfaces.

Like I said, I have a whole closet full of running shoes ranging from 100 to 200 dollars per pair. Since I started using the barefoot shoes though, I realize that my feet are weak, and my form sucks. I blame it to some degree on all these running shoes that did not allow my feet to do all the work, and did not allow me to develop good running form.

The first thing I learned with these barefoot shoe was that my form changed drastically. I went from being a heel striker to being a forefoot striker real quick. Being able to feel the ground made me realize that heel striking hurts, and my brain automatically made my body change my form to land on my forefoot. At that point it felt like my feet were being shove up to the front of the shoe with every stride, and again, my brain made my body take shorter strides with a higher cadence. At that point I felt like I was striking too far forward on my foot, because I could really feel my calf and Achilles tendon stressing too much, and again my brain made my body adjust to more of a mid foot strike and my heel just tapping the ground after the mid foot strike.

These shoes have also changed my power walking form as well. I strike much more forward on my heel now, where before, I was striking at the back edge of my heel, and now I strike on the bottom of my heel. I also feel much less breaking action in both power walking and running. I am not saying that barefoot running will magically make you a better runner, but I will say that they will allow your brain to make your body change your running form (if you have bad form like i do), and make you realize how important good form is to running and walking.

I would challenge people to just take your shoes off and try running on a hard flat surface for a couple minutes. If you have bad running form, you will know it pretty quickly, and your brain will make your body start adjusting your form too. Take it slow and don't over do it.

At this point my feet and lower legs are killing me, but it's all muscle, tendon, and foot pad pain. I do not feel any of the joint & shin pain that I used to feel. I think it has to do with using my muscles and tendons to absorb the shock (mid foot strike), instead of letting my joints absorb the shock (heel striking), but I'm not a doctor so I don't know for sure.

I am taking it very slow because I feel like I am starting all over again from scratch because I am using different components (joints vs muscles/tendons), and I still feel a little awkward even just walking sometimes. But I feel like my feet, ankles, and lower legs are getting stronger, and I am very aware of my form and constantly trying to fine tune it.

So far, I can run almost 1 mile in these shoes on paved surface, but mostly do 1 minute run / 4 minute power walk intervals over a 3 to 4 mile distance. I will slowly increase as my feet get stronger and am giving myself a year to get to the point I was at running the way I used to run (i could only run 5 miles at a slow pace to begin with).

There is no cost in just taking your shoes off and trying to run for a few minutes. I think it would be an excellent way to evaluate your running form.

feisty_bucket wrote: »

The problem with "just do whatever stride feels natural to you" is that when any noob goes to buy "running shoes" they're gonna be sold something with a giant heel block on it. Which is specifically built for heel-strikes. That's been the default for decades.

Flat/"zero drop" shoes are intended for mid- or forefoot strikes but you're not gonna know that unless you've read a bunch of recent running info.

Do you have any idea of how many elite runners are heel strikers? Zero drop shoes are not for everybody but there's a cult like belief in them in some circles (they must have hired some Apple marketing executives)

OP I subscribe to the use your natural gait school of thought but with the caveat that you should avoid over-striding (ie getting your forward foot way out front and then landing hard on your heel) Try to keep your stride comfortably short (forward foot doesn't go too far forward of your hips) which will promote a natural light heel strike / midfoot strike.

I would encourage you to be open to trying different shoes, just be cautious when going from an 8 or 10mm drop to 2mm or zero (use the new shoes for short slow runs at first to see how you feel) Despite all of the so-called innovations in shoes injury rates among runners have remained relatively unchanged for decades. Most running injuries are the result of doing too much, too soon, too fast - listen to your body and look after little niggles before they become full blown injuries (advice all of us have received and most of us have ignored) and have fun.

lightenup2016 wrote: »

With regular running shoes, I find it very difficult to not heel strike. I have to really think about it, and it feels awkward, to try anything else.

Now, if you try running barefoot, or with minimalist shoes, you'll find it much more natural to land on the ball of the foot. Most of us are not used to that, so it's important to gradually ease into this type of running (I've been injured by doing too much too soon barefoot). I will say that it's easier on the knees to forefoot strike rather than heel strike, but in my experience, a good cushioned pair of running shoes can limit the impact on the knees.

I found this also to be true, when I run in regular sneakers, I found it very hard to toe strike, but when I wore my 5-fingers, I could do either, but wanted to toe strike since I'm a fairly heavy runner.