Heel or midfoot strike?

It doesn't matter how your for strikes as long as you have good form

Heel versus midfoot strike is a symptom and I would not focus on it at all. The real issue is where your foot is underneath you when making contact with the ground. If your heel is ahead of your knee at contact then you will be a heel striker. If your heel is behind your knee at contact then you will be a mid-foot striker.

There are very successful HS XC runners who are heal strikers. The limiting factor is heel strikers cannot run fast efficiently. If you are not running much below 5 minute per mile pace then you can get away with being a heel striker.

When i was in high school i always tried to midfoot strike as that is typically more efficient than heel striking. Up until the last 3 races of my senior year i kept trying this and i was hitting mediocre times. The last 3 races of that year i decided to try and switch it up a bit, so i ran on my toes the entire time like it was a track race. Ended up PRing by 50 seconds in my last 5k when it counted most.

I realized that running on my toes is how i feel most comfortable naturally. I always ran that way in all of my workouts so it didnt make sense for me to switch it up. I would say run in the same style that you usually run your workouts in.

I agree with what you wrote but think you over simplified. Heel striking is always less efficient than proper running form with a mid/forefoot strike. However, it ranges from almost no difference at slow (say 7+ min pave for average height man) to a large difference at fast paces (try running sub 60s quarters while heel striking!)So for a jv high school kid, not really too critical today. For an average varsity kid, it does make a difference right now.Also I say forefoot when other people say midfoot to avoid confusion with my athletes. We mean the same thing, but I find midfoot to be confusing because some people think this means the center of your foot from the heel to the toe when it means the middle section, which is the "ball" of your foot and closer to your toes than your heel. Proper form should find you landing on the area behind your toes at faster paces. At slower paces, some people may find their heel also touches with even perfect form. I agree with your idea of mot getting hung up on this, but instead focusing on good efficient form and footstrike will follow.

thoughts wrote:

Heel versus midfoot strike is a symptom and I would not focus on it at all. The real issue is where your foot is underneath you when making contact with the ground. If your heel is ahead of your knee at contact then you will be a heel striker. If your heel is behind your knee at contact then you will be a mid-foot striker.

There are very successful HS XC runners who are heal strikers. The limiting factor is heel strikers cannot run fast efficiently. If you are not running much below 5 minute per mile pace then you can get away with being a heel striker.

I would't say one is better than the other, but I would say that your most natural form/the way you run normally, is always best. Except for major form issues, it depends on how you run.

If you heel strike you don't have good form.

curiousrunner wrote:

It doesn't matter how your for strikes as long as you have good form

get used to it. wrote:

If you heel strike you don't have good form.

curiousrunner wrote:

It doesn't matter how your for strikes as long as you have good form

The OP needs advice from posters who are knowledgeable about biomechanics. He has got some good adivice until you chimed in.

Everyone has different biomechanics. Get used to it.

Even in the elementary school we were taught to land on the toes. This is known as a pose-tech running (check some online videos) and is supposedly more effective (less energy for the same effect). Calf and feet muscles are much more involved when during "regular" heel-strike running, so you need time to adjust otherwise you will be in terrible pain.

Pose running is nuts. It's not natural. The best runners don't run that way whether they land heel first or forefoot first.

There are teenagers who run under 9-min for 2-miles while landing on their heels the whole time, even when sprinting. It's always pretty risky to change someone's natural form, unless they're just a slow mess.

Wow...it's been a long time since I've seen anyone mention POSE around here.

The guy who invented pose, was trying to re-invent the wheel.

Pose is crazy wrote:

The guy who invented pose, was trying to re-invent the wheel.

Into a square

doesn't matter

what matters is where the strike is... either under the center of gravity or just barely ahead of it

the danger comes when the footstrike is way in front of the center of gravity

Lol..I am a PT you dolt. I know about biomechanics. Certainly people like you don't realize you can land with with your foot under your hip if you heel strike. Try running in place and landing on your heels. Good luck with that you effing tool bag.

fsdffaisjdfiasjf wrote:

get used to it. wrote:

If you heel strike you don't have good form.

The OP needs advice from posters who are knowledgeable about biomechanics. He has got some good adivice until you chimed in.

Everyone has different biomechanics. Get used to it.

Everyone lands on the heel, mid foot, or forefoot while running.

I read as many quotes as I could on this subject and have yet to read anyone suggest this. If you think I am wrong then show me the fool who runs uphills while using a heel striker running style!

When sprinting pretty much all of us run on the balls of our feet at our top speed.

When we are very tired and running very slow, most of us run on our heels.

When we go around corners or turn, we may land on our heels a little bit more.

As far as a midfoot strike, that probably varies with the speed the individual is running and it's probably hard to detect if he is actually landing slightly heel first or slightly towards the ball of foot first.

The guy who claims he ran a 4:09 mile with a heel striking style probably landed with a midfoot strike which was more heel strike when he was running slow. At top speed, the dude was running closer to the balls of his feet.

It is true that distance runners do not get as high on the balls of their feet at the end or races because they are tired and running slower.

If you think I am wrong on any of this, please write back to me!!!

personally I run w/ midfoot, but it will really depend what shoe you're wearing. If its a zero drop, youll most likely land midfoot, but if you have any sort of heel, youll start to land on the heel. Pretty much all the varsity guys on my team run with regular shoes and heel strike, so I dont think it is that big a deal, but if you want to, get the right shoes, dont try to midfoot strike w/ clunky trainers.

Bottom line: You do you, whatever is better. (and get the correct shoe for whatever it is)

get used to it. wrote:

Lol..I am a PT you dolt. I know about biomechanics. Certainly people like you don't realize you can land with with your foot under your hip if you heel strike. Try running in place and landing on your heels. Good luck with that you effing tool bag.

fsdffaisjdfiasjf wrote:

The OP needs advice from posters who are knowledgeable about biomechanics. He has got some good adivice until you chimed in.

Everyone has different biomechanics. Get used to it.

So you're a PT and you don't understand that different people have different biomechanics?

He's not a PT, he's just a troll. A real PT wouldn't say "Good luck with that you effing tool bag".