Talk to me about shoe drop

Silly to increase drop in your racing flats. Most people go the other way with a 10mm drop trainer and 6mm racer.

I think drop means less in this new breed of shoes than in the past. The foams are so squishy that I feel that they let your feet do what they’re gonna do far easier than high drop shoes in the past.

For example, I have a pair of New Balance RC Elites, a 10mm drop shoe. I just got done with a pair of Adidas Boston 9’s and the drop in them is 9mm. The drop in the Boston definitely feels much higher than that in the RC Elite.

It’s generally a good idea to have a few different shoes and drops. I also tend to think it’s good to have a workout shoe similar to your race shoe. I use Altra Escalantes and the Torin Plush for my daily/recovery shoes and use the NB Rebels as my main workout shoe (and I rotate them in as dailies) and the RC Elite for racing and the occasional workout.

Generally speaking higher drop shoes will shift load away from the calves and feet and towards the knees and hips. Lower drop shoes will do the opposite, shift load from the knees and hips and towards your feet and calves.

I think the ideal drop has been recognized as 8mm.

Good description Tugboat! In terms of your stride wouldn't a zero drop shoe make it easier for midfoot striking and a higher heel lift have a tendency for your foot to hit the ground further back towards the heel? I don't know if this is the case but I've though heel lift might have this impact. I'm not a believe that anyone should attempt to modify their natural stride but midfoot striking allows your muscles to absorb more impact while heel impact has your bones more directly taking the impact. This may be a gross over-simplification

Naperville Runner wrote:

Good description Tugboat! In terms of your stride wouldn't a zero drop shoe make it easier for midfoot striking and a higher heel lift have a tendency for your foot to hit the ground further back towards the heel? I don't know if this is the case but I've though heel lift might have this impact. I'm not a believe that anyone should attempt to modify their natural stride but midfoot striking allows your muscles to absorb more impact while heel impact has your bones more directly taking the impact. This may be a gross over-simplification

I think it depends. Me personally, I’m a heel striker. Even in Altra’s, I’m still a heel striker. It’s true that my wear pattern in Altra’s is more of a “midfooty” heel striker, closer to underneath my ankle than in shoes with a drop, but still. Running in a zero drop shoe won’t magically turn you into a mid foot/forefoot striker.

They will load you onto your mid foot and forefoot much sooner than a high drop shoe, and I think that’s what confuses a lot of people. They feel like they’re mid foot or forefoot striking when they’re actually heel striking still, but the shoe is loading your forefoot much quicker.

Honestly, I don't think we can guess at what is right for you. Some people love barefoot shoes (well, you know what I mean). Some people like stacked foamy clunkers. It doesn't really make too much sense to go up in stack for your races though... how long are your races?