Should I Switch From Heel Striking To Midfoot Striking?

Yes.

You should also begin being Kenyan.

Just do what you do. If you're a heel striker, heel strike.

I am a natural mid-foot striker. This killed me in college for the 10k on the track in spikes. My calves would burn the last 1.5 miles and I'd be sore for like 3 days. I tried to heel strike but couldn't comfortably.

bump. If I train over the summer using midfoot will it help me in the future?

I switched to a forefoot strike in college after reading an article about Bill Rodgers. It took a few weeks to get comfortable with it, but once I did I took a minute off my 10K overnight.

I feel that this transition was one major element that allowed me to drop from 17:40(XC) 4:52 and 2:07 as a junior to 16:11, 4:20, and 1:54 as a senior. It does, I think make u less durable because it puts so much stress on your achilles, soleus, and PF,but if you know how to watch it as you adjust, it can pay off, certainly. I recommend using a lot of calf/ heel stretching and strengthening.

ben and jerry wrote:

I feel that this transition was one major element that allowed me to drop from 17:40(XC) 4:52 and 2:07 as a junior to 16:11, 4:20, and 1:54 as a senior. It does, I think make u less durable because it puts so much stress on your achilles, soleus, and PF,but if you know how to watch it as you adjust, it can pay off, certainly. I recommend using a lot of calf/ heel stretching and strengthening.

thanks for the input. ok, now what kind of shoes did you run in when you made the transition? Becuase the shoes I wear now are basically meant for running heel-toe

"It took a few weeks to get comfortable with it, but once I did I took a minute off my 10K overnight."

That reminds me of the time I did a power hour in 4 days.

I mostly have run in asics and brooks. I haven't yet found a pair that I will cling to for the rest of my life (though maybe some other shoe experts out there can recommend some specialized midfoot/ forefoot shoes). The main thing for me has been the newness of the shoes. As soon as the front padding is done (especially if I'm running on roads) things go to hell. For this reason I try to be especially vigilant about keeping fresh shoes and running on softer surfaces when I can.

Also I would also say that the transition for me was effective because I had a whole summer to build up the strength. Doing this either during a competitive season or even in a shorter break between seasons is risky.

ben and jerry wrote:

I mostly have run in asics and brooks. I haven't yet found a pair that I will cling to for the rest of my life (though maybe some other shoe experts out there can recommend some specialized midfoot/ forefoot shoes). The main thing for me has been the newness of the shoes. As soon as the front padding is done (especially if I'm running on roads) things go to hell. For this reason I try to be especially vigilant about keeping fresh shoes and running on softer surfaces when I can.

Also I would also say that the transition for me was effective because I had a whole summer to build up the strength. Doing this either during a competitive season or even in a shorter break between seasons is risky.

Thanks, I think I will do like you did and wait until after track season is over to try to transition.

Here's a couple of suggestions for you, based on my own experiences of coaching forefoot strike for over 30 plus years.

1. Practice doing jump rope exercises, where you land just behind the ball of the foot (that is where you should land when mastering the forefoot strike).

2. Initially land behind the ball of the foot and then lightly touch your heel to the ground before pushing off for your next stride when you implement this foot strike. You do not want to land behind the ball of the foot and keep your heel off the ground as that leads to calf and achilles heel issues and defeats the purpose of driving your body forward properly.

3. Introduce this new foot strike gradually, first during warmups and warmdowns and allow yourself at least a few months to adapt this new technique. Do not attempt doing long runs using this method for the first six months or so.

4. Use lighter racing shoes, rather than training shoes when working on this technique. Training flats tend to be too inflexible and tend to reinforce heel plant technique.

5. In some rare instances I have had athletes that were unable to adapt to this technique, causing them to actually run slower. This did not happen often, but enough for me to learn that not all runners can make the changeover.

6. So, in conclusion, build up gradually, be patient and you will eventually find that the forefoot plant will help you run faster and more efficiently.

I think the most important advice is:

Pete Schuder wrote:

build up gradually

Don't try to change your form overnight. That is setting yourself up for injury.

i would recommend jump-roping for warmups and cooldowns since it keeps you on your toes and gives yuor calves a good workout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ZXYrM0x0M

i also switched over. I did it over the summmer. I am running a heck of a lot faster now than before. I would try and make my foot strike as fast as possible, so at first it was just a faster heel to toe but then it gradually switch to a mid foot strike.

How do you become a midfoot striker? Just jumping rope cannot change that much.

No, stick with the heel striking kid. And keep it on the crete.

I switched in training for XC during 10th grade and i soon became a lot faster. i dropped from 17:13 to 15:59 that year. and my track season was even better. I just did 15 secs or so a few times in a run focusing on a midfoot landing. I would think about pulling your leg back or "pawing the ground", similar to running on a motorless treadmill. I started doing a few of these during my easy runs and by the end of the summer i was running midfoot naturally. the prob for me was the added stress to your muscles absorbing and distributing the impact but i agree it you strengthen your calfs, massage and stretch well and you will be fine.

i would suggest training in a performance training shoe since they have a lower heel-toe ratio.

check this out hilarious

http://www.ihateyoujulia.com/?id=1226088848285e8bcfec07b4b486a669