Reading Bowerman's book; 70% of elite runners are heel strikers???

I would question that. I know Dr. Cavannah from Penn State studied the biomechanics of distance runners fairly extensively and concluded that ~50% are mid-foot strikers, 30% are heel strikes are 20% are forefoot strikers. Having analyzed many of the distance runners you mention above, and would argue that ANY of them are forefoot strikers. Geb maybe, but we'd be pushing the definition of forefoot striker a bit.

jT

News to me.

Dweez wrote:

I've seen still pics of Prefontaine from races and it appears he is heel-toe; is this true?

I've only noticed that in races where his form seems to have broken down from being so hard pressed, and he almost always ends up losing, versus Buerkle, etc.

I always thought most were heel strikers for training runs and most races longer than a mile. From what I remember, most on my college XC team were.

Bump...

Jtupper, I think by forefoot striker Bowerman meant anything mid-foot and forward, as he didn't say anything about "mid-foot strikers." So, someone who runs on their toes would be classified with someone who lands far back on the ball, but not quite heel striking.

well, it looks to me as if ritz is indeed heal striking here, while meb looks like he is about to midfoot or fore foot strike. just thought iw ould share this picture. i do think that a lot has to do with the pace. ritz may be heal striking while he is jogging around, but i am sure when it comes to faster stuff he is a mid to forefoot stiker.

BarryP wrote:

I always thought most were heel strikers for training runs and most races longer than a mile. From what I remember, most on my college XC team were.

Only if you wear bulky training shoes with high heel lifts on your training runs.

Bowerman's book was written before the joys of stop action and slow motion video tape.

73% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Dweez wrote:

He mentioned that 70% of elite runners are heel-toe runners, 20% land flat footed, and the remaining 10% land on the ball or toes.

It depends on the shoes. Barefoot, you'll naturally land flatfooted or on the forefoot-- the force is too great to land on your heels while barefoot. The greater the heel lift of a shoe, the greater the likelihood of landing on the heel; it's much more difficult to "naturally" land flatfooted or on the forefoot in a shoe with a significant heel.

Yeah while at a CASUAL JOG gait.

pud wrote:

well, it looks to me as if ritz is indeed heal striking here, while meb looks like he is about to midfoot or fore foot strike. just thought iw ould share this picture. i do think that a lot has to do with the pace. ritz may be heal striking while he is jogging around, but i am sure when it comes to faster stuff he is a mid to forefoot stiker.

Look at these pics:

http://www.mensracing.com/athletes/interviews/dathanritzenhein03.html

It looks like Ritz is a heel-striker in races too.

No, it doesn't.

Dweez wrote:

I was scanning the running books in the college library and started reading Bowerman's "Jogging." He mentioned that 70% of elite runners are heel-toe runners, 20% land flat footed, and the remaining 10% land on the ball or toes. (Yes, the book was made for joggers, but he was particularly addressing the footstrikes of trained runners)

Is this accurate? 95% of the distance runners I know are forefoot strikers-it seems Bekele, Geb, Ritz, etc, are all forefoot strikers. Everyone on my HS team was a forefoot striker.

Are there really that many elite heel-toe runners? Who are they? I've seen still pics of Prefontaine from races and it appears he is heel-toe; is this true?

Do you mean heel strikers when racing? I doubt that your whole HS team was forefoot strikers in training. I'm a heel striker in training, but in racing I run on my toes. You're not going to get an accurate picture of someone looking at race pictures if you are talking about training.

It's part of a natural part of your cycle. Dorsiflexion(i believe). It will change by the time his leg hits the ground

exactly...we can't tell if someone is a heel, mid or forefoot striker from a picture. Best to look at the video.

jT

All the distance guys on my team in HS were forefoot strikers, yes-in both races and training (often around 8:00 pace) Of course, I am only talking about 8-10 runners here.

Who cares? Why does it matter?

Dathan wrote:

Look at these pics:

http://www.mensracing.com/athletes/interviews/dathanritzenhein03.html

It looks like Ritz is a heel-striker in races too.

I agree, but in all fairness there are some guys, like myself, who start heelstriking more as they get tired, as Ritz is doing in that pic.

I care. I'm interested. And yes, in a way, it does matter.