Have you ever cut the heels off of your running shoes? I just did.

Zero Drop wrote:

What I am NOT sure of is what to call it when the heal(sic) is LOWER than the mid foot. I got made fun of for calling it a "negative drop", but I cannot think of anything better to call it...

integer system wrote:

A reverse drop. Many spikes actually use this because it allows you to run faster.

Actually it's a negative drop in reverse. =:-o

Good grief.

A drop is a drop, and a lift is a lift.

It's "heel" not heal wrote:

Zero Drop wrote:

"Look it up" is correct.

What I am NOT sure of is what to call it when the heal(sic) is LOWER than the mid foot. I got made fun of for calling it a "negative drop", but I cannot think of anything better to call it...

Apparently you're responding to yourself, therefore wrong in both instances.

Again this is not rocket science.

When the shoe causes your heel to drop below level when standing that's a heel drop, when the shoe causes your heel to raise up when standing, that's a heel lift, because the shoe is either lifting or dropping your heel.

lol, no. Every shoe company measures "drop" as the difference from the heel to the mid foot. A heel of 20mm of cushion and mid foot of 15 mm of cushion has 5mm of drop. Drop is measured from heel to mid foot, not from mid foot to heel.

Zero Drop wrote:

lol, no. Every shoe company measures "drop" as the difference from the heel to the mid foot. A heel of 20mm of cushion and mid foot of 15 mm of cushion has 5mm of drop. Drop is measured from heel to mid foot, not from mid foot to heel.

What you are explaining is a 5mm heel lift, because the foot is 5mm higher at the heel. The heel being higher is heel lift. And it's not just the cushion, but the entire thickness of the heel compared to the rest of the shoe, most notably the ball of the foot.

Look, I've been running for 70 years. How about you?

Please try and think of what you are saying.

Update:

My cut up kicks are now probably my favorite shoes I have ever owned. Still heavier than I like for speed work, but I love them on long and recovery runs. I feel like I am strengthening my achilles (as I am 99% sure I have accidentally created a "negative drop" shoe) more than I would in normal shoes.

Also, to the guy who has been running for 70 years: I am sorry, you are just wrong. Every shoe company measures "drop" from heel to toe. Google "low drop shoes" and you will get tons of useful results. Google "low heel rise shoes" and you will get tons of useful results... about "low drop" shoes. My only guess is that the terminology has evolved over the past 70 years. Time for you to adapt :-)

And then what happened?

Is zero drop update? wrote:

And then what happened?

They worked out fine. They were Newton Gravity; cutting off the heel essentially turned them into a Newton Distance.

The rubber on the heel was completely separate from the forefoot rubber (ie, there was exposed midsole under the foot's arch), so that particular shoe lent itself to the amputation. I haven't done it with other shoes, because 1. the outsole rubber of may of my shoes is connected, or 2. I just haven't bought many shoes with a drop high enough to warrant the surgery.

All that being said: any time you have some old shoes you no longer use, consider playing around with them. Change out the laces, switch out midsoles, cut off parts of the outsole, cut out parts of the upper that may give you hot spots... you can't make an omelette if you don't break some eggs.

I tried to cut the heel off a pair of old cheap running shoes.

Let me put it this way: you don't want me to perform your plastic surgery soon.

Ok thanks. I'll give it a try when the next dry spell comes. I do mostly trails and it's a bit muddy right now.

I like trying different things like this and I have enough shoes in my shoe hoarding cupboard.

A word of warning: With no outsole, landing on the now-exposed midsole is slippery as snot on wet surfaces.

YMMV wrote:

A word of warning: With no outsole, landing on the now-exposed midsole is slippery as snot on wet surfaces.

I agree. Wet painted lines in the road are the worst. (This goes with any shoe with exposed EVA, not just butchered shoes.)