How do heelstrikers sprint?

The ones that can't switch away from running of their heels can't sprint. One year back in the day, in a local race series, it would almost always come down to me and another dude who was a good athlete (college swimmer turned triathlete/cyclist/runner/xc skier), but a heel striker who couldn't change to more of a sprint form when he needed to. Though not fast myself, I dusted him with ease every time. I would kick it down to I'm guessing about 15-16 seconds for the last 100 in these XC/short trail races, and he could barely raise his pace faster than about 5 min/mile pace - maybe 18 seconds, because I'd always get him by a couple seconds or so in the final sprint after separating from the others in the race much earlier.

I shift on the fly. Just like down shifting a manual tranny in a car, I do the same when transitioning from heel to forefoot...that's why they call me "Shifty Sam." 🏃 (I also had a few old flames call me that 😅).

Womack wrote:

I wanted to ask heelstrikers, how do you guys sprint? You sprint on your heels? You change to forefoot only when sprinting? I have never seen any elite sprinter sprint on his heels- not even one.

Very slowly.

Unless people actually are sprinters they can't really sprint effectively no matter how they land.

So if you are talking about heel strikers ramping up the pace as fast as they can then they merely run like the well known fast heel strikers. Aouita, Ovett, Morceli, Botayeb, Skah, etc etc.

Pretty sure the OP could be up on his toes and yards behind those guys.

Shifty Sam wrote:

down shifting a manual tranny in a car, I do the same when transitioning

that's normal enough in this day and age, but do you have to tell everyone?

well it's like this wrote:

Unless people actually are sprinters they can't really sprint effectively no matter how they land.

So if you are talking about heel strikers ramping up the pace as fast as they can then they merely run like the well known fast heel strikers. Aouita, Ovett, Morceli, Botayeb, Skah, etc etc.

Pretty sure the OP could be up on his toes and yards behind those guys.

I don't think the OP is asking about sprinting as effectively as sprinters - more having a good change of pace.

Here's a video of Skah. Not the best quality, but if you slow it to 0.25 speed for the finale, you can see he definitely gets onto his forefeet in the sprint.

zzzz wrote:

well it's like this wrote:

Unless people actually are sprinters they can't really sprint effectively no matter how they land.

So if you are talking about heel strikers ramping up the pace as fast as they can then they merely run like the well known fast heel strikers. Aouita, Ovett, Morceli, Botayeb, Skah, etc etc.

Pretty sure the OP could be up on his toes and yards behind those guys.

I don't think the OP is asking about sprinting as effectively as sprinters - more having a good change of pace.

Here's a video of Skah. Not the best quality, but if you slow it to 0.25 speed for the finale, you can see he definitely gets onto his forefeet in the sprint.

Isn't that what I said?

well it's like this wrote:

Unless people actually are sprinters they can't really sprint effectively no matter how they land.

So if you are talking about heel strikers ramping up the pace as fast as they can then they merely run like the well known fast heel strikers. Aouita, Ovett, Morceli, Botayeb, Skah, etc etc.

Pretty sure the OP could be up on his toes and yards behind those guys.

Ovett and Aouita definitely didn't heel strike. Not sure on the others but I highly doubt they did.

- Loads of slow motion footage of Aouita. 53 seconds shows a perfect midfoot stride. Stop sprouting nonsense.

well it's like this wrote:

zzzz wrote:

I don't think the OP is asking about sprinting as effectively as sprinters - more having a good change of pace.

Here's a video of Skah. Not the best quality, but if you slow it to 0.25 speed for the finale, you can see he definitely gets onto his forefeet in the sprint.

Isn't that what I said?

I thought you were implying that the ones you listed were still heel striking when they were sprinting.

Womack wrote:

I wanted to ask heelstrikers, how do you guys sprint? You sprint on your heels? You change to forefoot only when sprinting? I have never seen any elite sprinter sprint on his heels- not even one.

Like this.

No. Freeze the video above at 35. Aouita was a heel striker who transitioned his foot strike as the pace increased.

Heel strike deniers are trying to create this alternate reality where the athlete NEVER runs on their heels.

Womack wrote:

I wanted to ask heelstrikers, how do you guys sprint? You sprint on your heels? You change to forefoot only when sprinting? I have never seen any elite sprinter sprint on his heels- not even one.

Are you people so stupid as to not realise that foot contact changes with velocity. Just because some HJ plods along on there heels does not mean the same happens when they sprint.

Heels are for standing, fore feet are for landing.

I ran with a guy in college who was a vicious heelstriker. I remember watching him do strides once..He just couldn't get on the balls of his feet. He never broke 28 in the 200 and once when he had to do the 4x400 he didn't break 60 seconds. The rest of us were kinda baffled.

Rolopie wrote:

Womack wrote:

I wanted to ask heelstrikers, how do you guys sprint? You sprint on your heels? You change to forefoot only when sprinting? I have never seen any elite sprinter sprint on his heels- not even one.

Are you people so stupid as to not realise that foot contact changes with velocity. Just because some HJ plods along on there heels does not mean the same happens when they sprint.

Foot contact does not change with velocity, it changes with acceleration. When you accelerate, you move the center of mass forward/ you lean forward, and as a result land more forefoot. When you decelerate you raise your body and shift the center of mass backwords, thus landing more on the back of the foot/or heel. Yet, someone who runs forefoot never shifts during a run to heelstrike and vice versa. It is a total different technique that activate different muscles. Forefoot runners even when jogging run on the ball of the foot. Maybe only when they come to a complete stop the stick the heel in the ground in last strides to stop

As baffled as you are wrote:

I ran with a guy in college who was a vicious heelstriker. I remember watching him do strides once..He just couldn't get on the balls of his feet. He never broke 28 in the 200 and once when he had to do the 4x400 he didn't break 60 seconds. The rest of us were kinda baffled.

That's because he wasn't fast, not because he hit his heels first.

Some hobbyjoggers mince along on the balls of their feet and couldn't break 90 seconds for the 4.

I was a pretty extreme heel striker as a kid. I'd heel strike anything 57-sec / 400m pace or slower, faster I'd be on my toes but I never felt comfortable at it and it didn't really buy me much. My 400 PR was only 55.5 or so.

So, to answer your question from person experience, heel strikers do get on their toes when they sprint but they aren't very good at doing it because they don't get much practice at it. If I had it to do over, I'd have learned to run midfoot.

whaaat? wrote:

well it's like this wrote:

Unless people actually are sprinters they can't really sprint effectively no matter how they land.

So if you are talking about heel strikers ramping up the pace as fast as they can then they merely run like the well known fast heel strikers. Aouita, Ovett, Morceli, Botayeb, Skah, etc etc.

Pretty sure the OP could be up on his toes and yards behind those guys.

Ovett and Aouita definitely didn't heel strike. Not sure on the others but I highly doubt they did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NithQSa0LIA

- Loads of slow motion footage of Aouita. 53 seconds shows a perfect midfoot stride. Stop sprouting nonsense.

True word. Also Morceli wasn't a heel striker. Forefoot runner like 99% of them