Comments on: So You’re a Heel Striker, It May Be OK! – My Interview on Trail Runner Nation

By: Edward

Edward — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As someone who runs in low profile shoes but is a very mild heel-striker, I couldn't agree more! I tried to tweak my form and ended up getting injured, whereas when I returned to my regular stride, I resumed my regular, injury free, running.

By: Rachelle

Rachelle — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

So many circular justifications for varied footstrikes. If we're going to call it "Natural" running...perhaps we should allow people to run in a way that is natural for them, so long as it isn't causing injury.

All of us who can afford choice are fortunate that there are so many shoe options to protect and encourage the different landing styles.

I have a solid mid-foot strike. Always have. Running on my heels or toes is uncomfortable, slows me down, and I can't imagine allowing some shoe company to tell me that I should change what ain't broken. (It's one of the reasons that kigo doesn't tell people how to run :)

Training barefooted or in really minimalist shoes can be good, if only to force people to notice what part of their foot is hitting the ground first, and to try to lighten up and soften their footstrike. But for heaven's sake. If you've been a heel striker forever, run healthy and have no issues with it, then protect your heels and try to lighten your strike so you can keep the lowest amount of impact in your ankles/knees/hips/back.

Running is supposed to feel good and be fun.

By: Jens

Jens — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I like to think: Come down below your body, your center of gravity; don't worry about how! It will be almost impossible to heelstrike then anyway.

By: Pete Larson

Pete Larson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Greg Strosaker.

Greg – yeah, the evidence supporting higher cadence/shorter stride for sparing the legs is much stronger than that for foot strike in my opinion. As long as foot strike isn’t extreme at either end, probably not a huge deal if the rest of the stride looks good.

—-
Pete Larson’s Web Links:
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By: Pete Larson

Pete Larson — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In reply to Rachelle.

Great comment Rachelle, couldn't agree more! Even within individuals, foot strike will vary somewhat with shoe worn, surface run on, speed, and level of fatigue. And heel strikes come in lots of varieties, and all may not be created equal. I certainly wouldn't advocate an overstride with the sole of the shoe angled up 45 degrees from the ground on contact, but a mild heel strike is probably not a big deal for most people.

Pete

By: Christina

Christina — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I thought Rachelle’s comment was spot on, how I kind of view things. “If we’re going to call it “Natural” running…perhaps we should allow people to run in a way that is natural for them, so long as it isn’t causing injury.” I’ve been writing some blog articles myself on whether “natural/barefoot” is right for me. I can’t say I am an expert, but am going with the fact I am currently running well and not injured. If major injury ever sets in, then I will probably be re-investigating my form. To be fair to the entire barefoot/natural movement – I do run in a low profile shoe so I do lean in the direction of ‘less is more’. :-)

By: Greg Strosaker

Greg Strosaker — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hey, you stole the title of one of my posts! (almost) http://predawnrunner.com/heel-…. Anyhow, someone mentioned to me that you promoted a focus on cadence in this podcast, and I’ve been doing a lot of that since coming back from Achilles tendinitis. I find that it does seem to make me lighter on my feet while at the same time resulting in a quicker pace for less perceived effort. In fact, I feel better after running at 180/min cadence and a 7:05 pace than I do running at 165-170 / min and a 8:00 pace.