I think your question is worthy of an entire post! But in short, an invalid reason would be for someone who is running injury free and getting what they want from the sport to change because someone scared them into making the change or presented them with unrealistic potential outcomes from making a change. For example, they heard or read somewhere that forefoot striking or minimal shoes will prevent them from getting injured or will make them run faster, so they decide to change what has been working for them. A change when everything is going well could just as easily trigger an injury as prevent a future injury.

I think the k the ego is a big part of the problem for a lot of runners. Mentality is often that I’m a strong runner and can handle a change no problem, but sometimes that approach doesn’t work too well, especially if you do a lot of miles and a lot of speed. I learned this after my first few runs in Vibrams – had pain on the top of my feet from doing too much too soon and was wise enough to put them away for a few weeks and start back really gradually. Had no issues when I used the more gradual approach. The difficulty is knowing individual tolerance and adaptation speed – some people can probably transition very quickly, some may never be able to go fully minimal.

If you work at dropping the foot down to land close to under your centre of mass you will land nice and softly and safely -it’s very very likely you will land on your forefoot in doing so. If you’re wearing wedged running shoes at the time it’s possible you will have a slight heel strike, but that’s OK.

Shorter strides, quicker cadence is a good self help cue.

I don’t necessarily think people need to stop heel striking. There is no strong evidence to suggest heel striking increases injury risk or reduces performance, or that midfoot or forefoot is better. In fact, most every study that has looked has found no significant difference in injury risk or efficiency between the various foot strike types. I am for the most part a mild heel striker myself depending on the shoes I’m wearing, and am fine with that. As I go more minimal I shift further forward.

Probably the best we can say is that different foot strikes stress the body in different ways and we can use modifications if our goal is to offload a particular tissue. For example, when new runners in my Couch to 5K group suffer from anterior shin splints, I may suggest moderating a heel strike to reduce stress to the tibialis anterior. I had another woman this Spring who was having calf/Achilles issue and was a very pronounced forefoot striker. I actually suggested she might want to run midfoot or even with a slight heel strike.

The big question to me is whether there is a distinction between the various types of heel strike that can be observed. I see people with extreme ankle dorsiflexion who smash the heck out of the heel cushion in their shoes and can’t help but think that it is inefficient and potentially injurious, but I also have no real data to support this belief. Science has not weighed in on whether some heel strikes are better or worse than others, though we do know that various kinds of heel strikes can be distinguished via force measurements.

If your goal is to modify foot strike, practicing barefoot running can be a great approach, but I think must be done gradually to minimize risk to the foot bones and ankle plantarflexors and perhaps the Achilles tendon. My worry with forcing a forefoot strike is that it results in an exaggerated forefoot strike that put excessive stress on the foot bones and ankle musculature. I prefer to use cues to relax the ankle/let the foot dangle and aim for a flat landing or very slightly to the forefoot or heel. Track speedwork or strides in racing flats is another good way to work on form. Also, simply shortening up stride and increasing cadence may lead to changes in ankle angle at contact even if it does not result in a change in foot strike pattern.

Ultimately, the biggest issue is to only attempt change if there is a good reason to do so. If you are running injury free and meeting your running goals/needs it is probably best to not mess with success.

The obvious question is: what does one need to do, to change the heel strike to a “better” mid foot or forefoot strike.

I have read somewhere that trying consciously to land on your forefoot, i.e. plantar flexing the foot, is one of the worst things that a runner can do.

Which leaves us with:

1) Running barefoot / with very minimalist shoes, in order to feel at least with what are of your foot you are striking.

2) The usual drills

What would you recommend?

Take care

Jurgen

I don’t disagree at all, and I don’t think most people have any idea how they contact the ground when they run unless they are very diligent about observing shoe wear patterns, and even those at times can be misleading. I’ve had a number of gait analysis clients tell me they have been working on midfoot striking only to have video reveal that they are still pounding their heels big time. I do think that a more minimal shoe will modify form over time in some ways, even if it doesn’t result in a change in foot strike from one category to another. For example, I have video of a lot of heel striking Vibram runners, but it’s typically a much less pronounced heel strike than I see in more conventionally shod runners. I have seen other runners who almost bottom out the heel cushioning of a conventional running shoe so there has to be a ton of impact going on. I think we need to be much more aware of variation in the category we call “heel strike.”

You’re a gait coach, so clearly you have a bias in thinking that coaching is warranted. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. I think it’s a reasonable suggestion, but as someone who does gait analysis I also share a bias. I try to be objective and not self-serving, and prefer that until we have strong evidence showing that form coaching in conjunction with a shoe transition reduces risk of injury I hesitate to make a blanket recommendation.

I’m not a golfer, so it would be a bit like someone saying to me ‘be aware of your poor swing’.