I'm heel striker! My favorite running shoe has a lot of cushion on it a a big heal to toe drop. I have a lot of success running with the "Nike Lunarglide" line. PB: 5k in 18:50
The slower you run, the harder it is to forefoot strike. I think that the 6:30 pace that you mentioned is spot on. Trying to forefoot strike at 8:00 pace feels awkward
so glad i watched this, i've just started training for a marathon and have been doing quite well, building up my fitness and my distance, but everyone says you need to land on your fore foot so I tried it and it killed my calfs! it made me run too fast, it didn't feel natural at all. I can see how running faster it could be a benefit like you said but I'm not a professional runnner by any means, i don't hope to finish sub 3 hrs or take running up as a profession, I'm a 43 year dad and after tonights run I really felt down about the running. I don't have bad running form I think, i don't land hard on my heals or push my leg out too far in front, i strike under my body and lean forward and decided to continue with what felt comfortable, watching this video has made my day, thank you :) I'll head out tomorrow and just try to be mindful of my gait but not stress the heal thing!
Same here Christian. Heel foot running seems to jar my whole body so I tried fore-to-mid foot running. My calves are still aching as I read this. My game plan is to work of pelvic tilt and running in my center of gravity. Best of success to you.
Well, if you haven't ever ran forefoot before, of course it's going to kill your calves. The other thing is, if your glutes and hips aren't activated enough, your calves are going to be doing all the work which is why they got super tight for you.
Thanks for the research. I recently started running again at 54 years old after years (15) of recovering from injuries. I kinda forgot how to run properly. Heel toe hmm what to do. I run slowly, no faster than 11 minutes per mile currently but hopefully I’ll improve. Many videos advocate toe or mid foot. I just have trouble getting to a pace for toe running. It seems impractical and awkward at my casual pace. I’m glad to see I should be ok. I feel good and haven’t had any injuries. Just some soreness but I recover quickly.
I have never left a comment in my life. I just wanted you to know that the information you are putting out, is awesome. It comes from the heart and you have my support. I don't alway agree with what you say, but the intent means everything. You always mean to help people out. I have a coaching plan this year, but next year i will support you next year. I really hope that you can make it a hit and your able to support yourself just doing this. I will do my part!!!
What a wonderful comment, thank you so much for sharing! It seriously means a lot for us to get these comments because it reminds us why we're doing this day in and day out.
I wholeheartedly agree. No one ever talks about pace when they talk about this debate. I find that when I'm going at slower pace I tend to heel strike more, when I'm sprinting or running a pace of sub 7 I start naturally moving my strike forward. The more you think the more you'll screw yourself up and hurt your interval times or even yourself. Find what you do and build your running around that. If you're training professionally there's benefit to learn all strikes, but if you're just trying to gear up to run a 15k or even marathon one day, embrace your natural strike, pronation, and foot shape as long as it isn't causing injury.
I've been trying all kinds of ways of running. I think you're spot on as this confirms my own findings. Getting slower when aging, the heel strike is way more efficient.
You can't imagine how much of relief this video gave me! I (think) I'm a heel striker (and slow runner), but for the past week or so, I've been trying to be more of a forefoot runner after seeing more RUclips videos than you can imagine. And now my ankle and knee hurt more than ever, so much that I've had to scale back on the running which has put me in a really bad mood. So goodbye to forcing my foot strike and soon i hope goodbye to the bad mood haha.
Well stated. You make the point that it is the combination of both over-striding and heal striking that results in the "braking" action that should be avoided. Just the heal strike itself is not the issue-- it depends on where the heal strike takes place relative to one's overall body position. I would be interested in knowing your sources you reference.
Good to know because at my age (60s) my foot strike isn't going to change. Best I've been able to do is cut back a bit on the heavy heel strike caused by overstriding, in favor of a more midfoot strike, rolling along the outer edge of the foot and pushing off on the forefoot (consistent wear patterns in all my shoes). I'll practice forefoot running for short distances but it feels unnatural and always results in soreness. And I have high arches so I need additional arch support insoles to supplement those that come with most shoes. The only time I can run barefoot is on sand or very soft turf, where the terrain *is* the arch support.
It's an interesting thought. I have seen so much that suggests we naturally increase efficiency with volume that I don't think about my form. I just let my body handle the adjustments.
What a fantastic video! I've been struggling with where to land on foot. It felt artificial to try to manipulate the landing. I will focus more on staying under hips thank you!
It’s funny cause I worked really hard at becoming a forefoot striker (ended up causing some injuries and lower leg grief). Now since I have corrected my stride and “kiss” the ground with my heal my injuries have been melting away. Perfect video! Everyone has a unique body/foot, so there is no way we are all going to run the same.
I couldn’t agree with you more Taren. I also did some research on this topic as of recent. Where you land and what is more comfortable for the runner is important. Btw- that’s a 7:36/Mile pace! Nice. Cheers and as usual, thanks for these great vids!
I was always (natural) mid foot landing runner, neutral. I think we have a biomechanical predisposition and we can make adjustment on that but not great changes without risk of injury. I prefer natural heel landing on heels, natural mid foot landing on mid, and natural forefoot landing on toes on his newton :P In my opinion there are more important aspects to tweak looking "speed", like the energy lost on side-movement, foot landig behind or forward hip, torso angle, etc
I’m a born to run convert. Prior to changing to forefoot I was a heal striker unable to run any further than 800 meters without getting some form of back pain. Switched to forefoot after reading the book, and after an adjustment period, haven’t had any back pain issues. Each to there own but I would always suggest someone give forefoot a good try especially if coming from a nine running back ground to start with.
The videos you showed are not 'real heelstriking'; some those athletes might land with their heel a few miliseconds before they do with the rest of their foot, but there is nearly no pressure on it until their whole foot (or at least the lateral part) is touching the ground. Also, you should look at videos at the beginning/mid of a race as form gets worse with time due to fatigue. Sure, one could still consider this as heelstriking, but since 99% of the people that are 'heelstrikers' do it completely different, I think it would be highly missleading to to so! And the video you put in at 2:04 shows a perfect midfoot strike, not heel strike (you have to watch close: often athletes lower their forfoot just before they hit the ground, it then appears as heelstrike but actually is a midfoot strike. You should really try to watch it frame by frame to see that, and maybe pay attention to the midsole to see when they actually apply pressure on their feet!).
@@sessarichard It is still not widely agreed. Regardless, it may very well be the case. Biggest point is that speed changes your striking and while heel striking may be most efficient overall it is not the go to for top 1% athletes that compete to win major races. The more speed you have the more efficient it will be to land on midfoot striking method. Evidence that suggested heel striking to be more efficient took into account wide range of runners and if you read it correctly if you are recreational runner you most probably would be most efficient using heel striking instead of forefoot striking. You should avoid changing mechanics of your striking as change is bad your muscles, joints and bones. If you have a medical reason or you are pro athlete then you have a good reason to change striking to either way but you should do it over long period of time and possibly consult professionals.
Interesting video Taren. Thanks for sharing some of that research. I was not aware of this, just figured there must be something wrong with me if I am heel striking. I have been trying to avoid heel striking because the heel is weak for me. I think I am getting in to more of a happy medium between a hard heel impact and being completely on the ball of my foot. Unfortunately, the draw back of running faster, especially down hills is more injuries :(
Have you or anyone here ever experienced numbness between the balls of your feet and big toes from running? What did you do to treat it? How long does it take to heal? I think running too hard down inclines for a few days is what caused it for me. Thank you for any ideas.
I am still struggling with how to land under my center of gravity. I am definitely notorious for “reaching” with my front foot during my running stride. It has definitely caused some injuries.
Thank you for this video.. You mentioned not to get a stability shoe .. i am extremely flat footed and have wide feet .. i very limited options .. u would suggest not to buy a stability shoe for someone like me too ???
I used to run as a heal striker and I was faster as a heal striker. But I was alot more prone to injury compared to now as a mid foot striker. I don't know if that is because I'm flat footed though or because I was a mid distance runner that that time.
Charles Lo suppose it may also depend how long you'd been running before that, how far, how often and if you did any strength work, what your job and lifestyle were like, if there is any difference in weight from then to now also. Too many variables potentially to say for sure if it's any one thing, especially as more than anecdotal evidence
There are a lot of variables to all of it -- these things don't work in isolation, so if you're using one "method", then it's going to affect the whole body in different ways than another. While proper technique is important, we also hvae to listen to our bodies and do what works for us... look at Lionel Sanders!
Triathlon Taren I realize I break. Also a picture make it look like I roll my foot out a bit. Got new shoes to help with the rolling and need to work on my form. This has been a great visual help. I struggle to understand things without pictures so thanks Taren 👍
So I’m more confused after the video then I was before, as a newbie how do I even know if I’m over striding or landing properly🤔. I’ve been trying to land mid foot but I have no clue what I’m really doing. I need to take a video of me running.
Thanks Taren, good video! always good to increase peoples awareness of the recent research :) I completely agree on all your points, especially the barefoot running thing... (I have to admit I run barefoot when I can i.e. along the beach, in the hills and in the park when I know I'm not on roads, but as you say nearly ALL research now shows that the barefoot running on roads is not good if you do ALL THE TIME, as too much impact stress). Running roads on tarmac is very different from running on gravel paths, dirt and forest tracks. All of these latter I find are nice to do bare foot on occasion, and especially over rocks, roots and uneven hill paths. Also the added concentration you need running over uneven ground, barefoot enhances the habit of looking ahead 15m, cause otherwise your going to hurt yourself. Same with the rest of this video. Completely thumbs UP agree! =) Again as you say, you should primarily focus on landing underneath centre of gravity! (increasing cadence and downhill sprints can help improve this)... I agree with you, that for long distance, fast pace, landing underneath my centre of gravity... I find that as I increase my pace, my cadence slightly increases and my natural gait has me landing heel first with a 'smooth follow through' of the foot, (rather than the impact stress and reducing speed that heel striking causes when landing too far forward.)
This is great. I started running back in 2009 for my first event ( London marathon). I knew nothing of technique and just randomly picked a pair of comfy running shoes and my running became better and faster as time went on with no real injuries. After my first triathlon in 2012 ( london) I set a 5k pb. I then read born to run and gradually worked on a more mid foot strike and went on for years of no really progressing and quite a few injuries. I'm now back in a pair of Brooks 10mm drop shoes taking on the centre of gravity in mind and running is fun again and I can do distance again. I remember reading Chrissie Wellington's book and she called barefoot running "a fad". It's true, I have gone minimal, maximal and everything in between. The truth is it's all bullshit, we are all different and land differently as long as you are comfortable and don't go too mad too quickly you will enjoy your run. In defence though, under 5k or sprinting I do tend to go a bit more on the toes but don't really take a great deal of notice now. Great video, you haven't lost me 👍
Totally agree 👍 in the end its a very personal thing. My father can run pretty fast with heel striking and I don't. For me it's most comfortable to run on my forefoot. The easiest thing to do is to get out on a run without thinking about your running technic. The outcome is the style best suited for you. Our body is smarter then we think 😇😎😋
I do track and my coach always enforces a toe strike/mid strike. However I am aware this is because we do shorter sprints and races. I feel heel strike is better for much longer distances and when I do 10ks I think its a bit more comfortable. I think both are good for different things and which ever makes u personally run better is best for u. This is pretty much what was said in this video😂
Hey Taren, really like this vid on running. Now may I explain why all these "experts" have been getting it wrong with the heel / mid foot / toe strike. This will also will high light the problem with running on a treadmill (yer I know I train on a treadmill too). The issue comes from the use of the centre of mass (COM). everyone freeze frames the athlete and draws a vertical line straight down and looks at the contact point. This is WRONG! .... The COM is moving, not just up and down but FORWARD. so which way should you draw your line? you shouldn't draw a LINE but and ARC. the COM is moving through arcs like a ball bouncing across the floor. We need to calculate the trajectory of the COM. a runner who glides or skates has a COM with a flatter trajectory compared to a Gazelle like runner has a greater oscillation in their COM. As long as the foot contact point is not in front of the COM trajectory there will be no natural breaking forces. The contact point of the foot has more the do with Oscillation and Speed. SO here is my change: video yourself from the side - start at a walking pace and slowly increase your speed to an as fast as you can sprint. (do not do it on a trainer go outside). you should notice that as your speed increases your COM oscillation will increase thus you move from heel striking and walking pace through to toe striking at a full sprint. My point is we are all individuals, some with similar body structure to others but strike point is individual and will develop over time and could change as we get faster or older. Use what comes naturally. I look forward to hearing your results. PS: here are my tips on running - chin up and breathe
Hey Taren, watched a lot of videos and I like all of your gear! Leg recovery device, bikes, and now the treadmill. How would I know that I’m serious enough at Tris to buy gear like that?
Great question! Would you mind heading to triathlontaren.com/trainiask and ask the question there, so that lots of other folks can benefit from the answer?
The video you showed of the triathletes showed them midfoot striking. Heal striking can be fine but you'll more than likely develop shin splints eventually. Best is to land fairly mid-foot showing even wear on your shoe over your center of gravity regardless of this click-bait.
That is some interesting info in that video. In my early running days I was a heal stryker. Whith the help of my coaches, one of which being an ex Olympian, I became a forefoot runner. Now I land my feet under my body in stead of in front. This means I can lean more forward aswell. For a recreational runner like myself with a race pace around 5:30 per km in longer distances I don't see the beneficials for healstryking causing me to lean more backwards. Maybe the healstryke method is just a pro athlete thing...
Hey Taren can you give Some Tips on Gluten free diet? I'm trying it out for this month but i'm struggling a bit for nice meals :D whats Your "bread&butter meal"? Thanks and keep the work going you are crushing it!
Hey Dominique! This is a great question. Would you mind heading over to triathlontaren.com/trainiask and asking that question over there? Then tons of people will be able to benefit from it; it's a commonly asked question. But also, can you clarify a bit more by what you mean by "bread and butter"?
I would not trust these studies. You cannot measure efficiency unless you give your body time to adapt to the changes in gait. In which time your fitness changes due to training. So how do you know if the change in running gait had any effect?
Invite Steve Gosner of Run Smart Online on your podcast. He’s a great advocate of the mid foot strike and can articulate his points well and from the standpoint of a physical therapist.
Hey there Biological Anthropologist here, just wanted to drop a comment. I'm thankful that someone is making at viable point about heel striking, because there seems to be so much evangelizing over forefoot strike that no one seems to listen to any studies nor the evolution of humanity. The reality is that when it comes to Metabolic rates, Heel striking reguardless of shoes or barefoot is more efficient. We can actually attest to 6% greater oxygen efficiency in Heelstriking, over Mid/Forefoot. Repeated studies show that heelstriking is more efficient, and many people when they tire at the last lengths of a marathon "degrade" back into heelstriking, because the body is trying to become more efficient. Many people claim that Early Homo did not heelstrike which is not true either, their forefoot was wider, and their toes spread more, and its likely they used both a variety of heelstrike and midfoot when covering distance to deal with the differences of terrain toughness and impact. The interesting thing is that when you view the energy and stress distributions in the foot, you will notice that Heelstrikers have an initial loading that only progresses forward loading energy into the Achilles tendons and foot arch, and this energy is then release as the foot comes off the ground back into the runner's motion. Where as mid and forefoot strike rebound the energy backwards and then forwards. It's a biomechanical loss. Thank you for taking the time to risk your audience and bring up this info because it helps the scientists out there who are trying to get people to listen, but refuse to do so.
Wow, thanks so much for chiming in! This is fascinating stuff! Could you contact me by email? My wheels are turning right now, I'd like to chat further with you about this! taren[at]triathlontaren[dot]com
Unfortunately due to real life situations, I don't have the liberty to share any potential personal life connections. HOWEVER! That being said, I can say that you referenced many of the studies that I have read personally, and your research has been on the right track. I will see if I can't find the study and demonstrations that show the energy distribution and flow through the human foot when Heelstriking vs forefoot striking, and post that here for you. If you are willing, you may want to go check out /r/askanthropology on reddit. Many responders there you will find are BS to PhD Anthropologists that are willing to help users learn and find studies for questions they have in anthropology. The people there may be able to help you dig up some more info that you'd like to read up on. I find they have a lot of resources that help people out when they have questions. Edit: I found the video demo ruclips.net/video/7jrnj-7YKZE/видео.html Be aware this is a bit old, but the mehcanics demonstration is still relevant and incredibly import. As you can see, the force distribution Notice how the heel strike shows a straight and smooth single direction of the flow of energy and stress through the foot. Then look at the forefoot strike, and notice how the energy bounces around the ball of the foot and then focuses hard into the ball, and then releases. This means that a heel strike shows a progressive build up and release of energy through out the stroke of the leg, where as the forefoot strike must come down, and slam into the ground defeating the direction of energy traveling through the foot. Heelstrike is a Follow Through, where as Forefoot strike is rebound. Daniel Lieberman is definitely a supporter of forefoot strike, but the data is none the less very helpful in understanding the anatomical behavior of our feet.
Great video ! Quick question if you don't mind, didn't our ancestors also run on rock and in forests i.e roots, pebbles stones etc ? I mean i get that the surfaces we run on today are man-made but they are smooth compared to most trails, aren't they ? Thanks again for all the great clips.
Nearly every ground in nature is softer than a street or a pavement. If you try some trail running (which is quite fun too) you will find that this is way less stress for your knees.
Thanks for taking the time to answer. 👍🏻 I live pretty much right in a forest (Kolmården, in estern Sweden) so trails are almost the only thing I do run. But the majority aren't even or buffed out though but there are plenty of roots and rocks so I need grip and coussioning more than if I ran on pavement, I think, or am I missing something ?
Pavement is incredibly hard -- as Johnathen said, harder than anything in nature -- so you definitely need something to help absorb the shock to your body.
Good arguments, Taren. I read "Born to Run" a year ago and here are my thoughts. The most important piece to get out of that book (besides chia seeds are awesome) was to, when running, try to be easy, light, and smooth. If you do those three things, you'll be fast. "Easy" to me means taking quicker, shorter strides (so that you are landing underneath yourself, not out in front), light (doing whatever is the most comfortable/springy for you: heel or mid-foot), and smooth (nothing jarring, stay fluid, efficient). You covered a lot of these points in a similar way in your "Chi Running Video," starting at 4:43: ruclips.net/video/f0WbObSn6Fk/видео.html
Man you have destroyed the forefoot intellectual maphia. It is a very courageous action, because all we know how much some arguments are in fashion... My congratulations from Italy
um you cant actually land on your heel if your landing at the centre of gravity, there is so much mis info on the topic. I specialise in this area of bio mech amd most run coaches sadly and even pro runners etc dont actuallty really understand how all this works. but Ill say this... having your foot strike at the centre of gravity it is controlled by the position of the hips. theres more to it of course but thats enough freebies from me. do enjoy your channel tho tarren i think you and your wife do a great job putting it together. keep up the great work.
Thanks but no thanks. I understand what's being said about center of gravity, but IMO a lot of it is missing the point here. It might not be so much about center of gravity, it might not be so much about the orientation of your feet when you're landing, but rather your whole motion. If you look at the stride of great IM runner like Patrick Lange, Mirinda Carfrae or Peter Reid you'll see that their whole body is propelled forward because they lean forward. Thus the weight repartition is more balanced between their surface area in contact with the ground. It also has to do with running economy, as you get tired your whole form tends to break apart and thus is where things get nasty. I think a whole lot of injuries are caused by poor form rather than poor orientation. I hope this will spark a nice discussion about running form. Having a strong core, leaning forward, the travel of the feet while running (how far back do their feet get pushed, how high are their calves).
Btw I started running as as heel striker. After my first half marathon I kept running and even 6km at 6min/km caused horrible knee pain, had to put ice on it. I changed my stride to a mid-foot strike, no knee pain, no pain under the bottom of my feet, just really sore calves for 3 months but their are pains that are sane and pain which are not. You cannot replace your joints like that, and once arthrosis sets in you're in for a lot of pain. I don't care about being faster temporarily. But I'm all in for being in the sport longer and not compromise my old days with excruciating pain. My grandma used to suffer from rheumatoid polyarthritis, I don't want to go through this. With that said I'd be glad if I could make my shoes last longer.
Westerners who had been wearing shoes since the birth of western civilization has had their body altered to comply with shoes while natives who remain in their bodies natural state for long land on forefoot when running. Even people who tend to land on heels tend to automatically land on their forefoot when you let them run without shoes.
Hi Taren here is presentation about heel and midfoot strike, that support your statements (ruclips.net/video/hDo_kny7czM/видео.html ). Midfoot strikers are minority and people pushing this is loud minority, which opinion isn't based on science.
All of the top runners in the world mid or forefoot strike. When you mid or forefoot strike you maintain more momentum whereas when you heal strike the direction or your momentum is going into the ground instead of with it. Ps I have those shorts
Heel striking just makes it easier to overstride which in turn will cause more injury. On top of this most barefoot runners land flat footed and not heel strike or forefoot.
Sorry but this is all wrong. Tell anyone to run barefoot (slow or fast) and you will observe that no one will land on their heel. It's biomechanics 101. And you use poor examples in the beginning. Carfrae, Kienle, and Frodeno are at most mid striking. Obviously they'll resort to heel striking later in the marathon but that's due to fatigue, not a conscious effort to run that way. The greatest runners in the sport (whether it's running or triathlon) all midfoot or forefoot strike. You're just reinforcing a bad habit with this info.
I appreciate your point Jordan, but firstly we don’t run barefoot anymore, I appreciate a small portion of Runner’s do, but for the most part we run in trainers which allows one to run with a heel strike and not face the injuries a barefoot runner may sustain. Secondly if you listened to what Taren was saying you’d have heard him say for a recreational runner heel striking isn’t ‘bad’ per say. Taren mentions that below a 6:30 minute per mile pace it can be more beneficial to mid or forefoot strike, hence why the pro’s do this; but I’m definitely not a pro runner and I doubt you are too! So rather than saying ‘this is all wrong’ which is a rather blanket statement, why don’t you listen to what Taren is saying, rather than forming an opinion from his first statement and sitting there in blind ignorance for the rest of the video; and express your OPINION or open up a debate, because tip for the future, you’ll get a lot further in life and people will think you’re far less ignorant if you do! Feel free to counter my statement with your opinion, which is subjective, not fact, otherwise have a good day.
I'm heel striker! My favorite running shoe has a lot of cushion on it a a big heal to toe drop. I have a lot of success running with the "Nike Lunarglide" line. PB: 5k in 18:50
I'm the same. Different brand but also a big drop.
The slower you run, the harder it is to forefoot strike. I think that the 6:30 pace that you mentioned is spot on. Trying to forefoot strike at 8:00 pace feels awkward
so glad i watched this, i've just started training for a marathon and have been doing quite well, building up my fitness and my distance, but everyone says you need to land on your fore foot so I tried it and it killed my calfs! it made me run too fast, it didn't feel natural at all. I can see how running faster it could be a benefit like you said but I'm not a professional runnner by any means, i don't hope to finish sub 3 hrs or take running up as a profession, I'm a 43 year dad and after tonights run I really felt down about the running. I don't have bad running form I think, i don't land hard on my heals or push my leg out too far in front, i strike under my body and lean forward and decided to continue with what felt comfortable, watching this video has made my day, thank you :) I'll head out tomorrow and just try to be mindful of my gait but not stress the heal thing!
Same here Christian. Heel foot running seems to jar my whole body so I tried fore-to-mid foot running. My calves are still aching as I read this. My game plan is to work of pelvic tilt and running in my center of gravity. Best of success to you.
Well, if you haven't ever ran forefoot before, of course it's going to kill your calves. The other thing is, if your glutes and hips aren't activated enough, your calves are going to be doing all the work which is why they got super tight for you.
Thanks for the research. I recently started running again at 54 years old after years (15) of recovering from injuries. I kinda forgot how to run properly. Heel toe hmm what to do. I run slowly, no faster than 11 minutes per mile currently but hopefully I’ll improve. Many videos advocate toe or mid foot. I just have trouble getting to a pace for toe running. It seems impractical and awkward at my casual pace. I’m glad to see I should be ok. I feel good and haven’t had any injuries. Just some soreness but I recover quickly.
I have never left a comment in my life. I just wanted you to know that the information you are putting out, is awesome. It comes from the heart and you have my support. I don't alway agree with what you say, but the intent means everything. You always mean to help people out. I have a coaching plan this year, but next year i will support you next year. I really hope that you can make it a hit and your able to support yourself just doing this. I will do my part!!!
What a wonderful comment, thank you so much for sharing! It seriously means a lot for us to get these comments because it reminds us why we're doing this day in and day out.
I wholeheartedly agree. No one ever talks about pace when they talk about this debate. I find that when I'm going at slower pace I tend to heel strike more, when I'm sprinting or running a pace of sub 7 I start naturally moving my strike forward. The more you think the more you'll screw yourself up and hurt your interval times or even yourself. Find what you do and build your running around that. If you're training professionally there's benefit to learn all strikes, but if you're just trying to gear up to run a 15k or even marathon one day, embrace your natural strike, pronation, and foot shape as long as it isn't causing injury.
What is the best strike for someone that is flat foot?
I've been trying all kinds of ways of running. I think you're spot on as this confirms my own findings. Getting slower when aging, the heel strike is way more efficient.
You can't imagine how much of relief this video gave me! I (think) I'm a heel striker (and slow runner), but for the past week or so, I've been trying to be more of a forefoot runner after seeing more RUclips videos than you can imagine. And now my ankle and knee hurt more than ever, so much that I've had to scale back on the running which has put me in a really bad mood. So goodbye to forcing my foot strike and soon i hope goodbye to the bad mood haha.
Well stated. You make the point that it is the combination of both over-striding and heal striking that results in the "braking" action that should be avoided. Just the heal strike itself is not the issue-- it depends on where the heal strike takes place relative to one's overall body position. I would be interested in knowing your sources you reference.
I'm secretly looking for validation that my running style is ok. I feel so much better in my 12mm shoes compared to the lower drop.
Good to know because at my age (60s) my foot strike isn't going to change. Best I've been able to do is cut back a bit on the heavy heel strike caused by overstriding, in favor of a more midfoot strike, rolling along the outer edge of the foot and pushing off on the forefoot (consistent wear patterns in all my shoes). I'll practice forefoot running for short distances but it feels unnatural and always results in soreness.
And I have high arches so I need additional arch support insoles to supplement those that come with most shoes. The only time I can run barefoot is on sand or very soft turf, where the terrain *is* the arch support.
Hi triathlon taren this is interesting, have you got any links , or names of the studys you revered to?
It's an interesting thought. I have seen so much that suggests we naturally increase efficiency with volume that I don't think about my form. I just let my body handle the adjustments.
What a fantastic video! I've been struggling with where to land on foot. It felt artificial to try to manipulate the landing. I will focus more on staying under hips thank you!
It’s funny cause I worked really hard at becoming a forefoot striker (ended up causing some injuries and lower leg grief). Now since I have corrected my stride and “kiss” the ground with my heal my injuries have been melting away. Perfect video! Everyone has a unique body/foot, so there is no way we are all going to run the same.
I think that makes you a mid foot striker?
Which I believe is ideal for long distance running and how you naturally run when totally bare foot.
I couldn’t agree with you more Taren. I also did some research on this topic as of recent. Where you land and what is more comfortable for the runner is important.
Btw- that’s a 7:36/Mile pace! Nice. Cheers and as usual, thanks for these great vids!
Thanks for watching them!
I was always (natural) mid foot landing runner, neutral. I think we have a biomechanical predisposition and we can make adjustment on that but not great changes without risk of injury. I prefer natural heel landing on heels, natural mid foot landing on mid, and natural forefoot landing on toes on his newton :P
In my opinion there are more important aspects to tweak looking "speed", like the energy lost on side-movement, foot landig behind or forward hip, torso angle, etc
I’m a born to run convert. Prior to changing to forefoot I was a heal striker unable to run any further than 800 meters without getting some form of back pain. Switched to forefoot after reading the book, and after an adjustment period, haven’t had any back pain issues. Each to there own but I would always suggest someone give forefoot a good try especially if coming from a nine running back ground to start with.
Thanks for this, I am staying put with my heal strike style . I injured my calf multiple times trying mid/fore foot and heal kiss etc.
Everyone has to do what works best for them!
The videos you showed are not 'real heelstriking'; some those athletes might land with their heel a few miliseconds before they do with the rest of their foot, but there is nearly no pressure on it until their whole foot (or at least the lateral part) is touching the ground. Also, you should look at videos at the beginning/mid of a race as form gets worse with time due to fatigue.
Sure, one could still consider this as heelstriking, but since 99% of the people that are 'heelstrikers' do it completely different, I think it would be highly missleading to to so!
And the video you put in at 2:04 shows a perfect midfoot strike, not heel strike (you have to watch close: often athletes lower their forfoot just before they hit the ground, it then appears as heelstrike but actually is a midfoot strike. You should really try to watch it frame by frame to see that, and maybe pay attention to the midsole to see when they actually apply pressure on their feet!).
There is evidence against forefoot striking from an efficiency perspective. Look up the science.
@@sessarichard It is still not widely agreed. Regardless, it may very well be the case. Biggest point is that speed changes your striking and while heel striking may be most efficient overall it is not the go to for top 1% athletes that compete to win major races. The more speed you have the more efficient it will be to land on midfoot striking method. Evidence that suggested heel striking to be more efficient took into account wide range of runners and if you read it correctly if you are recreational runner you most probably would be most efficient using heel striking instead of forefoot striking.
You should avoid changing mechanics of your striking as change is bad your muscles, joints and bones. If you have a medical reason or you are pro athlete then you have a good reason to change striking to either way but you should do it over long period of time and possibly consult professionals.
Interesting video Taren. Thanks for sharing some of that research. I was not aware of this, just figured there must be something wrong with me if I am heel striking. I have been trying to avoid heel striking because the heel is weak for me. I think I am getting in to more of a happy medium between a hard heel impact and being completely on the ball of my foot. Unfortunately, the draw back of running faster, especially down hills is more injuries :(
Have you or anyone here ever experienced numbness between the balls of your feet and big toes from running?
What did you do to treat it? How long does it take to heal?
I think running too hard down inclines for a few days is what caused it for me. Thank you for any ideas.
Excited to go and try heel striking properly
I was worried about this video before I clicked on it... but you defended/explained the info nicely. Gonna give proper heal strike a try!
Good experiment if nothing else!
I am still struggling with how to land under my center of gravity. I am definitely notorious for “reaching” with my front foot during my running stride. It has definitely caused some injuries.
Thank you for this video..
You mentioned not to get a stability shoe .. i am extremely flat footed and have wide feet .. i very limited options .. u would suggest not to buy a stability shoe for someone like me too ???
That slow mo comparison by TTbikefit is a great video.
Thanks!
My left foot heal strikes while my right foot forefoot strikes. It's weird.
As for me, my left foot forefoot strikes, middle foot heel strikes, and right foot forefoot strikes. It's insane.
@@Fullblown671 its called disharmonic feet, you can correct it
I used to run as a heal striker and I was faster as a heal striker. But I was alot more prone to injury compared to now as a mid foot striker. I don't know if that is because I'm flat footed though or because I was a mid distance runner that that time.
Charles Lo suppose it may also depend how long you'd been running before that, how far, how often and if you did any strength work, what your job and lifestyle were like, if there is any difference in weight from then to now also. Too many variables potentially to say for sure if it's any one thing, especially as more than anecdotal evidence
I used to run track in high school so pretty frequently.
There are a lot of variables to all of it -- these things don't work in isolation, so if you're using one "method", then it's going to affect the whole body in different ways than another. While proper technique is important, we also hvae to listen to our bodies and do what works for us... look at Lionel Sanders!
Honestly not sure which I do. Both? I just try run at a good pace and for 10km without dying
Might be something to look into down the road when you feel more comfortable at your 10K!
Triathlon Taren I realize I break. Also a picture make it look like I roll my foot out a bit. Got new shoes to help with the rolling and need to work on my form. This has been a great visual help. I struggle to understand things without pictures so thanks Taren 👍
Nice video to keep the conversation going.
So I’m more confused after the video then I was before, as a newbie how do I even know if I’m over striding or landing properly🤔. I’ve been trying to land mid foot but I have no clue what I’m really doing. I need to take a video of me running.
Could you ask this question at triathlontaren.com/trainiask?
Thanks Taren, good video! always good to increase peoples awareness of the recent research :)
I completely agree on all your points, especially the barefoot running thing... (I have to admit I run barefoot when I can i.e. along the beach, in the hills and in the park when I know I'm not on roads, but as you say nearly ALL research now shows that the barefoot running on roads is not good if you do ALL THE TIME, as too much impact stress).
Running roads on tarmac is very different from running on gravel paths, dirt and forest tracks. All of these latter I find are nice to do bare foot on occasion, and especially over rocks, roots and uneven hill paths. Also the added concentration you need running over uneven ground, barefoot enhances the habit of looking ahead 15m, cause otherwise your going to hurt yourself.
Same with the rest of this video. Completely thumbs UP agree! =)
Again as you say, you should primarily focus on landing underneath centre of gravity! (increasing cadence and downhill sprints can help improve this)...
I agree with you, that for long distance, fast pace, landing underneath my centre of gravity... I find that as I increase my pace, my cadence slightly increases and my natural gait has me landing heel first with a 'smooth follow through' of the foot, (rather than the impact stress and reducing speed that heel striking causes when landing too far forward.)
Thanks for the support!
This is great. I started running back in 2009 for my first event ( London marathon). I knew nothing of technique and just randomly picked a pair of comfy running shoes and my running became better and faster as time went on with no real injuries. After my first triathlon in 2012 ( london) I set a 5k pb. I then read born to run and gradually worked on a more mid foot strike and went on for years of no really progressing and quite a few injuries. I'm now back in a pair of Brooks 10mm drop shoes taking on the centre of gravity in mind and running is fun again and I can do distance again. I remember reading Chrissie Wellington's book and she called barefoot running "a fad". It's true, I have gone minimal, maximal and everything in between. The truth is it's all bullshit, we are all different and land differently as long as you are comfortable and don't go too mad too quickly you will enjoy your run. In defence though, under 5k or sprinting I do tend to go a bit more on the toes but don't really take a great deal of notice now. Great video, you haven't lost me 👍
I hear ya!
That was thought provoking. Now take a look into running styles like gliders vs gazelles. Do we have another video coming?
Good suggestion!
Totally agree 👍 in the end its a very personal thing. My father can run pretty fast with heel striking and I don't. For me it's most comfortable to run on my forefoot. The easiest thing to do is to get out on a run without thinking about your running technic. The outcome is the style best suited for you. Our body is smarter then we think 😇😎😋
I do track and my coach always enforces a toe strike/mid strike. However I am aware this is because we do shorter sprints and races. I feel heel strike is better for much longer distances and when I do 10ks I think its a bit more comfortable. I think both are good for different things and which ever makes u personally run better is best for u. This is pretty much what was said in this video😂
Hey Taren. Could you do a video of the 'cool walk' only like when you mounted the treadmill? Even better: create a separate channel!
Very helpful. Thanks.
Hey Taren, really like this vid on running. Now may I explain why all these "experts" have been getting it wrong with the heel / mid foot / toe strike. This will also will high light the problem with running on a treadmill (yer I know I train on a treadmill too). The issue comes from the use of the centre of mass (COM). everyone freeze frames the athlete and draws a vertical line straight down and looks at the contact point. This is WRONG! .... The COM is moving, not just up and down but FORWARD. so which way should you draw your line? you shouldn't draw a LINE but and ARC. the COM is moving through arcs like a ball bouncing across the floor. We need to calculate the trajectory of the COM. a runner who glides or skates has a COM with a flatter trajectory compared to a Gazelle like runner has a greater oscillation in their COM. As long as the foot contact point is not in front of the COM trajectory there will be no natural breaking forces. The contact point of the foot has more the do with Oscillation and Speed. SO here is my change: video yourself from the side - start at a walking pace and slowly increase your speed to an as fast as you can sprint. (do not do it on a trainer go outside). you should notice that as your speed increases your COM oscillation will increase thus you move from heel striking and walking pace through to toe striking at a full sprint. My point is we are all individuals, some with similar body structure to others but strike point is individual and will develop over time and could change as we get faster or older. Use what comes naturally. I look forward to hearing your results. PS: here are my tips on running - chin up and breathe
Hey Taren, watched a lot of videos and I like all of your gear! Leg recovery device, bikes, and now the treadmill. How would I know that I’m serious enough at Tris to buy gear like that?
Great question! Would you mind heading to triathlontaren.com/trainiask and ask the question there, so that lots of other folks can benefit from the answer?
excellent point of view.
Is that a Stac Zero next to the treadmill?
Yep, stay tuned for a full review -- trying it for the first time TODAY!
Triathlon Taren I've had one for about a year and have been very happy with it.
The video you showed of the triathletes showed them midfoot striking. Heal striking can be fine but you'll more than likely develop shin splints eventually. Best is to land fairly mid-foot showing even wear on your shoe over your center of gravity regardless of this click-bait.
cool effect in the beginning of the video with a running program playing on the big tv in the background. next time play a fireplace video? :-)
That is some interesting info in that video. In my early running days I was a heal stryker. Whith the help of my coaches, one of which being an ex Olympian, I became a forefoot runner. Now I land my feet under my body in stead of in front. This means I can lean more forward aswell. For a recreational runner like myself with a race pace around 5:30 per km in longer distances I don't see the beneficials for healstryking causing me to lean more backwards.
Maybe the healstryke method is just a pro athlete thing...
Well this sticks a spanner in the works
great points and info Thanks
Hey Taren can you give Some Tips on Gluten free diet? I'm trying it out for this month but i'm struggling a bit for nice meals :D whats Your "bread&butter meal"? Thanks and keep the work going you are crushing it!
Hey Dominique! This is a great question. Would you mind heading over to triathlontaren.com/trainiask and asking that question over there? Then tons of people will be able to benefit from it; it's a commonly asked question. But also, can you clarify a bit more by what you mean by "bread and butter"?
Wonder what the people over at Newton and Altra would have to say...?
I would not trust these studies. You cannot measure efficiency unless you give your body time to adapt to the changes in gait. In which time your fitness changes due to training. So how do you know if the change in running gait had any effect?
Invite Steve Gosner of Run Smart Online on your podcast. He’s a great advocate of the mid foot strike and can articulate his points well and from the standpoint of a physical therapist.
Great video thanks bro
Hey there Biological Anthropologist here, just wanted to drop a comment. I'm thankful that someone is making at viable point about heel striking, because there seems to be so much evangelizing over forefoot strike that no one seems to listen to any studies nor the evolution of humanity.
The reality is that when it comes to Metabolic rates, Heel striking reguardless of shoes or barefoot is more efficient. We can actually attest to 6% greater oxygen efficiency in Heelstriking, over Mid/Forefoot.
Repeated studies show that heelstriking is more efficient, and many people when they tire at the last lengths of a marathon "degrade" back into heelstriking, because the body is trying to become more efficient.
Many people claim that Early Homo did not heelstrike which is not true either, their forefoot was wider, and their toes spread more, and its likely they used both a variety of heelstrike and midfoot when covering distance to deal with the differences of terrain toughness and impact.
The interesting thing is that when you view the energy and stress distributions in the foot, you will notice that Heelstrikers have an initial loading that only progresses forward loading energy into the Achilles tendons and foot arch, and this energy is then release as the foot comes off the ground back into the runner's motion.
Where as mid and forefoot strike rebound the energy backwards and then forwards. It's a biomechanical loss.
Thank you for taking the time to risk your audience and bring up this info because it helps the scientists out there who are trying to get people to listen, but refuse to do so.
Wow, thanks so much for chiming in! This is fascinating stuff! Could you contact me by email? My wheels are turning right now, I'd like to chat further with you about this! taren[at]triathlontaren[dot]com
Unfortunately due to real life situations, I don't have the liberty to share any potential personal life connections.
HOWEVER! That being said, I can say that you referenced many of the studies that I have read personally, and your research has been on the right track.
I will see if I can't find the study and demonstrations that show the energy distribution and flow through the human foot when Heelstriking vs forefoot striking, and post that here for you.
If you are willing, you may want to go check out /r/askanthropology on reddit.
Many responders there you will find are BS to PhD Anthropologists that are willing to help users learn and find studies for questions they have in anthropology.
The people there may be able to help you dig up some more info that you'd like to read up on.
I find they have a lot of resources that help people out when they have questions.
Edit: I found the video demo ruclips.net/video/7jrnj-7YKZE/видео.html
Be aware this is a bit old, but the mehcanics demonstration is still relevant and incredibly import.
As you can see, the force distribution
Notice how the heel strike shows a straight and smooth single direction of the flow of energy and stress through the foot.
Then look at the forefoot strike, and notice how the energy bounces around the ball of the foot and then focuses hard into the ball, and then releases.
This means that a heel strike shows a progressive build up and release of energy through out the stroke of the leg, where as the forefoot strike must come down, and slam into the ground defeating the direction of energy traveling through the foot.
Heelstrike is a Follow Through, where as Forefoot strike is rebound.
Daniel Lieberman is definitely a supporter of forefoot strike, but the data is none the less very helpful in understanding the anatomical behavior of our feet.
Great video !
Quick question if you don't mind, didn't our ancestors also run on rock and in forests i.e roots, pebbles stones etc ?
I mean i get that the surfaces we run on today are man-made but they are smooth compared to most trails, aren't they ?
Thanks again for all the great clips.
Nearly every ground in nature is softer than a street or a pavement. If you try some trail running (which is quite fun too) you will find that this is way less stress for your knees.
Thanks for taking the time to answer. 👍🏻
I live pretty much right in a forest (Kolmården, in estern Sweden) so trails are almost the only thing I do run.
But the majority aren't even or buffed out though but there are plenty of roots and rocks so I need grip and coussioning more than if I ran on pavement, I think, or am I missing something ?
Pavement is incredibly hard -- as Johnathen said, harder than anything in nature -- so you definitely need something to help absorb the shock to your body.
Cool, thanks guys !
Good arguments, Taren. I read "Born to Run" a year ago and here are my thoughts. The most important piece to get out of that book (besides chia seeds are awesome) was to, when running, try to be easy, light, and smooth. If you do those three things, you'll be fast. "Easy" to me means taking quicker, shorter strides (so that you are landing underneath yourself, not out in front), light (doing whatever is the most comfortable/springy for you: heel or mid-foot), and smooth (nothing jarring, stay fluid, efficient). You covered a lot of these points in a similar way in your "Chi Running Video," starting at 4:43:
ruclips.net/video/f0WbObSn6Fk/видео.html
Man you have destroyed the forefoot intellectual maphia. It is a very courageous action, because all we know how much some arguments are in fashion... My congratulations from Italy
um you cant actually land on your heel if your landing at the centre of gravity, there is so much mis info on the topic. I specialise in this area of bio mech amd most run coaches sadly and even pro runners etc dont actuallty really understand how all this works. but Ill say this... having your foot strike at the centre of gravity it is controlled by the position of the hips. theres more to it of course but thats enough freebies from me. do enjoy your channel tho tarren i think you and your wife do a great job putting it together. keep up the great work.
you talking about real life situation than … imaginary wish of fore foot striking….
Thank you brother
I was looking for this video
Thanks but no thanks. I understand what's being said about center of gravity, but IMO a lot of it is missing the point here. It might not be so much about center of gravity, it might not be so much about the orientation of your feet when you're landing, but rather your whole motion. If you look at the stride of great IM runner like Patrick Lange, Mirinda Carfrae or Peter Reid you'll see that their whole body is propelled forward because they lean forward. Thus the weight repartition is more balanced between their surface area in contact with the ground. It also has to do with running economy, as you get tired your whole form tends to break apart and thus is where things get nasty. I think a whole lot of injuries are caused by poor form rather than poor orientation. I hope this will spark a nice discussion about running form. Having a strong core, leaning forward, the travel of the feet while running (how far back do their feet get pushed, how high are their calves).
Btw I started running as as heel striker. After my first half marathon I kept running and even 6km at 6min/km caused horrible knee pain, had to put ice on it. I changed my stride to a mid-foot strike, no knee pain, no pain under the bottom of my feet, just really sore calves for 3 months but their are pains that are sane and pain which are not. You cannot replace your joints like that, and once arthrosis sets in you're in for a lot of pain. I don't care about being faster temporarily. But I'm all in for being in the sport longer and not compromise my old days with excruciating pain. My grandma used to suffer from rheumatoid polyarthritis, I don't want to go through this. With that said I'd be glad if I could make my shoes last longer.
dude you're a genius!!!
Omg gold! thank you!
More efficient? Maybe... Heel striking causes IT band syndrome for me (twice now)..
Stac Zero?
Yep, doing a review of that TODAY in fact! Stay tuned!
I sure hope that no forefoot or midfoot runner who feels well with his technique will force heel striking after this video
Thank you for this video. All makes a lot more sense then these all these forefoot disciples.
Westerners who had been wearing shoes since the birth of western civilization has had their body altered to comply with shoes while natives who remain in their bodies natural state for long land on forefoot when running. Even people who tend to land on heels tend to automatically land on their forefoot when you let them run without shoes.
Both are myths, I've made a couple of videos about foot strike myths. Brigid just broke the marathon world record heel striking
Nothing you said in this video is true.
Hi Taren here is presentation about heel and midfoot strike, that support your statements (ruclips.net/video/hDo_kny7czM/видео.html ). Midfoot strikers are minority and people pushing this is loud minority, which opinion isn't based on science.
Second comment! Hello from Puerto Rico!
Hi!
All of the top runners in the world mid or forefoot strike. When you mid or forefoot strike you maintain more momentum whereas when you heal strike the direction or your momentum is going into the ground instead of with it. Ps I have those shorts
"What's a girl to do?" LOL
Heel striking just makes it easier to overstride which in turn will cause more injury. On top of this most barefoot runners land flat footed and not heel strike or forefoot.
Sorry but this is all wrong. Tell anyone to run barefoot (slow or fast) and you will observe that no one will land on their heel. It's biomechanics 101. And you use poor examples in the beginning. Carfrae, Kienle, and Frodeno are at most mid striking. Obviously they'll resort to heel striking later in the marathon but that's due to fatigue, not a conscious effort to run that way. The greatest runners in the sport (whether it's running or triathlon) all midfoot or forefoot strike. You're just reinforcing a bad habit with this info.
I appreciate your point Jordan, but firstly we don’t run barefoot anymore, I appreciate a small portion of Runner’s do, but for the most part we run in trainers which allows one to run with a heel strike and not face the injuries a barefoot runner may sustain. Secondly if you listened to what Taren was saying you’d have heard him say for a recreational runner heel striking isn’t ‘bad’ per say. Taren mentions that below a 6:30 minute per mile pace it can be more beneficial to mid or forefoot strike, hence why the pro’s do this; but I’m definitely not a pro runner and I doubt you are too! So rather than saying ‘this is all wrong’ which is a rather blanket statement, why don’t you listen to what Taren is saying, rather than forming an opinion from his first statement and sitting there in blind ignorance for the rest of the video; and express your OPINION or open up a debate, because tip for the future, you’ll get a lot further in life and people will think you’re far less ignorant if you do! Feel free to counter my statement with your opinion, which is subjective, not fact, otherwise have a good day.
Can I triple like this comment?
kienle is prominent heal striker. . .i changed my form completely and now i am slower as a midfoot striker.
When I run barefoot, I heel strike.
Always have.
Check this maybe you change your opinion based on facts ruclips.net/video/hDo_kny7czM/видео.html
I prefer running barefoot on hard surfaces, I get the best feedback that way.
confused as fuk