[littlestarter]

I was reading in one book thats it appently good to run as the heel touching the ground then the toes? is that right? i did find i was bouncing less i think when i was running on the treadmill. or should i run with my toes hitting the ground first then my heel? which is safer way of doing it? thanks all.

 

[hayley1977]

HI there, iv read that its much more common to run with your toes touching the floor first, but some runners do run heal first. All i can say is you find what works best for you, i dont really have the knowledge on this but, what feels more comfortable, what comes more easily.S.E might be able to give you some better advice, ( she's good like that )all the best H

 

[Trinity]

Like Hayley says... whatever feels natural for you is best, unless I guess you in the elite league...then it's a whole different ball game.

But for the likes of us mere mortals... don't force yourself to run in a way that feels unnatural, but I believe midfoot landing with a very slight roll back to absorb shock then roll forward on your foot to push off from forefoot.

Generally speaking if you land on your heel then you are in effect braking your speed with every step.

Also, if you land too far forward on your forefoot then you risk calf tightness and shinsplints.

Hope that makes sense

 

[Steady Edwina]

I like to watch people run at club to see where they strike naturally. Often neutral runners tend to be forefoot strikes and overpronators like me tend to be heel strikers but there are always exceptions to the rule - biomechanics is a fascinating subject.

Which book were you reading - was it Bob Glovers? I've read Chi-runing by Danny Dyer and he advocates midfoot striking as he feels heel striking contributes to many injuries. Not sure how accurate that may be but I do like the philosophy behind chi-running.

As Trin says unless you are experiencing any problems I would go with your natural running gait unless you run like Phoebe in friends then you definately need help.

 

[Steady Edwina]

Not really I've had pins & needles in the heel but no dead legs. My left leg tends to get a tight tighter and I've noticed when they've videoed me running my left foot tends to splay out more but that had changed when I had my last gait analysis.

 

[Edward Chapman]

I have also just read the Chi running book and I think it makes sense. I am trying it out and it seems to work for me. I used to be a big heel striker so getting rid of the braking effect makes sense.

 

[Trinity]

While out running with the club this morning I remembered a couple of other things to add...

Although I haven't read Chi Running, or gone into great depths with the biomechanics thing, I did read about some techniques somewhere a while ago that have worked for me

Running is not just about foot fall...it's about your whole body. I have learnt to concentrate on how I place my legs and basically you 'plant' your foot beneath your body, push through, and kick up at the back. The reasoning behind the three parts is

1. by 'planting your foot underneath your body you are not a) over stretching with your foot landing in front, which would be a heel strike and therefore a brake, or b) leaning too far forward making your foot land behind you, which would risk knee injuries due to the shock passing through it.

2. by pushing through you are naturally propelling yourself forward quite efficiently, and I found that it's quite easy to increase speed once this technique becomes natural

3. by kicking up at the back your leg is in the correct position to bring through efficiently and economically for the next step

So sometimes when I'm finding it tough I check in on how I'm running and tell myself "plant, push, and kick", which has never failed to help.


In my previous post I said about midfoot landing, there is one exception to this...which again I remembered this morning whilst climbing a hill! And of course that exception is when running up hills Forefoot running is best going up hills, reverting to midfoot running down hills.


Another thing worth mentioning is posture. Your body should be reasonably upright at all times with your head up. I see so many runners, particularly when running up hills, with their head down looking at the ground. What you are actually doing when you run like this is restricting your airway, which is the worst thing you can do particularly when you need extra oxygen going up hills.


Finally, you should try and relax your upper body as much as you can because tense muscles actually weigh more, meaning your legs are working harder to carry the upper body through the run.


But like I say, I haven't studied biomechanics...it's just tips and techniques I've picked up along the way that have helped to improve my running.