Has anyone gone from being a heel striker to a mid/front foot striker?

Triathlon Forum
1

Curious if this has happened to anyone. It seems I’m more comfortable now when I shift to running from my midfoot or even front foot. Before I fool myself into thinking that’s the case, is it even possible or are people basically built to run one way or the other? If it’s happened to anyone, have you switched shoes as a result of the change? I’m running with Mizunos that have a high offset, as I have for years.

Some context: about six months ago I moved to an area with lots of hills. I can’t avoid them and our house is at the top of the longest, hardest one. It seems all that hill running has helped me develop some power in my stride but it’s hard to give the legs a break and just do an easy run.

2

I switched around 2012-2013, when I was early 30s. It was weird for a few weeks, and then felt much more natural than heel-striking like I had been running my entire life until then, and I’ve had far fewer foot/achilles issues since. I switched to low drop shoes at the same time.

3

Change was a long road full of injuries for me. Finally realized if you’re thinking about your feet at all, you’re doing it wrong and headed for trouble. It’s a posture & cadence change.

4

I switched after I bought a pair of Newtons. I noticed I ran faster immediately. Not significantly faster, but certainly faster. Haven’t looked back since then even though I’ve since ditched the Newtons.

5

I changed.

I had a physiological run assessment done a few years back and a small part of it was a gait analysis which revealed that I was a heel striker ( I already kind of knew based on shoe wear etc. ) in addition to what most people would call “overpronation”

What I was told at the time was 2 key things, first that there isn’t a whole lot of point to consciously trying to change stride, as that could have me trying to run in unnatural ways, and that given my current ultrarunning goals actually would work ok with it, since it wasn’t a brutally hard heel strike, I actually flowed through quite nicely.

I promptly continued to ignore my gait.

Then a while later, some things started to happen.

I started doing trackwork, I started running on the road more, and I found the faster I went, the more I’d naturally strike with a more midfoot or forefoot strike, just while doing the fast stuff.

It would DESTROY my calves. The extra eccentric loading was BRUTAL.

My normal running I’d still heel strike for some time, but eventually I started to find that on tempo style runs, I was naturally starting to run more with a midfoot strike naturally. Problem was, it was still making my calves way more sore than normal.

Normally most people advise not trying to consciously alter your gait, in order to prevent unnatural movement patterns being overloaded and potentially causing injury, but I found times where I’d have to consciously revert to my heel strike to give my calves relief. This would especially be the case later into races etc.

The more time that went by, the more I started to realize the calf discomfort was going away, a few people told me my calves looked better developed, but most importantly, I was continuing to run in a way that felt most natural to me, but now I was running not as a heel striker, but as a fore/midfoot runner. ( the faster the pace, the more forefoot it gets )

A few months ago on a run, a local coach who I really respect started to ask me about the change in my gait, as she noticed that I looked WAY more efficient as a runner, and whether I’d made the changes consciously, so I gave her the quick summary that it came down to just adaptation to more trackwork over time, while having to consciously hold back a bit to a pattern that I knew my body was already adapted to, and she told me it’s exactly the way she would have liked to see the changes made.

I currently have the best run fitness of my running/triathlon career atm.

6

Change was a long road full of injuries for me. Finally realized if you’re thinking about your feet at all, you’re doing it wrong and headed for trouble. It’s a posture & cadence change.

Details are lost to time, but this is similar to me. I was a pretty bad heel striker with flexed foot (like, trying to get my toes up, basically) circa 2008-2010. For me, the fixed were 1) higher cadence and 2) really landing very under-body, rather than outstretched, and with a very light footfall.

This was at the height of the barefoot running craze, so (without getting into that debate,) while I was never barefoot or minimal, I was a new runner and really took the “Try running without shoes on and then replicate that motion with shoes” to heart. That’s more or less still how I run.

7

I changed probably about 7 or 8 years ago.

What got me to cha ge was a physio go me on a tread mill and running 'normally.
Then got me to take my shoes and socks off and run again. Same mill speed.

Instantly and automatically you go up on your toes, change posture, shorten the stride (not over-striding) and increase cadence.
Because if hurts like feck to land on your heels without all that shoe cushioning.

She was VERY careful to explain a slow steady transitioning over the best part of a year for me, to avoid getting injured.

I find it does load the calves a lot more. When I remember I do plenty of calf strengthening exercises still.

Cha ging to forefoot striking resolved a knee problem I was having pretty much straight away.

It’s natural for me now.

8

I will start with this, if you do it slowly over time you will be successful at it (pretty much like anything else). A few years ago I started running again after 20 years of not doing anything. I had bought some shoes and started running and my knees were killing me. I spoke to one of my friends who is into natural running and he suggested a pose running class, I have not looked back since and I naturally am a mid foot striker. Some of it was my posture, some of it was my APT, some of it was just weak feet but now its so much better. I started using Vibram five fingers, just ten minutes every other day not more than 3 times a week and yeah my calves were sore as hell the first weeks. Eventually I was able to run 18-20km in them without any soreness (this took a few months). I even walked around in them to strengthen my feet (got lots of stares of course). Anyway it works and I can suggest pose/chi/natural running. There are lots of videos on YouTube. My disclaimer is that you don’t have to adopt every single technique but the basics can help a lot. All the best to you!!!

9

Yes I changed about 8 or 9 years ago.
After having to stop running due to knee injuries, and failing to restart without severe knee pain over the course of a year or more with maybe 4 or 5 attempts, I decided I needed to change how I ran. I switched to minimalist zero drop shoes with zero cushioning (Merrell Trail Gloves) and intentionally shortened my stride (which requires massively increasing cadence). I think my cadence went from about 155 to around 185. I started with extremely short runs interspersed with walking and built up range over a period of a few months until I was running 10km in minimalist shoes more comfortably than I’d ever run before even in the most highly cushioned shoes. I tried running with high heeled and cushioned shoes again afterwards and hated it, switched to Merrell Bare Access (still zero drop but a small amount of cushioning) for half marathons, and half IM and IM distance triathlon and haven’t had any significant injuries in 8 years. I also enjoy running more now which is the most important thing for me and has led to me being faster because I train more when I’m comfortable and enjoying myself.

In my opinion it’s not useful or realistic to try and make a gradual change. I couldn’t have gradually transitioned from my old style to my new style. I have a natural cruising cadence range around 155-165spm and another around 180-190spm. Moving between the two is a step change not a glide path. Think harmonics not continuous spectrum, which will make sense to any engineers or physicists given we’re talking about natural frequencies of mechanical systems.

Initially try concentrating on raising your cadence significantly without running faster. That will require that you shorten your stride and will likely feel like a completely different running technique. Don’t worry about how your foot lands, that will take care of itself if you succeed in shortening your stride. A much faster cadence without running faster may feel odd or even silly at first but in my case I got used to it extremely quickly (like within a couple of runs).

10

I was a cyclist before tri. When I started running, it was really ugly. I read about midfoot, and I’d read about Newtons, so I bought a pair to try. It felt weird for a week or two, but at the same time so much more natural. After wearing out two pairs of Newtons, I’ve kept the midfoot strike in standard shoes.

11

I have a natural cruising cadence range around 155-165spm and another around 180-190spm. Moving between the two is a step change not a glide path.This was my experience as well. Changing from away from heel striking is largely a cadence change. The nut is that you need to get your foot up quicker to strike under your center of gravity. Anyway, a person does not simply gradually change, you have to focus on a step change to your other natural cadence that is more of a fore-foot strike. Mine is around 182.

12

To clarify , when I talked of a gradual transition, what I meant was doing short periods alternating forefoot and the 'old heel striking during runs. Initially 1 min on, a few mins back to the old way. Tjen slowly over time increasing the proportion forefoot.
Not just trying to move the landing point forward a couple of mm each week.

The reason to do the introduction gradually was to reduce the risk of blowing an Achilles from the rapid large increase in load it gets.
(Just like not going out and running 20 miles the 1st day after 2 or 3 months off. You may get away with it, or you may not).

I agree my cadence went straight from something like 130 to 180 or so for the same pace. (Which is a slow pace because I’m a rubbish runner !)

13

I’ve heard many people say they’ve changed from heel striker to mid/front foot but when they post a video they are still heel striking.

What are doing is landing on their foot under their body, which is a better thing to do.

Heel striking isn’t bad as long as it’s under your body instead of out front.

14

I made the switch around 2008/2009. I was a heavy heel striker and now am pretty solid in the mid/fore foot camp. I did the conversion pretty gradually, as my calves and other muscles were very sore the first time I tried it. I started doing just 10-15 minutes per run, then the remaining run was my normal (heel striking) gait. Added 5-10 minutes of mid/fore running every couple of weeks. It probably took me 3-4 months to fully change over. I also changed the type of shoe around the same time. I went from a heavy motion-control shoe, to something lighter, more flexible and neutral, e.g. Nike free.

I think it helped me reduce aches and pains, as well as made me a better runner. I had always had problems with things like bad shin splints and had always run with prescription orthotics in my motion-control shoes. But I’ve literally never had shin splints like pain, or any other of the injuries I used to have, in over ten years.

15

To clarify , when I talked of a gradual transition, what I meant was doing short periods alternating forefoot and the 'old heel striking during runs. Initially 1 min on, a few mins back to the old way. Tjen slowly over time increasing the proportion forefoot.
Not just trying to move the landing point forward a couple of mm each week.

The reason to do the introduction gradually was to reduce the risk of blowing an Achilles from the rapid large increase in load it gets.
(Just like not going out and running 20 miles the 1st day after 2 or 3 months off. You may get away with it, or you may not).

I agree my cadence went straight from something like 130 to 180 or so for the same pace. (Which is a slow pace because I’m a rubbish runner !)
My comment about it being a step change from one cadence to the other and not something you should try and gradually transition was not a response to your post. It was simply part of my advice to the OP.
Many people DO advise that you try and gradually increase your cadence which I consider bad advice by people who don’t understand the mechanics and just think gradual must be better (it often is, but not here)

However, I agree with you that it’s vitally important not to suddenly switch over while running high volume. Initial runs should be very short to avoid injury, and if you want to maintain volume this would mean continue to run in your old style for most of your mileage initially.

16

Did it about 3 years back when I went to barefoot/minimalist. You definitely HAVE to mid/front foot strike as a barefoot/minimalist runner, as there is no heel pad so your heel will get tons of pain if you don’t change up your form.

It was a big adjustment for sure. I’d estimate it took over a full year to run as fast as I did prior to the transition, but once I transitioned, I ran my fastest run splits ever, without doing megamiles. I do think part of this is that at least for me, the forefoot running uses more muscles that are different from the quads that you really need for cycling,so my legs felt a lot fresher on the run split. Nothing’s for free though - the cost of running that fast was the increased beatdown I’d feel with every run - without the padding to soften things up, every run was a pounding on the legs, making something that’s already hard for most people (running) even harder.

Due to ankle arthritis (from numerous basketball ankle sprains years ago) and a bad bout of a loose body bouncing around in my ankle that really curtailed my run mileage for half a year, I’m back to padded shoes, but if I could, I’d go back to minimalist in a heartbeat. Better form for sure, better graduated mileage increases (you can’t just go out and run 10 miles on zero training - your achilles will rebel etc) and more fun overall.

17

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

If it is broke, fix it.

There’s not a shred of evidence that heel-striking is bad. The vast majority of recreational runners heel strike, as do many elites including Meb.

And there’s no evidence that changing foot strike will do anything for most people. Again, if it is broke, do fix it, but most people do just fine running whatever way they’ve been running since they were one year old.

18

… if it is broke, do fix it, but most people do just fine running whatever way they’ve been running since they were one year old.
I suspect there’s some truth to that. I also suspect that those who stopped running at some point and resumed later in life, do not necessarily run with sustainable technique and injuries are very, very common.
I ran great as a kid, but as a young adult and on into my twenties I did not run, (except if I was late for a meeting).
When I started running for fitness in my early thirties it did not feel like I remembered. I was not fast and I got injured regularly. I don’t think this is common.
It was only after I conciously changed my running style a few years later in an attempt to resume running after injury as mentioned in a previous post that I realised how badly I’d been running.
The comment that we run fine naturally or that we self select the best cadence is quite frankly rubbish. It may be true for some but it cannot be applied as a general rule regardless of context.

I reckon if you changed “people” in your comment to “lifelong runners” you might be correct. But you’d also be covering a much smaller proportion of the population.

On second thoughts - I’ve seen 1 year olds run (i have a 2 year old) and they don’t run quite the same as adult athletes. Just saying.

19

I have made the change recently and i will echo some things that were already said. I switched to a low drop shoe and focused mostly on increasing my cadence. I rarely think about how my foot is falling, i focus on shorter faster strides with a nice upright forward lean and it happens naturally.

20

Curious if this has happened to anyone. It seems I’m more comfortable now when I shift to running from my midfoot or even front foot. Before I fool myself into thinking that’s the case, is it even possible or are people basically built to run one way or the other? If it’s happened to anyone, have you switched shoes as a result of the change? I’m running with Mizunos that have a high offset, as I have for years.

Some context: about six months ago I moved to an area with lots of hills. I can’t avoid them and our house is at the top of the longest, hardest one. It seems all that hill running has helped me develop some power in my stride but it’s hard to give the legs a break and just do an easy run.

I never recommend people make a conscious change. If it happens gradually as some sort of evolution thru adjustment of mobility, strength, cadence, drills, footwear etc so be it, but I don’t push it. Changing stride, especially on more development athletes is a recipe for injury and your body just may not be prepared for the change when you focus on actively changing it so much.