Fredrik Zillen has a video on his channel about this topic, where he also showed the top 8 female and male runners respectively in a world-class road running event and their footstrike. 70% where heelstrikers, if I recall correctly, a few midfoot and just a loner or two where forefoot strikers.
Very great explanation. I think that foot stirke has relationship to your fitness or running experience as well. when I first started running, I was natually mid/heal striking and could not generate enough force through forefoot striking when running at moderate pace; it was like my body knew that I was not strong enough to do it. But now that I have been running for 2 years, I found myself natually forefoot striking more than before.
Yeah you might be right. I’ve also noticed that a lot of runners I coach are not heelstrikers even though they think they are. They are just overstriders. When we fix that and they land underneath the center of gravity they become midt and forefoot runners 😅
Really brief and easy to understand explanation. Thanks for making this Video! The visual explanation at 2:34 was very cool, what program did you use there?
I would recommend every runner to train forefoot strike to get accustomed at least for 5 to 10 km or 90% of 5 km or 70% of 10 km. And I would recommend the midfoot strike as the golden middle for long run and forefoot for short race pace. Even if you rely on midfoot or heel strike most of your runs you will surely benefit of the strong feet and calves, it even takes much training to get accustomed. And on the beginner level forefoot striking will improve the posture to a more straight one and you will be much more likely to land beneath your center of mass, wich of course takes the body to lean a little bit forward. The beginners backward lean with overstride is very hard to retain running on the ball of the foot😅 With a total flat sole I'm not even able to strike with the heel, also barefooted I wouldn't do so. But most running shoes have slightly elevated heels, and with this I also resort to heel strike sometimes.
@@Raucherbeinknacker I find most people change to midfoot or forefoot when we work on landing underneath the center of gravity anyway 😊 But yeah the bigger the heel, the more difficult it is - which makes it hard to train with “super shoes”. But I think it’s important to take the research into the equation which is why I stopped fixating on the heel strike and work on other factors first 😁
Well this is the most nonsense I have ever heard. This guy wants you to run heel strike downhills because why, 'you are running too fast downhill'. Years ago actually people tended to run in those big shoes airmax so they obviously would run heel striking in training. And then they put on their race trainers and expect to be great. My view is you can't switch to heel strike in the same shoes. Your shoes likely influence whether you are heel striking or forefoot striking. And show me a great downhill runner who is not at least midfoot or forefoot. The problem many runners have on downhills is they are heel striking. In fact any runner I have seen who fell downhill always landed on their behind. Meaning they are heel striking. Heel striking downhills is braking hard downhills. That we can agree. Putting stresses on your quads likely. In fact running commentators (Cram/Radcliffe on BBC) have talked about running downhill causing quad pain. For me that is wrong. Running downhill never caused me quad pain but then I have quads. As a cyclist too. As an at my best 6 minute miler , I'll give you some examples of my runs years ago. One at some 10K where 3 track runners were in a road race and got 1,2,3 in the race. They did 30-32 mins. It was a downhill start and I was 4th at the bottom and yet these runners beat me 8 minutes. I wasn't overly trying too hard. To me a downhill is free money. Meaning it doesn't exert the heart or trouble the lungs so why not do it fast. Isle of Wight Marathon years later, when was not at my best as now over 45 or so. Was running with two people who were has to be said far faster than me. One a running coach so he told me later. What I did was let them go up hills (very hilly marathon) and then come by them on downhills and leave them for dead. In the style of Sifan Hassan in the Olympics Marathon you could say. Let them go uphill and catch them downhill. But that running coach asked how I did that, he straight couldn't believe it. Why was it, because that's how I run in every training session. Second, Watford half marathon years ago . This is again hilly . I let some people go up the hill(didn't want to) but caught them before the top and now downhill. I never saw them again. I did a 1.23 00, they did likely 1-26 or slower. Third a Duathlon Ironman distance , half/112m bike/half Mar. Now there was a hill after I guess 3 miles (out and back course) and was in a group . I let fly down the hill and never saw the group again. The top Female in the race asked me how I did it, inviting me to Breakfast to find out. I said its my party trick. That's fair I think. Compared to many runners. So in essence to run downhill you must never heel strike, there is a danger of braking leading to injury, or falling on your backside, or overstriding. That coach in the IOW Marathon said I wasn't overstriding. Indeed, that's impossible with forefoot/midstrike. But years later tried barefoot style trainers (not an extreme kind but say 3 MM drop) and you would get calf pain if not used to it. So therefore you can't just go to forefoot striking just like that. Forefoot striking may well induce calf pain. But for me it never did in a racer trainer years ago. 30 odd years ago. Those barefoot style shoes came much later. But I was looking at the Olympics marathon and many were heel striking (in the Women's) because they gave us the slow motion of specific runners. Many were heel striking, I can only say because of the shoes. Uphills didn't matter but downhills it does. Years ago Catherine McKiernan once said (Irish elite runner) toeing off. yes that's what Heel strikers do, they toe off. All I can say to any runner, try not to do that. Leads to overstriding, leads to awful speed downhills, might even cause you to fall downhills. On your backside. Just don't do it. Change your shoes if it is you.
@@peterharridge8565 Hi 👋 I appreciate the time you took to write this comment. It must really mean a lot to you. I can see your view point and I’m always open to learning new ways of looking at things. In this video I simply stated the science and my experience working with a lot of runners and competing in the world elite of triathlon. That does not mean it applies to everyone. It’s just my experience and what has worked for me and the people I work with. I also think it’s important to distinguish between what type of downhill. On road at a slight decline I think you’re right. For established runners with good form I also think you’re right. For off-road or extreme decline I’ve seen a lot of people fall, get injured and have negative outcomes because they could not control their pace and body - especially in corners. And especially recreational or inexperienced runners. That was my reasoning for the advice given in this video. But then again it’s just my experience. Yours might be different and that okay😊 I think that the shoes does make a big difference - But with super shoes being so superior in terms of perfomance I don’t think we’ll be getting a smaller heel drop any time soon unfortunately. Any way, thanks for your response, it made me reflect. I appreciate it🙏
✅ Let me give you 30 ways in 30 days to run faster for longer without training more:
runningequati.ck.page/30days
Fredrik Zillen has a video on his channel about this topic, where he also showed the top 8 female and male runners respectively in a world-class road running event and their footstrike. 70% where heelstrikers, if I recall correctly, a few midfoot and just a loner or two where forefoot strikers.
I gotta watch that 😄
Very great explanation. I think that foot stirke has relationship to your fitness or running experience as well. when I first started running, I was natually mid/heal striking and could not generate enough force through forefoot striking when running at moderate pace; it was like my body knew that I was not strong enough to do it. But now that I have been running for 2 years, I found myself natually forefoot striking more than before.
Yeah you might be right.
I’ve also noticed that a lot of runners I coach are not heelstrikers even though they think they are. They are just overstriders. When we fix that and they land underneath the center of gravity they become midt and forefoot runners 😅
This was fantastic information. I learned a few things on the science of foot strike.
@@Runningmaster2025 Thank you - I’m glad 🙏
Really brief and easy to understand explanation. Thanks for making this Video!
The visual explanation at 2:34 was very cool, what program did you use there?
Thank you 😄🙏
It’s an app called “Onform”
I would recommend every runner to train forefoot strike to get accustomed at least for 5 to 10 km or 90% of 5 km or 70% of 10 km.
And I would recommend the midfoot strike as the golden middle for long run and forefoot for short race pace.
Even if you rely on midfoot or heel strike most of your runs you will surely benefit of the strong feet and calves, it even takes much training to get accustomed. And on the beginner level forefoot striking will improve the posture to a more straight one and you will be much more likely to land beneath your center of mass, wich of course takes the body to lean a little bit forward.
The beginners backward lean with overstride is very hard to retain running on the ball of the foot😅
With a total flat sole I'm not even able to strike with the heel, also barefooted I wouldn't do so. But most running shoes have slightly elevated heels, and with this I also resort to heel strike sometimes.
@@Raucherbeinknacker I find most people change to midfoot or forefoot when we work on landing underneath the center of gravity anyway 😊
But yeah the bigger the heel, the more difficult it is - which makes it hard to train with “super shoes”.
But I think it’s important to take the research into the equation which is why I stopped fixating on the heel strike and work on other factors first 😁
wouldnt heel striking f*ck up your knees?
@@random_guy_277 Potentially. From a biomechanical perspective it could. There is no evidence to support it though.
Well this is the most nonsense I have ever heard. This guy wants you to run heel strike downhills because why, 'you are running too fast downhill'. Years ago actually people tended to run in those big shoes airmax so they obviously would run heel striking in training. And then they put on their race trainers and expect to be great. My view is you can't switch to heel strike in the same shoes. Your shoes likely influence whether you are heel striking or forefoot striking. And show me a great downhill runner who is not at least midfoot or forefoot. The problem many runners have on downhills is they are heel striking. In fact any runner I have seen who fell downhill always landed on their behind. Meaning they are heel striking. Heel striking downhills is braking hard downhills. That we can agree. Putting stresses on your quads likely. In fact running commentators (Cram/Radcliffe on BBC) have talked about running downhill causing quad pain. For me that is wrong. Running downhill never caused me quad pain but then I have quads. As a cyclist too.
As an at my best 6 minute miler , I'll give you some examples of my runs years ago.
One at some 10K where 3 track runners were in a road race and got 1,2,3 in the race. They did 30-32 mins. It was a downhill start and I was 4th at the bottom and yet these runners beat me 8 minutes. I wasn't overly trying too hard. To me a downhill is free money. Meaning it doesn't exert the heart or trouble the lungs so why not do it fast. Isle of Wight Marathon years later, when was not at my best as now over 45 or so. Was running with two people who were has to be said far faster than me. One a running coach so he told me later. What I did was let them go up hills (very hilly marathon) and then come by them on downhills and leave them for dead. In the style of Sifan Hassan in the Olympics Marathon you could say. Let them go uphill and catch them downhill. But that running coach asked how I did that, he straight couldn't believe it. Why was it, because that's how I run in every training session. Second, Watford half marathon years ago . This is again hilly . I let some people go up the hill(didn't want to) but caught them before the top and now downhill. I never saw them again. I did a 1.23 00, they did likely 1-26 or slower. Third a Duathlon Ironman distance , half/112m bike/half Mar. Now there was a hill after I guess 3 miles (out and back course) and was in a group . I let fly down the hill and never saw the group again. The top Female in the race asked me how I did it, inviting me to Breakfast to find out. I said its my party trick. That's fair I think. Compared to many runners.
So in essence to run downhill you must never heel strike, there is a danger of braking leading to injury, or falling on your backside, or overstriding. That coach in the IOW Marathon said I wasn't overstriding. Indeed, that's impossible with forefoot/midstrike. But years later tried barefoot style trainers (not an extreme kind but say 3 MM drop) and you would get calf pain if not used to it. So therefore you can't just go to forefoot striking just like that. Forefoot striking may well induce calf pain. But for me it never did in a racer trainer years ago. 30 odd years ago. Those barefoot style shoes came much later.
But I was looking at the Olympics marathon and many were heel striking (in the Women's) because they gave us the slow motion of specific runners. Many were heel striking, I can only say because of the shoes. Uphills didn't matter but downhills it does. Years ago Catherine McKiernan once said (Irish elite runner) toeing off. yes that's what Heel strikers do, they toe off. All I can say to any runner, try not to do that. Leads to overstriding, leads to awful speed downhills, might even cause you to fall downhills. On your backside. Just don't do it. Change your shoes if it is you.
@@peterharridge8565 Hi 👋
I appreciate the time you took to write this comment. It must really mean a lot to you.
I can see your view point and I’m always open to learning new ways of looking at things.
In this video I simply stated the science and my experience working with a lot of runners and competing in the world elite of triathlon.
That does not mean it applies to everyone. It’s just my experience and what has worked for me and the people I work with.
I also think it’s important to distinguish between what type of downhill. On road at a slight decline I think you’re right.
For established runners with good form I also think you’re right.
For off-road or extreme decline I’ve seen a lot of people fall, get injured and have negative outcomes because they could not control their pace and body - especially in corners.
And especially recreational or inexperienced runners.
That was my reasoning for the advice given in this video.
But then again it’s just my experience.
Yours might be different and that okay😊
I think that the shoes does make a big difference - But with super shoes being so superior in terms of perfomance I don’t think we’ll be getting a smaller heel drop any time soon unfortunately.
Any way, thanks for your response, it made me reflect.
I appreciate it🙏