The mid-foot strike
Like I mentioned before, the mid-foot strike is the one that seems to be most popular nowadays. Unlike the “archaic” heel strike, the mid-foot strike is when you hit the ground near the ball of your foot.
Experts say that the midfoot strikes helps you land at your body’s center of gravity, improving your balance and efficiency. It’s also been said that this technique is the one that produces the least amount of running injuries, because it takes a lot of the impact away that normally would travel up to your legs.
The mid-foot strike is slower than the toe strike, but faster than the heel strike.
Just run around barfoot for a while and feel what your feet automatically do…landing on the heel is very painfull because there is nothing smoothering the impact of your weight.
Landing on the toes/midfoot will be smooth because the foot and leg can ‘roll out’ the power of the impact.
Same when you make a Judo/Karate jump and roll..if you roll and ‘roll out’ the impact of your landing you can endure a much harder impact than when you land straight on your feet..ouch…
Spreading the force of the impact over a larger area, no matter if over the foot during running or over the whole body when making a jump and roll, is the ‘secret’ to less pain.
Shoes will always change ‘the impact’ and running on the toes may not feel comfortable with some shoes, so better try them out in the shop.
The “Girl on Trail” series is great, especially this story! Thanks Frugivore!
When I was training for the marathon 2 years ago, I got injured around mile 15. I see now that it probably had something to do with the WAY I was running (ie my foot strike). I can’t wait to start running again, now properly.