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Comment by ggreer | Hacker News Reader

Common knowledge? If anything, the preference seems like a fad to me. Plenty of elite runners heel-strike.

I've been running for... a while. In high school, I was captain of the XC team. I finished 5th in the state and our team won the state meet.[1] The spring after that, I ran a 4:18 mile and a 9:07 two mile. In college, I competed in Division I NCAA XC. None of my coaches cared that I was a heel-striker. I've since switched to forefoot, but noticed no difference in times or injuries.

If you're just getting into running, forefoot will be murder on your calf muscles and Achilles tendon. As the article says, It's best to just go with what feels comfortable. As you run more, your form will become smoother and more efficient.

1. 2002 Washington state AAAA boys results: http://www.jcrawford.net/boys4a02.html

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  "Plenty of elite runners heel-strike."

I think the focus on heel vs. other strike is misleading. Sure, plenty of elite runners strike with their heels, but do they land their feet way in front of their body? That's the real fatal combination, and IMO the main reason to discourage a heel-heavy style is that most people can't overstride too badly with a fore- or mid-foot strike. Their quads won't let them. ;)

  "As the article says, It's best to just go with what feels comfortable"

I actually kind of agree, with the caveat that it's important to know warning signs and possible remedies. If someone's natural way of running continues to feel comfortable and keeps them injury-free, that's fantastic even if it's not the "correct" style that some books recommend. However, most people do need to make some adjustments and it's important to know when or how. Maybe you don't even remember when coaches were using that knowledge on your behalf to correct things that might have caused you trouble, but if you were running at that level in HS and college I'll bet it happened.

As a former runner myself, I was always taught that it depends on speed. If you're going at a slower pace, which distance running usually falls under, then heel strike is more natural, but if you are sprinting then you want to stay on your toes. As somebody that has been a sprinter and XC runner, I've found this to be true. How that advice fares with everyone else, I can't say, but when I know that when I try running distance on my toes or heal strike while sprinting, I will not perform as well and distance on toes feels like my Achilles will snap after about a half mile or so.

I forced myself to switch from heel to tow strike and suffer a lot from those Achilles and Calf.

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