Benefits of a midfoot strike

For the last few years, more and more runners and training professionals have been touting the benefits of running with a mid-foot landing, rather than the more common heel-strike. Many agree that a mid-foot landing is more natural. Have you tried running in place with no shoes on? You’ll never land on your heel.

The human foot is an amazing structure, built with 26 bones, 33 joints and over one hundred muscles, ligaments and tendons. The arch is a beautifully designed spring mechanism that feeds energy to our calves, quads and hips and lets us run gracefully and painlessly, if we just let it do its job.

The running shoe we see most often today has been around since about the mid 80s, when more of the general masses started to take up running. The athletic shoe industry figured that the average jogger might want more comfort than the serious athlete, who had up until then influenced the market toward a more lightweight racing shoe.

Major shoe companies decided to add cushioning and a raised heel to the running shoe, leading to the heel-strike form. Essentially they made running feel like walking. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

Since then we have seen an explosion of runners, but we have also seen an explosion of knee problems, heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, ankle sprains, and the list goes on. Many believe that the super-cushioned, gel-filled, motion-control features of the modern running shoe have dimmed the natural movement of our feet and disrupted our skeletal balance, causing unnecessary injuries.

Because of this, some runners are setting their feet free. Some go completely barefoot while others are choosing to lighten up on their footwear, wearing shoes closer to what runners wore in the old days, with little to no cushioning and no pronation control. No bells and whistles.

Runners today are taking back their mid-foot and reaping the benefits with less injuries and more enjoyable runs. If you're up for the challenge of finding your mid-foot and improving your running form, here are some tips to follow:

1. Lose the shoes.

Bare feet are your best teacher. If you aren't comfortable going totally bare, try some lightweight footwear. You can choose anything from running sandals, to water shoes, to a high-tech pair of minimalist running kicks.

The things to look for in a minimalist shoe are:

• no significant lift from the toe to heel (4mm or less) or none at all (often marketed as "zero-drop")
• very little to no cushioning
• an extra flexible sole
• plenty of room for your toes to spread and move

If you absolutely cannot part with your cushioned trainers, that's okay. You can still improve your running form with these next tips.

2. Stop landing on your heel.

The key to good form is contacting the ground with the front half of your foot first. This is more difficult to do in heavy trainers, and next to impossible to avoid when barefoot. The exact contact spot varies from person to person. Some land on the ball of their foot (forefoot landing), but most land somewhere in the middle (mid-foot landing).

Your heel should still touch the ground briefly. However, it should not carry a large weight load. Most of your weight should be directly above your mid-foot. As soon as your heel makes contact, your arch and lower leg muscles can gather the spring they need to move your body forward. This way you can land much more lightly and bounce out of each stride rather than pound the ground.

3. Stand up straight and shorten your stride.

Remember what your mother told you: don’t slouch. A slumped-over runner wastes energy and allows for over-striding, which means extending the leg so far ahead that the foot lands in front of the body's centre of gravity.

Over-striding can lead to a host of problems, joint pain and knee injuries in particular. So keep your back straight, lead with your chest and bend forward only slightly at the ankles.

Shortening the length of your stride and increasing your cadence can make it easier to straighten up and resist over-striding. The average heel-striking runner tends to use longer strides and a cadence of 90 to 120 beats per minute (BPM), but the recommended cadence for optimal mid-foot running is about 180 BPM. That's three beats per second.

Get this cadence down and it may help achieve and maintain your correct form. Help yourself out by downloading a playlist of songs at 180 BPM for your iPod or carrying a small metronome with you.

4. Relax.

Finding your mid-foot can make you a more graceful and energy-efficient runner. But there's nothing graceful about running with stiff, robot-like limbs. Loosen up.

Relax your shoulders, neck, hands, toes, and even your legs. Extra tension in your muscles wastes energy and can cause a lack in flexibility and extra soreness. Bend your knees, shake out all the stiffness and let your body choose which muscles carry you forward.

5. Listen to your body.

Switching from a heel-strike to a mid-foot strike is serious business. In the long run, good mid-foot form is easier on your joints and spine and strengthens your ankles, feet and lower legs. But it is a big change for your underused lower leg and foot muscles.

It is important to start slow—even slower than you think. Build mileage gradually and always listen to your body when it says stop. Most knowledgeable barefoot runners recommend starting with no more than 1 to 2 km at first, and increasing distance by 10 % each week.

For longer distance runners, this may seem ludicrous. However, learning a new running form is the equivalent to being a new runner. With that said, every runner is different. The smartest thing you can do is be patient, pay attention to how your body feels and avoid injuries by taking it easy during your transition period.