All but a few of more than 900 novice runners wearing conventional running shoes were found to be heel strikers, New Year Has High-Profile Pros Between Contracts Gait and Posture.
Danish researchers gathered 903 new runners and had them run on an indoor track in the Adidas Supernova Glide 3, which the researchers classified as a neutral conventional running shoe. To count as a new runner, the participants were not to have run more than 10 kilometers total in the previous 12 months. Two observers looked at high-speed video (300 frames per second) of each runner's gait and classified the foot strike pattern as rearfoot, midfoot, forefoot, or asymmetrical (one foot landing in one of the three ways and the other foot landing otherwise).
Among the 456 men in the study, the researchers characterized 96.9% as rearfoot strikers, 0.4% percent as midfoot strikers, 0.9% as forefoot strikers, and 1.8% as having an asymmetrical foot strike pattern. Among the 447 women in the study, the respective percentages were 99.3%, 0%, 0%, and .7%.
As one of the researchers, Michael Bertelsen, told Runner's World Newswire, these percentages differ from what other such studies have found among more experienced runners. A study by minimalist blogger Peter Larson found 94.3% of runners heel striking at the 10-K mark of a combined half-marathon and marathon, while analysis of an elite Japanese half-marathon found 74.9% of those racers were heel striking 15 kilometers into the race.
"Shoe choice may explain the differences in foot strike patterns across the studies/populations," Bertelsen told Runner's World Newswire. "Conventional shoes are typically thicker, more cushioned, have a greater heel-to-toe drop, and are heavier."
"I certainly think our findings would have been different," if the participants wore minimalist shoes, Bertelsen said. "Studies have shown runners to be more likely to [forefoot strike or midfoot strike] when wearing minimalist running shoes. This is why it’s very important to stress that our results are found in novice runners wearing conventional running shoes. The foot strike pattern among novice runners wearing minimalist shoes or running barefoot has, to my knowledge, not be investigated yet."
Bertelsen also emphasized that there's nothing inherently wrong with heel striking.
"To my knowledge, it has not been proven that forefoot strike and midfoot strike is more effective than rearfoot strike," he said. "A study from 2012 found no significant difference in running economy between runners with [a forefoot strike and rearfoot strike]. I would, therefore, be very careful to conclude anything regarding association between foot strike type and running efficiency."
Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including Running Is My Therapy, Advanced Marathoning, and Meb for Mortals. A Part of Hearst Digital Media Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.
