Been having issues for years with my running. Tight calfs and achilies and also lots of plantar fasciitis has caused me to almost give up altogether.

I’ve been seeing a new physio at work and he has filmed me running and has come to the conclusion that I am a massive heel striker which could be the cause of all my problems.

Now he is trying to change the way I run from heel striking to landing midfoot and I’ve got to say it feels like one of the most unnatural things ever.

Have any of you had to change the way you run and if so did you find it hard.

Cheers
Steve

I found it pretty easy, but I hadn’t a long history of running beforehand.
Assuming that you want to do it, I think you’re better off focusing on cadence, and the foot landing will naturally follow. Concentrating on trying to land on a specific part of the foot is probably just going to result in tense muscles.
Get a garmin with cadence sensing, or a 90/180 bpm mp3 track, and first run on the spot (cos you can’t really heel strike on the spot), then try jogging really slowly but still at the same cadence, and gradually build up to whatever speed you want to achieve, but still concentrating on that cadence.

Ditch your padded running shoes and run in something with a thin flat sole. Heel striking hurts when you don’t have loads of cushioning, so what I found is that my form changed automatically.

Have a read of this.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/oct/09/is-heel-striking-the-enemy-of-good-running-form

Run in bare feet – watch how fast you stop heel striking then..
The human body isn’t designed to do it – hence the likes of Nike/Addidas/etc coming up with all sorts of tech to cushion the strike and control the foot.

I think the things to focus on are cadence and where the foot land relative to the hip joint, if the foot is dorsaflexed (toes towards shins) during the recovery phase (moving forwards) and footstrike is directly under the hip then most impact will be midfoot / forefoot, thus effectively utilising the stretch shortening cycle of the achilles.
Too many people see mid / forefoot running in isolation and run planterflexed (like a gymnast) and place excessive strain on the calf muscles
I would avoid minimal shoes unless you are a, very light / small or b, have exceptional biomechanics. Injury prevention is the key.
Try and focus on running tall, most people tend to suggest running with a slight forward lean, this happens naturally and the optimum angle is about 2 degrees, so focus on running tall (imagine a balloon attached to the top of the head giving you lift.
Most shoe manufacturers come up with a range of cushioning to compensate for poor strength and conditioning, poor biomechanincs (reinforced over years) and a variety of joint and mobility issues. There is not, and never will be, a one size fits all shoe.
I am a UKA qualified athletics coach if that adds anything.

Have any of you had to change the way you run and if so did you find it hard.

I didn’t need to because of injury, I was just experimenting one day and I suddenly realised what had been making running so miserable all thee years. For me, it’s vastly better. I didn’t have problems switching because I was not much of a runner at all previously. If your running muscles are already in form then you might exceed the capacity of your instep or Achilles and hurt yourself.

Tight calfs = stretch more, and just run more.

Always found that if I do lots of biking and little running my calfs kill when I run. The more you run this goes away.

All these people who claim to be forefoot runners obviously never run anywhere hilly or if they do, only run up hill.

I did try changing the way I run after an injury (I was tripped from behind in a race). In the end the only things I’ve changed are:

1/ not running when tired.
2/ running less and stopping if I start to feel myself stiffening up.

The people who claim to be forefoot runners aren’t claiming to never ever heel strike even on descents, because that would be stupid and is not really possible.

To the OP: It is definitely worth thinking about your gait, as it can make a huge difference. Those people who tell you to just run and not worry about it clearly have good gait to start with.

I would avoid minimal shoes unless you are a, very light / small or b, have exceptional biomechanics

I use fairly minimal shoes and I am certainly not light. I don’t get injured either. I sometimes have itb pain but that happens regardless of shoe and goes away if I roller.

I don’t run long distances though.

I thought the point of minimal shoes was to force you to run in such a way as not to injure yourself ie the correct way. I.e. change your technique to avoid pain rather than your shoe.

How many miles/kms did you run in October, Molgrips? (add smiley to taste)

If you fell run you should try to front foot strike. Running down a rocky Lake District hill at top speed cuffing rocks, it nearly makes running as much fun as cycling. Nearly.

Have any of you had to change the way you run and if so did you find it hard.

When I was in my 20s every time I built up a reasonable volume of running I always got shin splints so basically gave up running. Took it up again in my late 40s and everything hurt- not just shins but back, thighs, ankles. I thought to myself I can’t be this old an knackered and had a close look at my running style which I worked out was heel striking and flat footed- basically no spring in my step. The impact from this I reckon was the cause of all my problems.

From then on I changed to forefoot striking building up gradually. The only issue I had was an aching Achilles after every run (hardly surprising as it had never been used properly) but that disappeared after a couple of months. I was also running faster and more efficiently and my times for my usual loops dropped by 20%. About 7 years later still running and still no problems.

As another poster above said ditch those fancy padded shoes and just get a cheap pair of thin soled shoes, start slowly and build up gradually.

When I got back into running a few years ago I had the same types of injuries as the OP and also suffered from shin splints. I tried changing to a mid-foot strike but just felt like it was a big step backwards. I didn’t persist with it for long. Instead I listened to advice about stretching (and made sure I actually did it) and that made a massive difference to me. I also took a reality check and realised my weight and general fitness wasn’t helping and since that has started improving I’ve noticed big improvement in speed and recovery after runs.

Running technique: The Footstrike

Thanks for the replies.

I stretch my calfs everyday for at least half an hour and yet even still after a few mins of running my calfs go so tight and sore I have to stop. At this point stretching is very painful and has no effect.

I have suffered with anterior compartment syndrome before and had both legs released with operations.

I’ve had my gait analysis done and got the appropriate shoes which are Brooks adrenaline gts 13.

I am very flat footed and slap the ttreadmill running barefoot.

I also have major pain and swelling on my shin bone on the front for about 2 inches at the bottom.

Sounds like walking would be a more appropriate activity than running right now. I stick to a sport’s doctors advice to stop running and walk if I have any pain or swelling.

We walked 840km in a month with camping gear in the Summer and the minor aches we had at the start slowly eased. After a month with no running but all that walking we were both running better than on our regular run training.

Good explanation/advice from Timmer. I didn’t find the change to mid foot unnatural as such – the effort was more mental, focussing on posture and relative footstrike position until it became instinctive. Worth persevering, in my experience.

The problem is that I have to pass a bleep test every year for work so need to maintain my running fitness.

Currently can only just manage5-10 mins at about 9 kmh

Gait analysis in shops is far from perfect. They look at what you do with your feet and sell shoes to mitigate that, rather than teach you how tk run properly. There are people who can do that though, might be worth a shot.

However if you want to pass a bleep test then jogging will be not much help, Imo. You should probably be doing sprints or hill sprints. Consult an expert again. In a sprint workout you might only be doing 2 mins of running in total.

Get healthy first then you can get fit. I can’t see you recovering from your injuries (because from what you say you are injured) by running, let alone running fast.

Edit: and a question you only need to give an honest answer to yourself to:
How much do you weigh? People who weigh too much run badly and injure themselves.

I am 6 foot 1 and weigh 18 stone.

People can run badly at any weight of course, but at that weight you are going to have problems to overcome that 9 stone whippets aren’t.

renton – Member
I am 6 foot 1 and weigh 18 stone.

Well we know who ate all the pies…..

Walk off 5 stone and you’ll run fine. Do you have the time to walk two hours a day everyday and are you prepared to spend a couple of years losing weight without resorting to any fad diets?

renton – Member

Have any of you had to change the way you run and if so did you find it hard.

about 6 years ago, 3 different doctors told me i’d need to have my sesamoid bones removed – i was in so much pain i could barely walk, let alone run.

then summer came round, and after a few days in flip-flops my feet felt fine, i even managed a short run. so i binned all my shoes that had thick soles, and or arch support, and i haven’t had any problems since.

i had to learn how to run without a heel-strike, it didn’t take long – as someone mentioned above, you have to learn quickly if you’re wearing thin-soled-shoes.

go to the kitchen (or somewhere else with a hard floor), take your shoes off, and run slowly on the spot.

i’ll be amazed if you can do this with a heel-strike.

i bet you land first on the ball of your foot. Allow your heel to touch-down a moment after.

now, do a slow lap of the kitchen table – it’s as easy as that.

but, if you prefer running with a heel-strike, and you have no problems, then that’s great, good for you!

Edukator – Troll

All these people who claim to be forefoot runners obviously never run anywhere hilly or if they do, only run up hill.

does fell-running/racing in the peak district count?

I am desperate to lose weight.

renton – Member

I am desperate to lose weight.

i’m not sure if i can help you there, i’m 6’1″, and i’m 13 stone, i’m a scrawny streak of piss. you really aren’t that far from a healthy weight.

but, i would say, emotions like ‘despair’ (maybe even guilt?) are entirely unhelpful.

do something* that will make a difference, and stick to it for the long-haul. don’t weigh yourself every day.

(*or lots of little somethings)

Dunno ahwiles.

Here’s my oldest pair of race running shoes that are still in use, “Brooks Forefoot Hyderoflow” as it happens. It’s pretty clear from the wear to heel that I heel strike even though the front of the sole is the most worn part. Post up your old fell-running shoes and and we’ll see how worn the heel is.

Being desperate to lose weight is a good starting point, Renton, this is not a good place to ask how to go about it. 😉

I agree with ditch the padded shoes. Get some racing flats and read this:
http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/documents/Running_Fast_and_Injury_Free.pdf

I had a trip to the physio with IT band pain, filmed me on the tread mill and spotted that I hunched forward quite a bit, pushing my weight forward, causing me to heel strike with a heavy landing. Running tall with my head back makes reduced most heel strikes.

I’d read something more up to date than that. And the OP’s aim is to pass a bleep test rather than win a medal on the track (however, there’s a French athlete who’s won a pile of medals with his training based mainly on walking – medals for 100km running).

The OP wants to get from heel striker to mid striker. The Pirie routine does that.

“walking damages running”

The Pirie routine also includes nonsense such as that.

To the OP – Edukator has a fairly extreme it’s-all-bollocks attitude. Some people share that, many do not.

If you want to lose weight I strongly recommend the iDave diet or similar low-gi or low insulinaemic diet. You really have nothing to lose but you might find it works very well. It teaches you about carbohydrates and what they do so you can incorporate that knowledge into your diet for the rest of your life, even if you don’t follow the letter of the diet.

well, according to my old thread on this, running is no good for losing weight, either.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fat-knacker-10k-training

Walking is good for losing weight in conjunction with sensible eating.

I think

it’s-all-bollocks attitude

sums up my attitude to what i-Dave posted about his fad diet on this forum pretty well.

This thread is about running rather than a diet proposed by a person banned following broken promises to provide STW members with diet sheets in exchange for money but only taking the money.

I’m posting the best, most positive advice I can to Renton and any running programme that discourages walking is almost certainly not the best for him..

Walking is great for weight loss if you can fit in 2 hours a day, but that is not something most of can or are willing to do. There are many many ways to persuade your body to shift fat, and a low GI diet is certainly one of them regardless of what iDave did with anyone’s money.

Long slow cycling also works, as does weight lifting, the 5:2 diet, weight watchers, restricted calories, cabbage soup, marathon running, food poisoning.. The list is long. You have to find one that works for you 🙂

this is a huge can o’ worms thing, and when you google it gets crazier… but in my experience moving to more minimal shoes made a night and day difference instantly.

long and short, a few years back i went to a specialist and was pronounced severe overpronator. brooks beasts were the answer according to them.

i then went to some more moderate mizuno. no real probs but i was always getting very sore hamstrings, if i drove for more than 40mins it would get very sore. had a few other niggles too, heavy legs etc. just figured it was because i was rubbish at doing stretching. even tried changing the way i ran, like you are.

in the meantime i’d bought some inov8 215 talons with a 6mm drop, and loved them. definitely ran better than the mizunos, so i tried them on the road and they were fine.

started looking at internet discussions about minimalist running and got very confused.

anyhow sportsshoes.com then had a 15% voucher so grabbed some inov8 roadX 255 for about 35quid which is there entry level minimalist shoe with a 9mm drop. instantly, and i really do mean instantly as in within a day or so, all my sore hamstring issues went.

so maybe its just me, but i do look at all the hugely padded stuff and wonder if its necesary for most of us casual fitness runners.