Comments on: Ask Brad: Heel vs Forefoot Striking http://www.marathonperformance.com/2009/10/ask-brad-heel-vs-forefoot-striking/ Marathon Performance is dedicated to helping competitive distance runners achieve their best. Our training group includes professional athletes preparing for several national and international events in 2009 and beyond. Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:57:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Admin http://www.marathonperformance.com/2009/10/ask-brad-heel-vs-forefoot-striking/comment-page-1/#comment-65 Admin Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:11:40 +0000 http://www.marathonperformance.com/?p=1234#comment-65 Jesse, here's a link to a response to your question. Glad you enjoyed the book. http://www.marathonperformance.com/forum/topic.php?id=41 Jesse, here’s a link to a response to your question. Glad you enjoyed the book. http://www.marathonperformance.com/forum/topic.php?id=41

]]> By: jesse http://www.marathonperformance.com/2009/10/ask-brad-heel-vs-forefoot-striking/comment-page-1/#comment-63 jesse Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:07:26 +0000 http://www.marathonperformance.com/?p=1234#comment-63 Brad, Just ready your entire book over the last two weeks. Excellent!! I have two comments. Number one: In your post for this thread you commented that running forefoot in situations involving mud is not efficient and would be best being done using a heal strike stride. You just confirmed an observation I have made over and over while running muddy trails. I am also thankful that I am not weird in switching from forefoot on harder trail surfaces to heal strike in muddy root filled trail sections. I kept feeling like I needed to pick one or the other! Number two: In reading your book I kept wondering how can I adapt your training regiments to someone such as myself that runs exclusively in the mountains and on trails. In December I am beginning your Level 2 marathon training and am struggling with figuring out how many miles I should be running. My 18 mile long runs are usually filled with 5,000+ and 5,000- elevation gain/loss with extremely difficult footing. Would it still be appropriate for me to adhere to your mileage suggestions even though they were meant for the road? Finally the two most important revelations I got from your book were: Training using intervals that are close to race pace and hill sprints for the injury prone runner. Absolutely good stuff in my running sphere! Cheers, Jess Brad,
Just ready your entire book over the last two weeks. Excellent!!
I have two comments. Number one: In your post for this thread you commented that running forefoot in situations involving mud is not efficient and would be best being done using a heal strike stride. You just confirmed an observation I have made over and over while running muddy trails. I am also thankful that I am not weird in switching from forefoot on harder trail surfaces to heal strike in muddy root filled trail sections. I kept feeling like I needed to pick one or the other!
Number two: In reading your book I kept wondering how can I adapt your training regiments to someone such as myself that runs exclusively in the mountains and on trails. In December I am beginning your Level 2 marathon training and am struggling with figuring out how many miles I should be running. My 18 mile long runs are usually filled with 5,000+ and 5,000- elevation gain/loss with extremely difficult footing. Would it still be appropriate for me to adhere to your mileage suggestions even though they were meant for the road?
Finally the two most important revelations I got from your book were: Training using intervals that are close to race pace and hill sprints for the injury prone runner. Absolutely good stuff in my running sphere!
Cheers,
Jess

]]> By: eric johnson http://www.marathonperformance.com/2009/10/ask-brad-heel-vs-forefoot-striking/comment-page-1/#comment-62 eric johnson Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:47:05 +0000 http://www.marathonperformance.com/?p=1234#comment-62 i agree. the important thing isn't that a person strikes forefoot/midfoot vs. heel. it's how effectively the runner is using the elasticity of their tendons to return energy to the stride...which is directly proportional to how long your are on the ground. personally, i think one of the best ways to teach this technique is to shorten the athlete's stride. it's impossible to run fast with a footstrike that lands much in front of the center of mass. do you just focus on hills and sprint training or do you have skill segments in training as well? i agree. the important thing isn’t that a person strikes forefoot/midfoot vs. heel. it’s how effectively the runner is using the elasticity of their tendons to return energy to the stride…which is directly proportional to how long your are on the ground.

personally, i think one of the best ways to teach this technique is to shorten the athlete’s stride. it’s impossible to run fast with a footstrike that lands much in front of the center of mass.

do you just focus on hills and sprint training or do you have skill segments in training as well?

]]> By: John Clark http://www.marathonperformance.com/2009/10/ask-brad-heel-vs-forefoot-striking/comment-page-1/#comment-45 John Clark Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:34:13 +0000 http://www.marathonperformance.com/?p=1234#comment-45 Well put. Too much is made of shoes (or no shoes) trying to force you to do something that you can focus on without manipulation. Runners need to think about technique all the time. Too often people want to be told or given something to make them better without the effort of thinking about it. I tell athletes they have to think about form etc. during training (especially when at end of workouts) because when it comes to racing you are just trying to breathe. The body will revert to its natural tendencies when the mind is busy. Develop good tendencies and you'll look good even when you feel bad. Well put. Too much is made of shoes (or no shoes) trying to force you to do something that you can focus on without manipulation. Runners need to think about technique all the time. Too often people want to be told or given something to make them better without the effort of thinking about it. I tell athletes they have to think about form etc. during training (especially when at end of workouts) because when it comes to racing you are just trying to breathe. The body will revert to its natural tendencies when the mind is busy. Develop good tendencies and you’ll look good even when you feel bad.

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