ELITE RUNNERS & HEEL-STRIKING

One of the most common questions to come when discussing running technique is "how come elite runners heel-strike?" A very simple answer here - nobody taught them any better.

First of all, not all elite runners land heel first. As a matter of fact, the best ones showcase forefoot or midfoot landing. It might seem otherwise because of the photos used in magazines, advertisements, etc. All of that is simply an orchestrated effort by the shoe manufacturers and their cohorts to sell the shoes that they make. Press is plugged into this because of millions of dollars in paid advertising, many elite athletes are sucked into that because they are sponsored by those shoe companies and the end result is that the rest of us are surrounded by images of heel-striking and unless somebody tells you otherwise - most of us simply never question this subject.


That is, of course, until injuries arrive. Then, everyone starts looking for answers and often not finding them via regular sources like traditional running magazines and websites, some people start looking further on their own, others simply give up running.

Before the running boom in the 70s, as T. Noakes mentioned in his book "Running Injuries: How to Prevent and Overcome Them", there was only one running injury, nowadays there are so many, that all are titled and grouped and have "corrective" and very pricey shoes (which don't work by the way) designed for them.

If we look at elite runners back in the day, we won't see many heel-strikers, if any at all. If we look at elite runners today - quite a few are heel-strikers. So what happened in a span of 30+ years that turned a beautiful sport of running into one of the most dangerous sports since 2 out of 3 runners get injured on regular basis? What happened was as simple as this - due to the fact that running is more accessible to majority of people than most other sports that require equipment or are more complicated in their nature, many different people with various skill levels and abilities entered the sport without thinking much about it. The saying was - put your shoes on and just do it!

And here we are with an extensive list of injuries. And there go the heel-striking elites settling for so-so results instead of pushing the world-records even further. Natural talent is mostly genetics. That we cannot change. However we can either waste our talent or use it to become the best in the field. The history of running is full of sad examples of very talented athletes fading away from the sport due to poor technique and consequent injuries. Talent alone can only go so far, it needs to be supported, nurtured, and revealed in all its beauty through the use of proper technique.

So, how do elite runners that heel-strike get away with it? They don't. Nobody does. Eventually everyone who heel-strikes succumbs to injuries. If they claim otherwise - they are not being truthful. How can we say that? We don't - statistics does. And by the way, have you ever seen a heel-striker smile at a finish line or after a run? Neither did we. Normally there is an expression of pain on their faces. Yes, they've won a title or two, yes they've become known as elite, but think of how much further they could have made it, if they didn't get sidelined by injuries. Think of how much longer their athletic careers could have been.

Keep in mind, running injuries occur due to many deviations or technical errors, heel-striking is only one of them, but it is indeed the worst.

Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov