Lucky Strike - Running Speed & Foot Strike

September 16, 2010 Sarah MacKay Robinson

My new running shoes arrived. Being a life long runner nerd, I like to study where the tread got thin on my old ones. All in the toes and mid-foot. You can tell a lot by looking at the bottom of old shoes. If the tread is worn off on the 'inside' or 'outside' or back... it can tell you about your foot strike.

Left = Old, Right = new (after one run, I couldn't resist)

I didn't learn to run on my mid/front foot until one year into college. I wasn't strong enough. But it really made a difference in my efficiency. (If you don't have to strike heel, then roll mid, toe, lift - you will go faster). Someone told me, probably my dad, to imagine running on very hot ground. That's how running is, you don't want to spend a bunch of your time with your feet on the ground. You have to train to maximize that contact with the earth.

DRILLS TO IMPROVE YOUR STRIDE & FOOT STRIKE

These drills are from an article on Sara Hall in the NYTimes a couple years ago. To read the article and get more tips click here: NYTIMES.com