Toes Up or Toes Down?

[ElGiganteJake]

I land pretty heavy on my forefoot when running and find that between the pads of my feet I get some soreness when I push past about 4 easy miles.  I have noticed over the last few days that I run with my toes pointed UP.  However, last night I was reading Born To Run and Chris talks about following Caballo Blanco on their first run and he was running with his toes pointed down.  This seems kind of odd to me, but then again I haven't tried it yet.

Anybody have any preference on their footfall style and toe direction?  Have you tried changing from one to the other with any success?

[Hawkeye]

You should not land heavily at all!  That is bad form. You should be landing lightly, picking up your foot before it hits the ground. letting your midfoot land and yoru heel kiss the ground before going back up. I'd read the running board or search on working on your form.

I also don't think your toes should be pointed up. You pick your foot up not your toes. I used to point my toes up, but that was only in heavily padded running shoes.

[Jeepman]

Neither! You should run with a relaxed foot. Raise your knee to pick your foot off the ground and relax the ankle. Now look at the natural relaxed angle and position of your foot. This is how your foot should be during your run.

Rgs, Jeepman

[ElGiganteJake]

Cool.  not yet running outside regularly, so hitting the treadmill at lunch to see if I can improve my form.  Part of my landing heavy is the fact that I am a clydesdale 

[iPhreak]

I am BIG too, never thought to call myself a Horse though    Anyway, first thing I did not get the feel of the proper gait was to kick off the VFF and go naked.  It was amazing how my form changed just from that. 

[Hawkeye]

Cool.  not yet running outside regularly, so hitting the treadmill at lunch to see if I can improve my form.  Part of my landing heavy is the fact that I am a clydesdale  

Size doesn't really matter since you control your muscles and how you land.

People don't hear bigfoot coming or going do they?

[Leaves]

Maybe it's something to do with the treadmill? I dunno. I tried running on a treadmill and I noticed that I kept trying to reach in front of me with my feet rather than land beneath. I hate treadmills...

I did take my wife on her first trail run this past Saturday...she didn't end up nearly as muddy as I did!  I did find a nice limestone "cliff/hill" thing and ran up it.  The top was  solid bits of sharp pieces, so I stopped. And she couldn't follow. It was AWESOME. I highly recommend running through water/mud/streams with your KSO's.

A bit off topic...haha

[ElGiganteJake]

Most all of the trails around here still have snow/ice on them (although it is melting off rather quickly).  Will be back outside running/biking this weekend for sure.

So hit the treadmill at lunch here at the office gym.  Slowed my pace down, went for smooth  and consistent with a straight back.  Even with my fat asthmatic self I knocked out a solid straight 60 minutes at a 10:32 mile pace, best I've ever done before was only about 35 minutes. (2 minute each warmup/warmdown not included)  I could hear people on the treadmills on both sides of me landing over my own feet.  Felt great when I got done, no where near as tired as I normally am.  Only real reason I didn't try to keep going was my boss came in and finished his workout while I was running, so I figured I best get back to my desk. 

[Leaves]

Sounds good

[Jeepman]

Most all of the trails around here still have snow/ice on them (although it is melting off rather quickly).  Will be back outside running/biking this weekend for sure.

So hit the treadmill at lunch here at the office gym.  Slowed my pace down, went for smooth  and consistent with a straight back.  Even with my fat asthmatic self I knocked out a solid straight 60 minutes at a 10:32 mile pace, best I've ever done before was only about 35 minutes. (2 minute each warmup/warmdown not included)  I could hear people on the treadmills on both sides of me landing over my own feet.  Felt great when I got done, no where near as tired as I normally am.  Only real reason I didn't try to keep going was my boss came in and finished his workout while I was running, so I figured I best get back to my desk. 

That's great! Keep on it, but don't over do it either. It can be easy to over do it with your new found joy.

You have now found the more efficient form allowed by VFFs and barefooting. Just like you stated, straight back, very slight forward lean and land under your center of mass. The only purpose of the legs in running should be for support only. Your forward lean and the elasticity in your achilles heel/calf muscles will provide all the forward motion you need. Never push off on the ground. Just support your body with your legs and pull your foot from the groung to keep pace with your forward lean/fall. It is much more efficient to pull the weight of one foot off the ground than it is to thrust your entire body weight forward.

Rgs, Jeepman

[jcarneytx]

I don't have any way of filming myself, but I definitely have toes up when foot is going forward. I liken it to my foot reaching out to grab the ground I think my toes drop at the last instant, though, just as foot hits the ground, 'cause I'm pretty sure I don't land with my toes up.