Address Footstrike for Running Speed
By Coach Matt Russ
"Running should be like flying with your feet briefly touching the ground." If you look closely at a race picture of an elite runner, both of their feet are almost always in the air. Their feet contact the ground so briefly; as little as 1/10th of a second, that it is hard to capture. A good foot-strike involves brief, forceful contraction under or slightly in front of the center of gravity. Whether you are a fore foot or mid foot striker the amount of time your foot spends on the ground is key to running speed.
The foot should actually be moving backwards and toward the body at foot-strike (pawing). Contacting the ground forward of the center of gravity on the heel is one of the more common form deficiencies I see. Video analysis is the best way to capture this, but you may also look at the wear patterns on the bottom of your shoe to see where you are contacting the ground initially. If you see wear on the outside portion of the heel you are probably over striding and creating breaking forces with each stride. This also increases impact forces and injury risk. Some runners have a "shuffle stride" in which they contact the ground behind their center of gravity but this is less common.
Once you have identified that you are over striding it will take practice to correct it. Your ground contact gives you a tactile cue with each stride. If you feel the first contact on the back of your heel that is an indicator to correct your over-stride. B's are a drill to practice the pawing motion and to get the foot moving backwards towards the center of gravity at footstrike. B's involve extending the foot out in front of the body then forcefully pawing the ground under the center of gravity. As with any run drill it is important to get the motion down slowly before attempting it at speed; and to get quality instruction on the drills and their purpose. Runners often perform drills with no connection or application to their stride.
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