Heel vs. Midfoot vs. Forefoot Striking: Function of speed or Precursor to speed?

[Joe Furse]

Found this article while I should have been studying for a test. http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/04/running-technique-footstrike.html  Very interesting, and I think the conclusion the author draws is probably correct.  I've tried to consciously change my foot strike before, with no permanent results (I don't remember if it resulted in injury or not).  I have found (duh) that the faster and more efficient I become, both in general and on individual runs, the more my strike tends to move towards the mid or forefoot, but when I go on a slow run I immediately revert to heel striking.  Anyway, the article is interesting.  I wonder if there are more studies than the one cited by the author.

[Sasha Pachev]

There is more to a foot strike than heel, midfoot, or toe. I feel like the debate about how you should strike the foot is somewhat similar to whether you should start the chess game with e4, d4, c4, f4, Nf3, or some other move. What matters is not the first move, it is the follow up :-) I do believe also that an efficient foot strike, be it heel, midfoot, or toe, is developed naturally when you run a lot of miles, and you run a good portion of them fast. You cannot expect to get faster by micromanaging it with a conscious effort or even specially designed drills. However, when you get faster, it will be where it needs to be without you having to think about it.

[Kam]

I've noticed as speed increases, the forefoot striking comes naturally.  I think it's important to put yourself in a shoe that doesn't enforce a heel-strike when you are going faster.  When I started running, the shoe store guy put me in clunky trainers.  As I've gotten faster, I find the trainer, support type shoe to be unnecessary.