Which part of your foot should you land on?

[sofaqueen]

Can anyone help with this please? On W2 of Couch to 5K, Laura said we should be landing on our heels first. I've just been reading 'How to run correctly' on the NHS Choices website and they suggest landing on the middle of your foot, not the front or the heel. Any advice please?

[emzylou Graduate]

I have heard and read that it should be the middle.

[crox Graduate]

The advice I've read is middle of the foot first making sue that you foot lands underneath you, not in front. So I switched and now I'm injured with a 3 week lay off, which is exactly what sweatshop said would happen, but did I listen??? In hindsight I've realised that when I was landing I was hitting the ground on the outside of my foot 1st

Sweatshops advice was do what comes naturally. Heal first is probably all right if you don't run too fast, but mid foot better for your knees. Mid foot comes naturally if you rub barefoot...

[FirinBlanks Graduate]

Recent medical advice seems to be that you should land on the middle of your foot however the podcasts were created before this advice was confirmed when it was previously thought that heel striking was better.

Personally I've found that everyone has different views on this so I'm going with what feels best for me (middle). I figure as long as it's comfortable and doesn't give me injuries it must be right.

[Plinth Graduate]

I try not to think about it. If I do, I tend to fall over!

[Hidden]

I would suggest doing what feels most comfortable. If you are a natural heel striker, then you are a natural heel striker; if you land mid foot, them you land mid foot.

You can try and change to being a mid-foot striker ~ which still involves fundamentally landing on your heel and mid foot in a short succession rather than a big heel bash ~ but you may find it uncomfortable and awkward. Instead, enjoy your running and listen to how your body is 'talking' to you. Try smaller steps and see if that helps. Many of us take really long strides which means our heels come down hard in front of us, effectively braking us. See if the smaller strider help.

Watch Anton Krupicka on Youtube and look at his foot strike.

Above all though, ENJOY YOUR RUNNING!

[sofaqueen Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your advice - I'm not sure I'm a natural anything at the moment having only started the Couch to 5K plan 7 weeks ago and never having run before in my life! The advice on W2 was to heel strike but then I read otherwise. Today I didn't make a real effort to land on my heel and I think it was more my mid foot I was landing on. For now I think I'll just continue with trying to get through the sessions and work on a technique later. Thanks again

[newrunner53 in reply to sofaqueen]

I also took note of what Laura said in week 2 and was concentrating so much on landing on my heel that I fell over. Got a few good bruises which I thought was really funny as she said to land on the heel so injuries wouldn't occur. Since then I have been told that you shouldn't land on the heel so I just run without thinking about it now.

[Hidden]

My final comment on this...

ENJOY YOUR RUNNING, and keep us posted ~ we genuinely are interested,

[DavD Graduate]

Middle of the foot for me, as I have issues with my knees. Ankle won't let me absorb the impact from my running step. But just do what feels natural for you - only you can listen to your own body.

Good luck!