Foot strike, thinking backwards?

There are lots of discussions at the moment on running, foot strike,injury and so forth. These discussions have probably been around for as long as people have gathered to talk about the science of running.

Which is odd, as we have been running for far longer and seem to have got it pretty much right for the majority of that time.

We talk about heel striking, forefoot striking, a midfoot pattern and all combinations in between. Yet it is inevitable that the foot is going to strike the ground, Gravity always wins!

Why not, instead, think about how the foot pushes off again. That, to me, requires far more thought as it has to happen consciously. And a good push off has to have come from a solid foot strike.

Rather than concentrating on how the foot strikes the ground, think about the feeling of the correct area of foot pushing off, the forefoot driving away, the force passing through it and propelling the runner forwards. For this to occur, all the muscular chains have to fire correctly.

So perhaps we should turn it upside down and think about driving forwards, not striking, and see if that makes a difference.

By all means wear minimal shoes, learn to run barefoot (it is bio-mechanically highly efficient when  learned properly) and look after your body, but flip the idea upside down every now and then.