Hello all,
I just signed up a couple days ago and have been slowly reading all of the great stuff in the different forums. Like a lot of people here I am running to fullfil my cardio but one thing I am reading about running technique. Personally when I run it is the "old school" way heel to toe, but I am reading about how you should now run on the balls of your feet. So the questions is which way is better, or in the end does it really matter?

I just finished my first marathon... and I read Runner's World magazine all the time. I've never read anything that says everyone should run on the balls of their feet.

I've heard it mentioned as a way to "think" about having fast feet or as a drill, but never preached as the only way to run.

What works for some, won't work for everyone. Running is such a high impact activity that you have to go with what feels right.

I'm a heel-to-toer too... and it's worked for me over hundreds of miles.

Thanks for the reply, and congrats on finishing your first marathon. I was trying over the weekend to find the article in Men's Journal that talked about this, but unfortunately no luck.

If memory serves me right I think I've heard this type of running described as "free" running (not sure if that is the correct term). I would be curious to know what advantages and disadvantages this style of running has over the heel to toe.

Of course I could be just dreaming the whole thing up too.

In High School and college I participated in a number of performance clinics. They had us running on the balls of our feet to develop explosion power and acceleration. I really doubt that someone would be able to maintain that type of stride over a large number of miles. But then again I am not a runner.

I'm not great at running. I like to sprint, then walk, then sprint. How can I increase my endurance?
C

Walk run walk methodology is great for injury free running. I suggest that you goodle Jeff Galloway to learn more.

URL This is a link to the Pose technique. According to Nicholas Romanov the "inventor" of this technique of running on the balls of your feet, it works for short sprints or marathons, is more efficient, and is safer and less stressful on the joints than heel-toe running. While Romanov is is one of the coaches of the British Olympic Triathlon Team and has applied his technique to train leading athletes in many countries, there has not been a lot of research into this method yet.

Speaking of technique...

I notice that a lot of distance runners (okay, mainly the guys at my gym who run over 8-9 miles ) take very small strides. I'm kinda tall, 6 foot 1, and I have what my wife affectionately calls "big goon legs." Subsequently my strides are really wide...

Is there any advantage to the smaller steps? Or is it just the way these guys run?

I've increased both my speed and distance in the last year, can now do around 10miles at 8.5 minute miles, but would always like to do better.