Humans trod the landscape of North America thousands of years earlier than previously thought, according to new research that confirms the antiquity of fossilized footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico using two further dating approaches.
The position of foot strike varies as a function of stride length. Stride length and turnover are the two variables that determine speed. We heel strike in shoes because they allow a longer stride at the same turnover. Why not increase turnover and keep stride length short ? Because it uses more energy.
I was under the impression that forefoot striking is actually more efficient as the body is continually in a “forward falling” position, your legs do not land angled in front of you requiring your knees to absorb the shock, and you better utilize the elastic potential of your leg’s tendons.
Don’t a lot of marathon runners forefoot strike? Seems like they’re athletes that would be looking for the most efficient running techniques.
Just because we can heel strike doesn’t mean we should.