How to fix heel striking without changing your shoes
Heel striking is fine when your foot lands under your hip. Fix the reach, not the strike, with one cue and a 4 or 8 week plan. No new shoes needed.
You fix heel striking by landing your foot closer to under your hip, not by changing which part of the foot touches first. A heel that lands under the body is fine. A heel that lands far out in front is the problem. So the fix is shorter, quicker steps and a bent knee at contact. You can do that in the shoes you already own.
Heel strike is not the problem. Reach is.
There are three ways your foot can meet the ground: heel first, midfoot, or forefoot. Most recreational runners heel strike, and so do many fast ones. What separates the smooth heel strikers from the ones who hurt is where the foot lands, not how.
Picture two runners. Both land heel first.
- Runner A lands with the ankle just in front of the hip. The knee is bent. The shin is close to upright. The heel kisses the ground and rolls through.
- Runner B lands with the ankle well ahead of the hip. The knee is straight. The toes point up at the sky. The heel slams down and the whole leg acts as a brake.
Runner A does not need to change anything. Runner B is overstriding, and heel striking is just the visible symptom. See how to stop overstriding for the full picture.
What it looks like on video
Film yourself from the side and pause at the moment of contact. Look for:
- The ankle to hip gap. Draw a line straight down from your hip. If the landing ankle is more than about a quarter of your leg length in front of that line, you are reaching.
- The knee. Straight or nearly straight at contact means the leg is locked when it hits the ground.
- The toes. Toes pulled up high, with the sole facing forward, is the classic reaching heel strike.
- The shin angle. A shin leaning back toward your body means the foot is out front. A shin standing upright means it is under you.
A heel strike with a bent knee, an upright shin and a small ankle to hip gap is not something to fix. Leave it alone.
Why it matters
A foot that lands far ahead of the hip pushes the ground forward before it can push back. That slows you down on every step. It also sends the landing load up a straight leg into the knee and hip. Many runners with knee or shin complaints are reaching heel strikers, though a video shows you the stride, not the cause of any pain.
The good news is that the same fix helps both speed and comfort. Bring the foot back under you and the heel strike takes care of itself. Some runners stay heel strikers with a shorter reach. Others drift toward midfoot without trying. Both outcomes are fine.
The one cue
Land under you.
Do not think about your heel. Do not think about your toes. Think about where the foot comes down, and try to make it happen a little closer to your body than it does now. For most runners this feels like slightly quicker, slightly shorter steps.
Use it for 30 seconds at a time, three or four times on an easy run. Then let it go and run normally. Do that on two runs a week.
Why new shoes usually do not fix it
Shoe adverts sell the idea that a low drop or a soft heel will change how you land. Sometimes it changes the strike. It rarely changes the reach. A runner who reaches in 10 millimetre drop shoes will reach in 4 millimetre drop shoes, just with sorer calves.
Switching shoes to force a forefoot strike is also a common way to pick up a calf or Achilles problem. Change the stride first. If you still want new shoes later, buy them for comfort, not as a fix.
A 4-week plan
Three short sessions a week, plus the cue on easy runs. This mirrors what Caden builds when foot landing is your lowest dial.
Weeks 1 and 2: learn the position.
- A-march, 3 × 30 seconds. Lift the knee, then place the foot down directly under the hip.
- Slow calf raises, 3 × 10. Two seconds up, three seconds down. This prepares the calf for a little more work.
- Single-leg balance, 2 × 30 seconds each side.
- Ankle rocks, 2 × 10 each side. Knee forward over the toes, heel down.
- Two easy runs with the cue "land under you" on for 30 seconds, four times per run.
Weeks 3 and 4: speed it up.
- A-skip, 3 × 20 metres.
- Quick-feet strides, 4 × 20 seconds at your usual cadence plus 5 percent. Walk back between each.
- Glute bridge, 3 × 12.
- One easy run with the cue on for every other kilometre.
Then film again, same view, same pace, same place. Look at the ankle to hip gap, not the heel.
How to check it with Caden
- Tap Run a new analysis and set up a side-on shot. Set the phone at hip height, 6 to 8 metres from your path, and run past at easy pace for 10 to 20 seconds.
- On the results screen, read the Where your foot lands dial. It measures landing reach as a fraction of your leg length. A low score with the note "Reaching too far ahead" means the foot is out in front. A high score means a heel strike here is nothing to fix.
- Tap Breakpoints, then Foot strike. The freeze frame shows the skeleton at contact with the landing ankle circled. Compare the circle to the hip.
- Check the Knee bend on landing dial. A straight knee at contact usually goes with the reach.
- Read the coach's tip for the one cue Caden picked for you. Then open the Exercises tab for a 4 or 8 week plan.
- Re-film in week 4 and open Before and after in Stats to compare the two foot strike frames side by side.
Caden measures where the foot lands, not pressure under the foot. It will not tell you heel versus forefoot in millimetres. It will tell you whether the reach is the issue, which is the thing that matters.
Mistakes
- Forcing a forefoot strike. Running on your toes with the same reach just moves the load to the calf.
- Buying shoes as the fix. Shoes change the feel. Video changes the stride.
- Changing everything at once. Cadence plus 5 percent. One cue. Four weeks.
- Checking heel or toe instead of ankle to hip. The heel is the symptom. The gap is the measurement.
- Ignoring pain. If the calf or Achilles gets sore during the change, back off. If pain persists or changes how you walk, see a clinician.
FAQ
Is heel striking bad?
Not on its own. A heel strike close under the hip with a bent knee is common in fast, uninjured runners. A heel strike far out in front with a straight knee is an overstride, and that is the pattern worth changing.
Heel strike vs midfoot strike: which is better?
Neither is better for everyone. Where the foot lands matters more than which part touches first. Fix the reach and let the strike settle wherever it settles.
Do I need zero drop shoes to stop heel striking?
No. Most runners keep heel striking in low drop shoes, just with more calf load. Change the stride with cadence and the cue first. Choose shoes for comfort.
How long does it take to change a heel strike?
Reach usually shows a visible change on video in about four weeks of two or three drill sessions a week. The strike type may or may not change, and that is fine.
Can Caden tell if I heel strike?
Caden shows the foot strike frame with the skeleton overlay, so you can see how the foot meets the ground. Its foot landing dial measures reach, which is the number that matters. It does not measure foot pressure.