A study from the researchers at the University of Massachusetts
Amherst found that heel-striking offered a more physiologically
economical running form than barefoot running.
Researchers studied 37 experienced runners, 19 of whom were habitual heel-strikers and 18 of whom landed first near the front of the foot. Under three difference paces covering easy, middling and fast pace, they measured oxygen uptake, heart rates and the extent to which carbohydrates were providing energy.
According to a review in the New York Times, “Heel strikers used less oxygen to run at the same pace as forefoot strikers, and many of the forefoot strikers used less oxygen – meaning they were more economical – when they switched form to land first with their heels.”
The New York Times piece is here. The study published last month in The Journal of Applied Physiology is here.
