A How - To: Running On the Ball of the Foot

As a child I always pranced around on my toes due to excessive energy that could not contain itself in a normal heel- to- toe gait. Now, I walk around with a socially accepted saunter that wouldn't warrant people thinking I am borderline psychotic. But, when it comes to competitive running, my goal every so often is to recall that sprite ballet stride -- just in a much quicker, intense context.

Many runners look at professional marathoners and track athletes wondering how they can mimic the flawless stride that seems to say 'I'm barely touching the ground and on my way to open flight'. Be wary of trying this out too quickly wishful Runner, because many factors are involved in order to make a safe transition.

On Your Toes + On Stride

1. Check out your shoes.
Brands like Aasics have wonderful support in the forefront (and ball of the foot) area. Mizuno, Saucony, and Nike doesn't favor this as much. Most of their cushioning isat the heel. This doesn't mean you should go and buy another shoe brand, but if you're really thinking about it, Asics will have you thinking less about launching off the toe bed just because it is naturally built to do so. Do not, try this method with a lightweight shoe until you have become sufficient enough (ie: Nike Frees).

2. The Ball of Your Foot, Not Your Toes
A big no- no is thinking that you need to be on your toes. No! Your toes just happen to be there, in no way are they being landed. You can think of them as where you want to take off from, but really, the one who's taking all the credit is the 'ball' of your foot. It is the palm of your foot. It has the most muscle, the most cushioning, and most flexibility. This is the cruxe of how you should thinking about running on your 'toes'.

3. Start with Short Strides
Ideally you want to be on your toes with a long stride yes? You are covering more distance, and seeing the ground less often. But, if you throw yourself into this effort to quickly you'll see potential injuries abounding. So, start off with a short stride, seeing the ground more often, but with less contact from the foot. Before you hit the ground it may helpful to visualize how your foot comes in contact with it. The mind is very powerful and the body listens well so take advantage of visualization.
("here" = on the ball; "this second" = on the heel)
3. Your Arms
I was once told that you run with your arms, never with your legs, they just happen to follow. That being said, don't swing them furiously. When your arms, shoulders, and most of the upper body are at ease, the rest follows. It's always good to remember that they can be a source of never-ending energy. When you're mind gets too tired from thinking about your legs (almost always) focus on other muscle groups upstairs. There should always be a constant balance between the utilization of the two parts (arms + legs). It's important to think about this once we start moving into a longer stride and mastering the ball -of -the- foot stride.

4. Entering into Long Strides
Pick a small mileage run (2 miles - 5 miles) depending on what kind of runner you are. Take the pace calmly and start to think about extending the stride and landing on the ball of your foot, arms should be right there with you. Losing your balance? Yes, this will most definitely happen. Alas, practice makes perfect so, slowly start incorporating this stride into your run. Not literally, but try this: run two minutes (long stride on the ball) 3 minutes (off the ball) and so forth. Play around with it.

5.Flexibility
Simply, if you work on your flexibility on a daily basis, extending the legs will become less tiring. Don't forget to stretch after you run, the most important time, when you're blood streams are hot,wide open and ready to be influenced. This will undoubtedly help you propel yourself and soon enough you'll start feeling like the winged heel image of Hermes wasn't too far from the truth.