Change in foot strike patterns and performance in recreational runners during a road race: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives: To characterise foot strike and observe change in foot strike patterns with increasing distance during a 15 km recreational running road race. To assess the impact of foot strike on running performance. Design: Observational cross-sectional study. Methods: Foot strike patterns were determined at the 3 km and 13 km checkpoints for 459 participants during the 2017 Melbourne City to Sea recreational running event. Foot strike patterns were categorised as either rearfoot strike (RFS) or non-rearfoot strike (NRFS) at both checkpoints and analyses were conducted on intra-individual change in foot strike as well as relationship to finishing time. Results: The most prevalent foot strike ..