[slibhb]

How fast you sprint is a function of how hard your feet hit the ground. They aren't "brushing" the ground at all. I didn't say the heel hits the ground while sprinting.

edit - Googled for 30 seconds and found this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=andAaS6Lyc8

The first runner he talks about uses a midfoot strike, the second uses a heel strike. They're both elite marathon runners.

As I said, my conclusion from having looked into this is that this debate is folk science. It might be correct but there's no compelling evidence.

[bluecalm]

How fast your sprint is a function how much backward force there is. You don't drive "down", you drive back. Try driving down and you will see it's impossible to do with any kind of force without the heel touching the ground.

Thanks for the video. The guy in the assistance crew is in fact heel striking. It's not classical extend your leg to hit the ground and roll novice runner kind of heel striking as his leg already moves back and his knee is already bent when he hits the ground but he does hit the ground with the heel first.

I wonder if it's because of the shoes. I don't think he would do that in flats/track race shoes.