چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background: Previous studies of foot strike patterns of distance runners in road races have typically found that the overwhelming majority of
shod runners initially contact the ground on the rearfoot. However, none of these studies has attempted to quantify foot strike patterns of barefoot
or minimally shod runners. This study classifies foot strike patterns of barefoot and minimally shod runners in a recreational road race.
Methods: High-speed video footage was obtained of 169 barefoot and 42 minimally shod distance runners at the 2011 New York City Barefoot
Run. Foot strike patterns were classified for each runner, and frequencies of forefoot, midfoot, and rearfoot striking were compared between the
barefoot and minimally shod groups.
Results: A total of 59.2% of barefoot runners were forefoot strikers, 20.1% were midfoot strikers, and 20.7% were rearfoot strikers. For
minimally shod runners, 33.3% were forefoot strikers, 19.1% were midfoot strikers, and 47.6% were rearfoot strikers. Foot strike distributions
for barefoot and minimally shod runners were significantly different both from one another and from previously reported foot strike distributions
of shod road racers.
Conclusion: Foot strike patterns differ between barefoot and minimally shod runners, with forefoot striking being more common, and rearfoot
striking less common in the barefoot group.