drop

The concept of “drop”: what does it mean for the runner?

If we believed everything that was written, every athlete should now be running in a minimalist shoe, with minimalist gradient or “drop”, and that in doing so he or she would achieve perfect form, a more “natural running experience’, and far fewer injuries. We could also be led to believe that the more ‘traditional’ style of shoe, built off a higher midsole platform, is the root of all evil, compels the runner to heel strike, and is fundamentally responsible for the generation of injury in running. I could probably put an end to this discussion right now by stating what the science tells us: that for some runners, a more minimalistic experience will be beneficial, whilst for others, the mainstream approach to running shoe design will offer a more favourable experience. However, the passion of the debate, and the misuse, misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the science of athletic footwear design on both sides of the argument demands that we examine key issues more stringently and attempt to get better answers based on science. One of the most important discussions to be had is on the notion of “drop’, which is a relatively new term describing the differential of the height of the midsole, as measured from under the ball of the foot, to the heel. Traditionally this ‘drop” has been 10-12mm, whilst for minimalistic footwear it is anywhere from 0-4mm. I am going to limit this discussion to this issue, and discuss the pros and cons of less or more ‘drop’.