CimAlp invites you to explore a Trail Running shoe range designed to reduce your risk of injury
You often hear talk of the famous "drop" of a shoe.
But what does it actually mean? A hollow marketing argument that equipment brands throw around carelessly — or a genuine factor to consider when buying a pair of shoes?
In this article, you will discover what drop is, what it is used for, and what effect it can have on your stride and your body.
First things first: what is drop? It is simply the difference in height between the front of your shoe and the back. This value, measured in millimetres, is what we call "drop".
To give a concrete example: take a shoe with a heel height of 20 mm and a toe height of 12 mm. Subtract the front from the back and you get a drop of 8 mm.
The drop diagram of a shoe
Why are we talking about "drop"?
The concept of drop only recently entered the public consciousness with the rise of minimalism in the world of running.
It represents a return to the origins of running — natural, stripped-back, free of artifice.
Diverging opinions on the benefits of new running technologies opened the door to this kind of approach. Running minimalist, it turns out, does not cause more injuries than wearing shoes packed with protection and cushioning technologies.
Minimalist running allows you to rediscover a natural stride and, in a sense, to reject the marketing noise and focus purely on real running — the connection between the runner and the ground.
Today, two schools of thought dominate the running world: minimalism on one side, and maximalism on the other, which champions high-drop shoes and a range of support technologies for ever more technically advanced footwear.
The influence of shoe drop on the runner
The average drop value of a shoe on the market is
10mm.
A low drop generally goes hand in hand with a forefoot strike.
Simply put, someone with a natural stride will land on the front of the foot first. Conversely, a runner in maximalist shoes will tend to strike heel first — what is known as a "heel strike".
Running barefoot or in minimalist shoes gives you greater ground feel.
Your feet are closer to the ground, but this does not come without risk. The body has always been accustomed to traditional shoes with reinforcements and cushioning technologies, and switching to minimalist running will engage muscles that were not previously called upon. Without a smart transition, there is a real risk of injury.
With less support, proprioceptive reflexes are called on more heavily, and you may go through phases of adaptation and early discomfort — ankle sprains, for example.
Without the shoe's rebound technology, your stride will change: cadence increases and other adjustments happen naturally. As with any activity, it is a habit to build and a training process to follow in order to find
the full satisfaction of natural running.
