 So, uh-huh, I know you're here to learn about drop in running shoes also called an offset But first I got to share some good news with you. Remember this? For everybody out there that you know is sending me these really difficult pictures to see The shoes that they're running in so here you go. These are three photos. I believe that I received today um Man, and there you have it right pretty tough situation right there in Slovenia Those were some photos sent to me from a young gentleman in Slovenia who needed Desperately some new running shoes so I can officially say I believe we we've completed our first running shoe scholarship It's amazing. Look what showed up at his door Two days ago That's right. This young gentleman emailed me his story those challenging challenging photos with the running shoes and said could you help and then the power of YouTube and your Generosity took over another gentleman from Slovenia saw that the photos from this young man and said gosh I can help I have some extra Nike Pegasus 35s I can send to him in the exact same size that he needed. It's amazing. Ah, it just brings me so much joy And frankly hope like now this gentleman can let can actually go out and run in shoes That don't have three four five holes like his toes are not sticking out of the shoes So anyway, just wanted to share that before we dive into the drop in the shoes Let's hop in the studio and get this going here. We go Let's dive into the drop in running shoes now remember I did I think maybe ten days ago I created a vlog all about the different terminology that you should try to Learn if you really want to dive more into your running shoes store experience and just being on top of Different types of running shoes out there So if you want to learn more about running shoes, go check it out Up a right hand corner that card that pops up click on that and oh man There's a running shoes are a lot more complex than you might think and yes in that vlog ten days ago I wanted so bad to talk about drop in running shoes, but I decided to save it for another day Well that day is today and let's dive in so basically I'm trying to figure out what shoe to grab I think I'll just grab the Brooks ghost 11 here We have to start by asking the question. What do what am I talking about when I say what is the drop or? The offset that so the more I would say Professional or more common term used in the I would say probably amongst the employees that work at these running shoe companies They probably say offset the more slang term is drop. I prefer drop I think it makes more sense and so what running shoe companies do is they measure the stack height So how tall is the heel and then how tall is the cushion? Below your forefoot and the forefoot is the front of your foot here right below your toes Basically where your toes connect to the rest of your foot That is where they measure the stack height of the forefoot and the stack height of the heel and then what they do? To figure out the drop is you subtract the number from the forefoot stack height from the heel stack height And so the stack height of the heel in this Brooks ghost 11 is 29 millimeters and in the forefoot 17 millimeters so 29-17 is 12 millimeters so therefore this this Brooks ghost 11 has a 12 millimeter drop or offset from heel to Toe so that is what a drop is or an offset is in a running shoe and in my entire running shoe collection The highest running shoe drop that I own is yes the Brooks ghost 11 with a 12 millimeter drop I've now I've actually never seen a another running shoe that's higher than 12 millimeters if you know of one Let me know I'd be curious to hear if there's I if there's 13 or 14 I'd be fascinated to hear if you know of any so and then of course the lowest is always going to be ultra ALTRA in case you're not familiar with this company. They only produce and and make zero drop running shoes, which means for example in this ultra paradigm 4.5 it's got a 30 millimeter stack height in the heel and a 30 millimeter stack height in the forefoot so 30 minus 30 is zero so they are very famous now for a zero drop Running shoe design now before we go any further. I do I just want to mention I don't know what your stride or your gait cycle looks like or your foot strike or I don't know your running injury history So you have to take everything I say with a little bit of a grain of salt However, I am gonna make some recommendations and I was doing some research ahead of time on YouTube before recording this vlog And I couldn't really find anyone that was willing to Make a pitch for you should run in three millimeter drop if you want to do this You should run in 12 millimeter drop if you want to do this So I'm gonna make some recommendations some ideas for you to consider So just putting that out there right now before we go any further now if you've been watching this vlog for a long time In fact, I think I talked about this yesterday You know my thesis on zero drop running shoes and that's where we're gonna start with this ultra paradigm And also what's on my foot right now the ultra torrent 3.5? I believe you should use that's right Really use zero drop shoes for stretching and strengthening your kinetic chain But especially everything below your knee your calf muscle your however you say this word That's right that muscle your soleus Ligaments tendons that go all the way down to your heel and then wrap around your fascia tendon down to your toes Why zero drop running shoes? Why how do they actually work and stretch and strengthen all of those muscles basically the stack height in the heel is Not catching your heel when compared to the stack height in the forefoot So it's like it's like a flat board Whereas in a 10 millimeter shoe, which we'll talk about in a minute If you're in a 10 millimeter basically your heel is a little higher up in the air and therefore It's taking a little bit of the pressure and workload off of all of the muscles and tendons and everything else Above your heel does that make sense? And if it doesn't let me know down in the comments But basically it's just that ever slightly raise of your heel whereas in the zero drop It's boom it's flat as a pancake and therefore Everything else above all the other muscles tendons and everything else above your heel is getting stretched out stretched out Uh ever so slightly you you might not even notice it at first, but it is happening So that is my thesis on zero drop running shoes use it for strengthening and stretching your entire kinetic chain And I like to use them on easy days when I'm just bopping along not fast days We'll talk about that in a minute as well Okay, now let's go to the other end of the spectrum high drops in running shoes So we're talking I'm going to say everything above 9 millimeter and really above 10 millimeter because there's not too many Shoes out there that fall in the 9 millimeter category for their drop. Uh now let's start Yes with the Nike lineup just so you know Most Nike running shoes at least on the roads are 10 millimeter drop like the Nike vaporfly 4 flying it The Nike Pegasus 35 the Nike Pegasus 35 turbo All of these three shoes right here are 10 millimeter drop running shoes And now this might get a little controversial right here and feel free to disagree with me down in the comments That's why I want to hear your opinion. I believe if you want to run fast Especially in longer races so anything over half marathon and especially on the roads You should be doing it in a higher drop running shoe. Why it's you know, basically most runners are averaging somewhere in the 40 To 55 000 steps in a marathon race on the roads So imagine if you're remember what we just talked about in the zero drop shoe in a 10 millimeter drop running shoe like this Vaporfly 4 flying it basically over the course of a marathon where you're taking tens of thousands of steps Just imagine how much more work you're putting into all of the muscles above your heel Why so now why is this happening basically when compared to the forefoot? So this is a 32 millimeter stack height in the heel 22 millimeter in the forefoot Uh, so therefore the stack height here in the heel is pretty it's pretty tall It is relieving all of those muscles ever so slightly but relieving the dropping of your heel to the ground Uh, so it's taking more of the brunt of your stride and your gait cycle and your foot strike And I believe in order to run faster Uh, to help you run faster you should be striving to be more of a midfoot or four foot striking Now listen in the marathon and especially late in a marathon race You might start to heel strike listen when we get tired That's usually what starts to happen as we start to land more on our heels But if you can if you can remember through your foot strike to land more in the midfoot and forefoot Uh, and then have a taller stack height in the heel You're not going to be wearing out your calf muscles especially as much in a longer race So I hope that made sense. I know that was a lot to absorb But here's a couple examples I just want to throw out there for us to discuss down in the comments. Here you go Oh, man. Here we go. Could elliott kipchogi run a 225 marathon like he did in the sub two project in a zero drop running shoe I would say no. In fact, I think if he tried to run a marathon in a zero drop running shoe I think it would add at least 90 seconds to his time. I'm not even kidding. Why because you're just putting more workload on your calf Your soleus your entire it's it's your hamstrings as well Um, and at your quads, I'd have to put a little more research and thought process into that But I'm talking about the muscles in the back of your leg Uh, your hamstring as well But especially all of those ligaments and tendons and muscles below your knees So that's a question to consider and yes, I'll just say let's you know start a conversation And maybe a little debate down below could elliott kipchogi break two hours in a zero drop running shoe Okay. Now the next example. Are you ready for this? Uh Hayden hawks Uh, aside from jim walmsley, who's really the fastest ultramarathon runner in the united states right now I think the next fastest would arguably have to be hayden hawks like this guy along with I guess, uh, zack Zach Miller, but Hayden hawks is the real deal. I know I think so he just So he's a pro athlete. He used to run for hoka. Do I have a hoka shoe here? I actually don't oh, yeah Here we go the carbon rocket. He used to run for hoka But now he just switched to ultra and he's been doing pretty well But I believe he's running western states 100 mile race at the end of june out in california I'm going to be fascinated to see how he stacks up Again and how he does in a zero drop running shoe compared to let's say a jim walmsley who runs for hoka So those are two examples to get the ball rolling get the discussion going down in the comments about drop in running shoes Okay, and just to recap really quickly Zero drop for easy days recovery days Stretching and strengthening your lower leg, especially your calf your soleus, etc, etc I like preferably six to eight millimeters. That's where I live. That's what I love to run in That's why I love the new balance beacon so much which is a six millimeter So if you can find I like a daily trainer a middle distance day Yes, a long run shoe to be in that six to eight millimeter range That's that's that's a sweet spot for me And yes, I think that if you want to run fast For longer distances now cross country and like a two mile on the track or a 5k on the track. It's a little different but we're talking uh 10k and above or 10 mile and above on the roads Throw on a 10 millimeter shoe I believe you're gonna run faster because it's gonna help It's gonna help your heel from dropping down too much and it's gonna help you get up on your toes a little bit And yes, you run faster when you're up on your toes when you're landing Preferably at least mid foot and even uh four foot if you can pull it off. So that's my that's my recap That's my opinion and now I want to hear your opinion. Yes the question of the day What is your opinion on the drop in running shoes disagree with me? Let me know if you have any other opinions or maybe you do agree with me And yes, of course drop is the keyword for this vlog. I hope you learned something and again I'm just so grateful that youtube uh that we're able to communicate here But more importantly that we're like communicating kind of geek out on running shoes But more importantly that we're able to get Nice running shoes on people's feet that actually need them this gentleman in sylvania once again He couldn't afford running shoes a new pair and now he's got a nice solid Beautiful pair of running shoes to go pounce and ground on uh in Moving forward. All right. That's it folks. See beauty work hard and love each other. Oh, man. Oh, man See you tomorrow