The heel-to-toe drop is one of the main parameters of running shoes.
In this article, we explain exactly what it is and provide some pointers to help you choose the best configuration for you.
What’s the Drop
Drop is a recurring running term that we often hear to describe a pair of running shoes.
To best explain what the drop of a shoe is, we need to a quick recap on the construction of a running shoe sole. It consists of two elements:
- The outsole which, as its name indicates, is in contact with the ground. It is generally made of rubber and provides grip and traction for the shoes.
- Next, the midsole is located above, just under the foot. It uses foam and sometimes a plate to absorb shock and help with propulsion.
By adding up the height of these two elements, you get the total stack height of the sole.
Simply put, we define the heel-to-toe drop as the difference in height between the heel and the forefoot (under the metatarsals), expressed in millimeters.
For example, if a shoe has a heel height of 30 mm and 24 mm toe height, the drop is 6 mm.
The Origins of the Drop
Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run, credits the appearance of the drop to Nike’s iconic model: the Cortez. Released in 1972 (so 50 years ago), it was one of the first shoes with a significant height difference between the back and the front of the shoe.
According to McDougall, this model had a major impact on modern shoes. Before that, running shoes were much simpler and mostly without elevation. Therefore, the foot rested flat on the ground instead of having an elevated heel profile.
In recent years, the concept of drop in a running shoe has become central and established itself as a major criterion when buying.
The Effects of the Drop
According to McDougall, who traces the origins of running shoes in his book, the drop has greatly influenced athletes’ stride.
Indeed, having the foot tilted in relation to the ground changes the runner’s biomechanics: the greater the inclination of a shoe, the more the runner will tend to cushion their foot on the heel.
Conversely, following the same logic, a low or zero inclination will encourage a mid foot or forefoot strike.
In recent years, zero drop and low drop shoes have become increasingly popular, by allegedly allowing runners to adopt a more natural foot strike and gait that respects the anatomy of the foot.
For example, the brand Altra exclusively offers zero drop high stack shoes.
Similarly, Hoka shoes often have a low drop (4-6 mm).
However, as we will see later, the relationship between drop and injury is not obvious.
What’s the Best Drop
For us, the best drop for an athlete is the one that allows them to:
- Not get injured
- Run as efficiently as possible for optimal performance
This can vary from runner to runner.
If there was a perfect configuration, all brands would adopt it. However, we see that most brands offer a range of shoes with different drops.
The main categories are as follows:
- Zero drop (0 mm)
- Low drop (1-5 mm)
- Medium drop (6-10 mm)
- High drop (> 10 mm)
In 2025, shoes with a medium drop remain the most popular, but it’s clear that many new models on the market have low drops.
For example, this is the case for the famous Alphafly from Nike and its 4 mm drop (editor’s note: increased to 8 mm for the v3).
Meanwhile, the Japanese running giant ASICS had until now tended to favor high cushioning (10-12 mm) but the brand has chosen a lower drop for its Metaspeed Sky (5 mm).
Nevertheless, its classics like the Kayano, Cumulus and Nimbus keep fairly inclined soles (10 mm).
Even Mizuno, a staunch high-drop brand, has recently lowered the drop of its flagship model (Mizuno Wave Rider 29) from 12 to 10 mm.
Common wisdom recommends choosing your drop based on your stride type: runners who strike with the heel will prefer a medium or high drop, while runners landing on the mid foot or forefoot will opt for a zero or low drop.
However, this approach is not so straightforward.
In fact, the vast majority of athletes (at least 75%) (1) are heel strikers.
Does that mean, then, that we should all choose a medium or high drop? Not necessarily.
What Science Says
The reference study to date is the one conducted in 2016 by Malisoux et al. (2). The researchers studied 553 runners during a randomized controlled trial where they were divided into 3 groups depending on the inclination of their shoes:
- 10 mm
- 6 mm
- 0 mm
Note that all shoes were standard models with traditional cushioning. Therefore, there were no minimalist shoes (very low stack) or maximal shoes (very high stack).
The results are as follows:
Malisoux et al. (2016)
Overall, there were no differences in terms of injuries between the different groups. The drop therefore did not impact injury risk.
Shoes with a low drop (0-6 mm) increase injury risk for regular runners (training for more than 6 months).
Shoes with a low drop (0-6 mm) decrease injury risk for occasional runners.
Nevertheless, a systematic review of scientific research articles on the subject (2) notes that there are not enough studies at present to draw robust conclusions applicable to the majority.
In short, back to square one. The answer is a frustrating “it depends”.
So, how to proceed from here?
Our Recommendations
1. Trust your feelings
If you’re running without injury with your current drop, then there’s no reason to change it.
If you want to go for a new model, it’s better to choose the same drop. That way, if pain appears, you’ll know it’s probably not due to the drop but another factor (e.g. stack and foam density, upper support, fit).
On the other hand, if you tend to get injured regularly or feel pain or discomfort, in that case, a drop change may be beneficial.
However, be careful not to change everything.
Try to keep the other parameters identical to your current shoes and change only the drop to see if it helps.
It’s also a good idea to take notes to document your journey.
2. Vary Configurations to Get Stronger
Even though exclusively using the drop that lets you run comfortably is a good idea, it can be interesting to experiment to get your body used to other configurations.
For example, a study (4) showed that having a rotation of several pairs of shoes could reduce the risk of injury.
On the other hand, it can be interesting to alternate between road and trail to see if it impacts your comfort. Some runners prefer a lower drop for trail running compared to the road.
But again, it’s a personal choice.
3. Progress Gradually
If you decide to try other drop levels, make sure not to jump from one extreme to the other.
For example, if you run with an 8 mm drop, you can try another shoe with a 6 mm drop rather than jumping straight to zero drop.
4. Avoid Dogmas
Obviously, this is advice that does not apply only to running but in the absence of clear scientific consensus, running is fertile ground for all sorts of recommendations.
Except that what works wonders for one runner can be harmful to another.
As we have seen, even though a low drop theoretically seems to promote a more natural stride, there’s no evidence that it reduces the risk of injury.
So you have to proceed with caution and take it one step at a time (literally) and draw your own conclusions based on your personal experience.
Conclusion – tl;dr
So we have seen that the drop is the difference in height between the heel and the front of a running shoe.
Low and medium drops are the most popular.
However, there’s no scientific consensus to prove the superiority of one configuration over another in reducing the risk of injury while running.
Thus, it’s important to above all trust your personal experience.
The most important criterion for choosing your running shoes remains comfort.
What do you think? What’s the drop of your running shoes and have you changed over the years?
Share your experience in the comments!
Sources
(1) Is changing footstrike pattern beneficial to runners?
Joseph Hamill, Allison H.Gruber (2017). Journal of Sport and Health Science.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254617300285#bib0105/
(2) Influence of the Heel-to-Toe Drop of Standard Cushioned Running Shoes on Injury Risk in Leisure-Time Runners A Randomized Controlled Trial With 6-Month Follow-up
Laurent Malisoux, PhD, Nicolas Chambon, PhD, Axel Urhausen, Prof., MD and Daniel Theisen, PhD (2016)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0363546516654690
(3) Systematic Review of the Role of Footwear Constructions in Running Biomechanics: Implications for Running-Related Injury and Performance
Xiaole Sun et al. (2020). Journal of Sports Science and Medicine.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7039038/
(4) Can parallel use of different running shoes decrease running-related injury risk?
Malisoux et al. (2015). Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24286345/
