The Offset in Running Shoes – What’s Actually Behind It?

As soon as we want to buy a new pair of running shoe, the first question we ask ourselves is what we need it for in the first place – for our training, for our next competition, for the road, or for trail runs. Sometimes it should be comfortable, other times dynamic. But above all, we want to reduce the load on our joints, tendons, and muscles without sacrificing our performance. Here, the running shoe’s offset plays a decisive role. But what is behind this term, why do we constantly read about it when we buy running shoes – and what are the advantages and disadvantages of running shoes with a high or a low offset?

“The offset of a running shoe indicates the difference in sole height between the heel and the forefoot,“ explains biomechanist Gert-Peter Brüggemann. There are several synonyms for the term that all refer to the same thing: offset, heel-to-toe drop or heel-to-toe offset. There’s a wide range of running shoes on the market, with heel-to-toe offsets between 0 mm and 14 mm static offset. The higher the offset, the steeper the runners stand in the shoe. Simply put, the foot is on a kind of ramp sloping from the back to the front.

“The important thing,“ says Gert-Peter Brüggemann, “is that the heel-to-toe drop is completely independent of the sole height.“ Running shoes with a low sole height can still have a high offset. Likewise, there are running shoes that have a high sole height but a low offset. The offset is specified in millimeters, based on the sample shoe size US 9 (men). In the case of the U-TECH Aion next gen, for example, the heel-to-toe drop is 10 mm. The sole height under the rearfoot is 27 mm, while the sole under the forefoot is 17 mm high.

A heel-to-toe drop of 10 mm corresponds to a slope of 4° from the heel to the forefoot. In order to function biomechanically, this gradient should be constant over the entire length of the shoe. For this reason, shoes that are smaller or larger than sample size will also have lower or higher heel-to-toe drops than the specified 10 mm. In short, the shoe offset is given in millimeters, but from a biomechanical point of view, it is the gradient in degrees that is decisive.

When it comes to the static heel-to-toe offset, four categories can currently be distinguished: shoes with 0 mm offset, a low offset (1–4 mm), a medium offset (5–7 mm), and a high offset (8 mm or more). Shoes from all four categories of static offset have their pros and cons – and bring advantages and disadvantages for runners in their own way. Biomechanics professor Gert-Peter Brüggemann explains: “Whether you are a rearfoot, a midfoot, or a forefoot striker – in order to run efficiently and worry-free, it is important to choose the individually suitable shoe offset.

After many years of relying on running shoes with a high heel-to-toe drop, runners are increasingly asking for models with little to no offset – also to get closer to a kind of barefoot running. In shoes with zero offset, heel and forefoot are at the same height. However, recent studies show that running shoes cannot mimic barefoot running one-to-one. “As soon as we wear shoes, the biomechanics of running change,“ says Gert-Peter Brüggemann. “Barefoot running cannot be copied.“

Nevertheless, running shoes with a low offset have their own advantages and disadvantages, just like those with a high offset, as our overview shows:

• Advantages: A lower heel-to-toe offset promotes a midfoot strike. This reduces the load on the knee and hip joint. In this way, a lower offset, especially when combined with a low sole height, reduces the risk of runner’s knee (ITBS) and anterior knee pain (PFSS).

• Disadvantages: Shoes with a lower heel-to-toe offset increase the load on the ankle joint, which bends more when it comes into contact with the ground. The ankle joint functions as a spring-damper system. The energy absorbed thus leads to a high load on the ankle, foot, and lower leg.

• Advantages: A higher offset facilitates a soft heel strike and subsequent transition of the foot from the rearfoot through the midfoot to the forefoot. This relieves pressure on the ankle, Achilles tendon, and the bottom of the foot. Running shoes with a higher offset thus reduce the risk of plantar fasciitis – an inflammation of the tendons on the underside of the foot.

It is precisely this biomechanically new approach that we use in our True Motion running shoes: the patented U-TECH™ technology succeeds in combining the advantages of low and high shoe offset. “The characteristic U-shaped midsole construction in the rearfoot area allows the foot to sink in dynamically during the running motion,“ explains Professor Gert-Peter Brüggemann.

All True Motion running shoes have the so-called dynamic offset thanks to U-TECH™ technology. Three of our four running shoe models have 10 mm of heel-to-toe drop when unloaded, and one model has a drop of 8 mm. This applies to both the men’s shoes and the women’s models: