I think it looks cool, but I don’t believe it’s necessary.
Instead of trying to drag your toes, one thing I tell the athletes to focus on is flying out the start.
Inside Sprint Cheat Codes I describe this as getting your first step as far as possible without overstriding.
Whereas slower sprinters will have very little air time and just drop their foot down quickly on the first step.
Doing this requires you to develop a lot of horizontal power and is a major indicator of whether or not you lack explosiveness at the start.
Flying out the start, and stabbing the ground are some of the major areas that I focus on with athletes in the first couple of steps.
If the toe drag happens as a byproduct then fine, if it doesn’t who cares.
TL;DR
1- It’s performed by keeping the feet so low in the first few steps coming out of the blocks that your toes drag on the ground for 1 or more steps.
2- However it doesn’t necessarily mean you are producing all 3 of the intended outcomes.
3- The toe drag is just a byproduct of a very effective acceleration, which is what we see from a few elite sprinters.
4- An athlete can have an effective acceleration without a toe drag. And an athlete can also learn to toe drag without having an effective acceleration.
5- I’ve seen sprinters who come out of the blocks and scratch the feet on the ground but their foot strike is incorrect, stride length is super short, and speed is underwhelming.
6 - Instead of trying to drag your toes, one thing I tell the athletes to focus on getting your first step as far as possible without overstriding.
7 - If the toe drag happens as byproduct then fine, if it doesn’t who cares.
