Running Form

We are born with a natural ability to run. I’m sure that everyone reading this book remembers running and playing games around the house and neighborhood with siblings and friends. In fact many of our childhood games were centered on running and just about every sport we participated in involved running. I often chuckle when a new client comes to me and says they can’t run, yet at sometime in their life they played tennis, softball or any sport that involved short periods of running. What the majority of these people are actually saying is they never ran for endurance or distance, because it just seems so boring, painful and unnatural.

As a coach the first thing I do with every new client is join them on a very easy run. I do this so I can get a feel for the person and observe their form and technique. Based on these observations I can begin the process of tweaking their running form to make running easier and more efficient. Again, because we are all different some will make these adjustments faster than others, but the results are always the same, easier running, faster times and fewer injuries.

It would be impossible to address all of the actions that are involved with running in this book. So I am going to address the attributes that will have the greatest impact on you as a runner.

Tall and Quiet

The first is posture and form. Although this may seem like a simple thing to change, I can’t tell you how many times I have to make small reminders to even some of  my most experienced and successful clients. I often tell you in my training plans to run tall and quiet. This is the most important tip I can give you. For endurance runners keeping your head up, and back straight takes the weight off of your quads and significantly reduces the amount of pounding on your knees. Focus on lifting your knees and landing lightly. This allows you to strike with a lot less force and cuts back on the braking action of each stride. Finally, relax your shoulders, arms, hands and even your face. Hunching up and bunching up will make your runs tighter and less fluid. Always focus on being relaxed.

Fast Feet

The next thing I address constantly in your training is having fast, light feet. Fast feet are accomplished by reducing your stride length and increasing the number of foot strikes per minute you use while running. You should be striving to reach 18 to 25 left foot strikes every 15 seconds. In the beginning you may feel like you are taking baby steps, but as you become more comfortable, you will feel how much more economical it is to under stride than over stride. Long strides use more energy and cause more breaking action than shorter faster steps. Again, a high stride rate reduces the amount of force at impact and greatly reduces the risk of injury.

Light Feet

When I tell you run with light feet I am talking about reducing the force, impact and amount of time your feet spend on the ground. For decades endurance runners ran with the notion it is best to strike the ground with the heel of your foot and roll forward before pushing off for your next stride. More recent research tells us that this causes two actions you want to avoid as a runner. The first is a stiff impact as your heel pushes into the ground, and the second is the longer length of time your foot is on the ground. Both reduce efficiency and speed.

However, if you land on your midfoot or forefoot, your foot will rebound almost instantaneously to initiate your next stride. This immediate energy return comes from the energy stored in your muscles as they are quickly stretched and then allowed to quickly release this energy. Therefore, landing farther forward on your foot improves your velocity with no effort on your part. In fact, research has provided that many world class runners take advantage of this action. One study showed that of the fastest runners, 60 percent landed on their forefoot, 30 percent made contact at their midfoot and only 10 percent were heel strikers.

Keep in mind when you land on your heel, your foot must be well in front of your center of gravity. Whenever a support point is in front of your center of gravity your forward motion is slowed. Again, it’s like putting on the brakes with every step. Now you must increase your acceleration to counter the braking. This constant speeding up and slowing down uses a lot of energy therefore making you far less efficient and economical as a runner.

Lose Your Bounce

A huge energy waster is bouncing up and down with each step. That’s why converting your leg motion to the more horizontal pendulum swing from the vertical knee lift is so important. Fortunately increasing your foot turnover and reducing your stride length will naturally reduce you’re your bounce.

The best technique to help promote horizontal movement is leaning from your ankles.  There is no bending at the waist to achieve forward lean. This position will allow your forward foot strike to convert your movements in a more horizontal direction. Simply put, you bounce less.

Why is it important to bounce less? Here is a great example. In a 10K race if you are a 150 pound person and your center of gravity, (your hip, waist and pelvic region) bounces up and down 2 inches with every stride, you will have lifted the equivalent of 84 tons one foot high. However, if you reduce your bounce to one inch per step you cut your workload in half to 42 tons raised. That is a lot of saved energy.

Not only is energy saved by reducing your bouncing with a long stride, but your impact forces are greatly reduced over the course of the race. This of course reduces your risk of runner’s injury.

Be Healthy, Train Smart, Have Fun

Coach Jeff