In short, runners should run efficiently. You need to improve running form and mechanics, regardless of your level of fitness or experience. There’s an assumption that form is only important in competitive athletes. This is a wrong assumption…let’s learn why.
Learning proper form from the beginning will help your performance immensely. This does not mean your strides, foot plant, and posture will be the same as everyone else, but the mechanics will all be the same. Even elite runners have differences in their form (styles of). However, one thing they all have in common is good mechanics. As you grow increase your power output, mileage, and speed, your form becomes much more critical. You must train your body to be efficient and improve your running form.
You may wonder…why is running form so important? There are many elements that make up our form, but in general, poor form and mechanics lead to fatigue in our muscles, lactic acid build-up, slowing our performance, and a cause of ‘overuse’ and other running-related injuries. The good news for those who have not practiced good form, is that it is correctable. Not all at once, but in a short period of time, you can get your body and mind to recognize changes. Just remember, it takes us approximately thirty days for anything to become habitual, so this will not occur overnight.
The study, science, and presentation of running mechanics can be very confusing and seemly convoluted, so I will try to present it in a manner that you can more-easily incorporate these techniques into every workout you do. Keep in mind, you still need to follow proper nutrition, a good stretching routine, and all the other factors of good running in order for your form to make a positive impact on your running.
In trying to keep this simple, I will discuss the following training running tips…posture, striding, and the movement of our legs and arms.
Posture
In years past, proper posture was to run upright, keeping your back straight…military style. Runners were told not lean or bend forward, and this was taught by nearly every coach. As running became more popular, studying of and applying various techniques were beginning to show us that the previous teachings were inadequate.
Your lean should not be exaggerated. Your chest should still be out and your shoulders loose and level with your torso. If you lean to far forward, you will get the sensation of stumbling, which will dramatically affect your running gate and lower body mechanics. Leaning backward is not good either, as it places undue stress on your knees, hips, and pelvis area.
Stride Mechanics
This would seem to be very simple, however, I have seen runners waste a large amount of energy just in how they run. All effort should be put to moving forward. This means no high knee lifts or ‘bouncing’ on your feet. Not only does this waste energy, it also increases the change of injury, as it places additional stress on your knees, spine, neck, and shoulders.
If there is one thing about elite runners that we can all learn to do, it is turnover…how fast they stride. You want all your effort to be going forward, this means your knee lifts should not be upward, but straight out. You want to have the feeling as if you are gliding, not pounding the pavement with each stride.
Stride Length
Outside of body posture, I would say stride length is the biggest flaw I personally see in runners, from beginners to the experienced runner. Over-striding is not only common. The bad of over-striding is both performance and in health. When you over-stride, your foot lands so far out it is like putting the brakes on. Over-striding plans stress on all your lower body muscles, joints, and bone structure, and causes your hips to rotate more than necessary.
This can be easily corrected, but you must first determine proper stride length. In general, you want to be able to see the tongue of your shoes. If you don’t see it, you are either striding to long, or have poor torso posture. Best way to correct this is to consciously force yourself to stride shorter, taking lighter steps, having your foot land directly beneath you, to maximize every push-off. The idea would be then to gradually increase stride length, all the while, increasing your turnover.
Foot Plant
The position of your foot upon impact may just be the most critical of proper running form, as it is the force which propels you through every stride. Pending on the type of foot you have, this is where properly-fitted running shoes comes into play. If you have done everything else properly, you may still not be landing right. Since there is a significant amount of force placed on each step, its critical your foot is landing properly.
I won’t go into great detail here, but your foot should be landing slightly flat-footed, rolling through your mid-foot, and pushing off with your front-foot. At impact, if your ankles are turning in or out, they cannot withstand the rigors of this process. This will most certainly cause an overuse injury, as you are wearing out foot and ankles through improper foot striking.
Arms
If you go about your training with little to no focus on building your core area, you will compensate by relying more on your arms for pumping you through each stride. Your arms are really only there to provide balance, coordination, and help with every turnover, or transition. Your arms should remain relaxed, and close to your body.
Since we are talking technical…your hands should remain firm, half-closed, with your thumbs pointing up. Clenching of the hands will resonate straight through your shoulders, which is cause for fatigue, and possible injury. Lastly, try to avoid excessive movement of your shoulders, arms, and hands. Try also to drive your arms back during your runs, keeping your hands in front of you, not crossing each other. Keeping your arms forward will actually cause you to over-stride.
Outside of practicing proper form, you need to continue, or start, a specific stretching program. This would be more of conditioning, than stretching the heck out of your limbs, but the more movement you can have, the better your turnover, and ultimately performance will be.
You may also be interested in another article I wrote called Incorporate Chi Running Techniques. This is a style of running we should all master, which follows the basic principles I discussed herein.
