Proper Running Form

by Rick Hellard, Zone 3 Sports, posted on Tri-Rudy, November 1, 2010

Proper Running Form

According to me and almost everything I've read, when it comes to running form, the things you want to think about and focus on are:

1. Posture

a. head

b. shoulders

c. Torso

d. hips

2. Footstrike

a. position

b. cadence

3. Knee lift/kick bac

4. Arm swing

5. Hand position

The good thing about this is that it is highly likely that if you fix one part, it will positively affect the others. Given the choice, I suggest posture as your main thing to work on.

Running, like walking, is a series of falls where you catch yourself with the next step. In order to continually fall forward, you have to continually lean forward, thereby using the pull of gravity to encourage that forward motion. If you stand up too straight, you do not encourage that forward motion.

With that in mind, here is what I want you to focus on, in order of priority.

Posture

Head position

look where you are going

keep your chin up so your airway is open. If you look at your feet, or down at the ground, your airway is a bit more closed than it needs to be and impedes breathing

if you do this, your posture will naturally improve

Shoulders

should be back with chest out a bit.. This will put your centre of gravity in a position that is slightly ahead of your body, creating the forward fall as gravity pulls it downward

This also opens up the lungs and makes it easier to breath deeply.

If your head is up and you are looking where you are going, this is much easier.

Torso

Needs to be reasonably taut and strong as it support the forward lean and keeps things in line between hips and shoulders, As we fatique, we tend to slouch. A strong torso easily resists the fatigue.

If your head is up and your chest is out, you cannot slouch.


Hips

Should be slightly forward, adding a bit more to the forward lean.

To a point, the faster you run, the more you lean.


Foot Strike

Position

Ideally, you should try to use a mid-foot strike where the foot lands slightly behind the ball of the foot and under your hips, not in front of them. If you do one, the other will happen almost automatically. It is important to remember your feet and legs are only propelling you forward if they are, however slightly, behind you. If you touch down in front of your hips (aka overstriding) three things happen:

1. you are actually slowing yourself down by hitting heel first,
2. you are increasing the level of impact with every foot strike; and,
3. you are delaying the next push off the length of time it takes for your body to get in front of the contact point so you can actually push off.

If you get the forward lean right and the feet under the hips right, you will naturally land mid-foot.

Cadence or stride rate

The ideal cadence for running is between 88 and 92 footstrikes per foot per minute. This goes for almost every size and speed of person, as well as race distance.

Simply count foot strikes for 30 seconds and multiply by 2. if you get 90, you're golden. If not but you are close, that's fine. if you are much higher or lower, you should adjust accordingly.

One of the things gently touched on above is overstriding and it's effect on impact-it increases it. Keeping your cadence around 90 will result in a softer foot strike because the body weight is supported more often, therefore distributed between more footstrikes for shorter periods of time. This will very likely reduce impact injures.

Hopefully, it is obvious there is a most efficient stride rate and taking more steps is not necessarily better. More than 90 foot strikes per minute gets to be too many and is not as efficient.

A good stride race will also limit upward motion, reducing time in the air, again, reducing impact.


Knee lift/kick back

It was proven long, long ago that with the appropriate length lever, you can move almost anything.

It is worth noting that the longer the lever, the greater the distance one end needs to travel in order to move whatever is at the other end. The further the travel, the longer it takes.. Conversely, the shorter the distance the end has to travel, the quicker it can move.

So, it stands to reason that by raising your foot and bending your knee and thereby shortening your leg (lever) on the kickback, the easier and quicker you can get your knee forward and back into position to get your foot back on the ground so it can propel you forward.

This action takes a little more effort on the part of the hip flexors, hamstrings and calves, but in terms of efficiency, is very worthwhile working on.

The faster you go, the more benficial it is to do this, but it helps at all speeds.

Also, the faster you go, the more pronounced it is.


Arm Swing

Simply put, everyone is different when it comes to arm swing, but the general rules are:

Do not cross over the center line

Use a relaxed and natural swing

Elbow should be bent to 80 degrees when the hand is in front of the body, and should snap open to 90-100 degrees , initiating the downswing and behind the hips.

Hand travel should be from around sternum height to 10cm behind the hips.

If your hands go higher than the sternum, there tends to be a bit more upward motion to the body instead of forward motion.


Hand Position

Your shoulders, arms and hands should be relaxed, but not floppy

It may help to visualize yourself carrying a pen in each hand with the your thumb and first knuckle of your index finger gently pinching the end of the pen

You also want to make sure you don't poke yourself with the other end of the pen, so it should point slightly outward.


Ideally, you should be thinking about this all the time, especially when you get tired or are going easy, which are both times when we get lazy. When you are rested or running quick, a lot of this comes naturally.

Simple Form Drills For Runners Can Clean up Your Running Form and Efficiency

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, August 20/09]

By Jeff Horowitz, Metro Sports Washington D.C.

I have always thought that running must be one of the easiest things in the world. After all, weve been doing it since we were 3 or 4 years old, so by now we should be pretty good at it, right?

After more than a decade of marathon racing, I had come to consider myself a pretty good runner. Then a respected track coach took a good look at my running form, and he told me about all of the things I was doing wrong.

Apparently my foot strike was off, I had too much lateral movement, and my arm swing was incorrect. By the time he was through with me, I began to think it was a miracle that I could even walk.

But there was hope for me yet. By breaking down the running motion into distinct movements, and practicing drills to improve those movements, my form and my speed — improved. You too can achieve the same results.

Here are five drills that will improve anyone’s form. Each of them strengthens a particular muscle group and improves the movement of the body through the running motion.

Before you start your next training run, pick a straight stretch of road about 50 meters long, or better still, go to a local track and do these after you’ve had a complete warm-up and stretch.

Plan to do each of these drills two to four times, taking only a short rest of 30 seconds between repeats of each drill.

1. Butt kicks
Just as the name implies, this drill involves trying to kick your own butt with each step. Taking short steps, kick your heel back and up as high as you can. This drill improves heel recovery, which is the part of the running motion where your leg rises up and coils for the next forward stride. This drill also strengthens the hamstrings, a primary muscle group used in running.

2. High steps
This drill involves taking short steps and picking your knees up as high as they can go. Think of the way those Clydesdale horses on the old Budweiser commercials used to prance. This drill strengthens the calves and hip flexors, and emphasizes proper running posture and the lift-off phase of running.

3. High skips
Everyone feels silly doing this at first, but believe me, it works. Swing your arms strongly and skip as high as you can. This drill helps build explosive power in your running stride, and it will help you climb hills and finish strong in your next race.

4. Stiff-legged running
Run keeping your knees as straight as possible. It helps to imagine that youre a Russian folk dancer. This drill will strengthen the hip flexors, which is the area where the bottom of your abdomen meets your leg a muscle group thats crucial to the running motion.

5. Strides
Think of these as slow-motion sprints. Dont run all-out; just run easily, but with the form you would use in sprinting. This drill gives you an opportunity to see how your body is moving during hard running, and gives you a chance to correct any problem areas you might have in your form. It also prepares you body for the next phase of your workout your actual distance run by lengthening the stride.

Do all of these drills at least once a week. They’ll only take a few minutes, but they work for elite runners, and they’ll work for you.

The perfect form

[Source: East Coast Cycos newsletter, in Tri-Rudy newsletter, May 27, 2009]

Running better, from head to toe.
By Jane Unger Hahn


Head Tilt
How you hold your head is key to overall posture, which determines how efficiently you run. Let your gaze guide you. Look ahead naturally, not down at your feet, and scan the horizon. This will straighten your neck and back, and bring them into alignment. Don't allow your chin to jut out.

Shoulders
Shoulders play an important role in keeping your upper body relaxed while you run, which is critical to maintaining efficient running posture. For optimum performance, your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. As you tire on a run, don't let them creep up toward your ears. If they do, shake them out to release the tension. Your shoulders also need to remain level and shouldn't dip from side to side with each stride.

Arms
Even though running is primarily a lower-body activity, your arms aren't just along for the ride. Your hands control the tension in your upper body, while your arm swing works in conjunction with your leg stride to drive you forward. Keep your hands in an unclenched fist, with your fingers lightly touching your palms. Imagine yourself trying to carry a potato chip in each hand without crushing it. Your arms should swing mostly forward and back, not across your body,between waist and lower-chest level. Your elbows should be bent at about a 90-degree angle. When you feel your fists clenching or your forearms tensing, drop your arms to your sides and shake them out for a few seconds to release the tension.

Torso
The position of your torso while running is affected by the position of your head and shoulders. With your head up and looking ahead and your shoulders low and loose, your torso and back naturally straighten to allow you to run in an efficient, upright position that promotes optimal lung capacity and stride length. Many track coaches describe this ideal torso position as "running tall" and it means you need to stretch yourself up to your full height with your back comfortably straight. If you start to slouch during a run take a deep breath and feel yourself naturally straighten. As you exhale simply maintain that upright position.

Hips
Your hips are your center of gravity, so they're key to good running posture. The proper position of your torso while running helps to ensure your hips will also be in the ideal position. With your torso and back comfortably upright and straight, your hips naturally fall into proper alignment--pointing you straight ahead. If you allow your torso to hunch over or lean too far forward during a run, your pelvis will tilt forward as well, which can put pressure on your lower back and throw the rest of your lower body out of alignment. When trying to gauge the position of your hips, think of your pelvis as a bowl filled with marbles, then try not to spill the marbles by tilting the bowl.

Legs/Stride
While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift--it's simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, efficient endurance running requires just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Together, these will facilitate fluid forward movement instead of diverting (and wasting) energy. When running with the proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg (below the knee) extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long.

Ankles/Feet
To run well, you need to push off the ground with maximum force. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly--landing between your heel and midfoot--then quickly roll forward. Keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push-off. As you roll onto your toes, try to spring off the ground. You should feel your calf muscles propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not slap loudly as they hit the ground. Good running is springy and quiet.

Why do triathletes run funny?

[Source: Tri-Rudy newsletter, January 16, 2009]

By Matt Russ

"Why do triathletes run funny?" is a question I was recently asked. The athlete was comparing the run form of elite marathoners to triathletes. The answer is simply: Because they swim.

It is fairly easy to identify an experienced swimmer from a postural standpoint. Swimmers tend to have tight neck, chest and anterior shoulder muscles that cause them to assume a hunched over posture. Their shoulders are usually slightly internally rotated (thumbs turned in towards the body) and their shoulders may be high (picture a shrug) due to tight trapezius muscles. Each sport produces specific muscular adaptions and swimming uses the pectorals, latisimus, and trapezius to a high degree. Imbalanced caused by over-strengthening these muscles can not only lead to "swimmer's shoulder", but it can also affect run form as well.

The result of this tightness and imbalance can be excessive shoulder rotation as you run. Some shoulder rotation naturally occurs with all runners, but it does not contribute to speed. Remember, all your energy should be directed to moving you in a forward direction; lateral movement is not desirable. Good arm motion requires a loose pendulum-like swing from the shoulder joint, not rotation of the shoulders. This rotation over activates the oblique muscles, wasting energy. It can also cause a counter-rotation at the hips, throwing the stride out of balance. Triathletes with very tight shoulder capsules and trapezius tend to have a difficult time swinging their arms from the shoulder joint. If posture is significantly hunched due to tight anterior muscles, the forward drive of the leg can also be affected; one of the key components of a good run stride.

When videoing triathletes I often observe elbows that are extended several inches from the body. Many triathletes run with elevated shoulders and often complain of neck, or more specifically, trapezius fatigue while running. They tend to throw their elbows forward from the sides versus leading with the hands, with only a limited range of movement from the shoulder joint itself. A lot more arm motion is occurring in the frontal plane of the body which also is not desirable.

How do you correct this? The first step is identifying it. Video is the most desired visual feedback as you can play it back frame by frame. If you don’t own a video camera you can try running on a treadmill in front of a mirror. Once you have identified that you have excessive rotation, correction involves addressing the posture/tightness and form.

The posture/tightness portion will require stretching the anterior shoulder, pectoral, and latissimus muscles, and strengthening the muscles of the mid-back and posterior shoulder. For specifics on these exercises and stretches try talking to a trainer.

To address the form side of the equation, work from the top down. First, relax the trapezius muscles. Often you will not realize how tight these muscles are until you consciously attempt to relax them. Consistently attempt to relax and drop your shoulders as your run. Feel your shoulders being suspended from loose trapezius muscles. Next, address posture and get your shoulders pulled back. You want to “run tall,” chest out, erect, with a slightly bowed back if possible. Picture being pulled forward by a rope attached around your waist. Use the side brush drill to get the arms swinging properly. Gently brush your sides just above the hip joint swinging your arm in an arc from front to back. Concentrate on bringing your elbows back and keep your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle.

To recognize the difference between shoulder swing and rotation, I will have the athlete stand in front of a mirror and mimic arm motion with no movement from the shoulder joint. I then place a one-pound weight in their hands and have them swing their arms loosely and relaxed from the shoulder joint like a pendulum. The difference in muscle use and form is readily apparent both visually and by feel.

Any increase in economy also increases speed. By addressing shoulder rotation, you will not only become a faster runner, you will be more relaxed.