7 Tips for Running with Good Form
Running with good form has a number of benefits for runners. It allows for more efficient running. This means that you can run farther and faster with less effort and fewer strides. Another benefit is that there is less chance of injury. Here are 7 tips for improving your running form to take advantage of these benefits. Even for those who have been running for years, it is a good idea to reinforce these techniques in your training.
Tip 1: Run Tall
How do you run tall you may ask? Well, it’s a matter of remaining upright. The coaching point I use is to pretend there is a balloon attached to a string and it is connected to the back of your neck. This balloon is pulling your spine up. By focussing on this, you will remain upright, without leaning forwards or backwards.
Tip 2: Keep Your Head Up and Gaze Forward
You want to keep your head up and gaze forward so as to not be looking at your feet when you are running. This enforces the upright posture and takes strain off your upper back and neck. This will also enable for easier breathing. Another benefit is you will see the road further ahead and be aware of upcoming road hazards earlier. The coaching point here is to pretend you have a tennis ball under your chin and don’t want to drop it. This should keep your gaze about 20 yards ahead.
Tip 3: Stay Relaxed
When running and typically after a period of time, runners tend to get tense. The shoulders start to creep up into the ears. Hands start to be carried higher towards the chest. In order to maintain good running form, it is important to stay relaxed. Make sure your shoulders are back and down and your hands are carried lower. The coaching point here is to brush your hand against your hip as you are running. This keeps everything relaxed and prevents the arms, shoulders and hands from tensing up. By doing this, you will be conserving energy and you will feel more at ease.
Tip 4: Chest Out
While keeping your shoulders back and down, your chest should carried well out in front of your shoulders. This keeps your lungs open and helps get oxygen into them faster and more efficiently. The less you constrict your lungs, the better.
Tip 5: Arm Drive
Arms are deceptively important in running. As your arms go, so go your legs. It is almost impossible to drive your arms at a different pace than your legs. When you are experiencing fatigue and can’t seem to pick up the pace, try driving your arms quicker. This will almost certainly get your legs turning over quicker. Your arms should be bent at 90 degree angles and as mentioned in Tip 3, your wrists should brush your hip. The coaching point here is to remember “sockets to pockets”. Your hands should go from your eye height to your hip pockets.
Tip 6: Lean
You often hear about leaning into your run. The idea here not to lean at your hips as this will throw off your center of gravity. It also may cause a strain on your back. If you are going to lean into your posture, do so from your ankle and keep a straight line from your ankle, knee and hip while pushing off the back leg. This is called triple extension and if you can manage to get a photograph taken of you running at pace, you should see this straight line on your back leg.
Tip 7: Quiet Feet
Fast feet are quiet feet. The ideal foot-strike is slightly forward of the center of your foot. This is the most efficient running style. It prevents braking on every stride and just promotes forward momentum. It is also helpful in increasing your cadence, which is the number of times your foot hits the ground per minute. A quick cadence beneficial in increasing pace. When you strike with your fore-foot, your steps are generally quieter. A good training technique for promoting this is to run up and down stairs, or even just going up and down a single stair over and over.
These 7 tips to running with good form should be worked on as often as possible. It is a good idea to reinforce these points on every run, but especially on all your easy runs. This will help to embed them into your running style and make them routine. Try them out and let me hear your feedback.