Runner's World of Form

Let’s face it, running form is very controversial. I was taught that everyone is special, so everyone walks and runs differently. And to a point this is very true. In reality, there may not be one completely correct way to run. For this reason alone, people rarely use the words "correct form", but rather use "efficient form."

Everyone would acknowledge that there are more efficient ways to run (see entry on Running Efficiency). This topic has generated enough popularity to merit an article in The New York Times: "Who, Me Take A Running Class?"

The article takes no position, but offers various quotes with different positions:

“It’s a healthy thing and a beautiful thing to run. But if you don’t know how to do it, you’re in trouble.” -- Dr. Romanov (Posetech)

“Go stand at any finish line of any marathon in America and you see people with the most god-awful running form, hunched over and bowlegged. Alberto Salazar’s broken-glass-in-the-shorts style are proof that the unorthodox can win races.” -- David Willey (Editor of Runner’s World)

“You can lose sight of what’s great about the sport — which is that it’s simple. There’s no substitute for hard work and just getting out and doing the miles.” -- Dr. Jason Friedman (Shawangunk Running Camp)

Ugh! What is correct? Form is clearly important even though David Willey (the Editor or Runner’s World) stated Alberto Salazar’s broken-glass-in-the-shorts style are proof that the unorthodox can win races. What David Willey failed to mention is that Alberto had a very short running career. His enigmatic “burnout” is very famous. Thus, could it be possible if he had better form, he could have run at the elite level for more than 4-5 years? Additionally, how could you just go out and run many miles (as Dr. Friedman mentions) if you feel pain every time you bring up your mileage to a certain point? Clearly, something else must be changed--especially if you've already tried 10 different pairs of shoes!!

So, should you worry about your form when you run? My Answer: If running can be a repetitive stress to your body (i.e. you run a lot), you NEED to think about your form, as you WILL get hurt otherwise.

More specifically, you should only worry about your form IF any of the following apply to you:
1) You care about your race times.
2) You seriously train for more than 3-4 races per year.
3) You seriously train for more then one marathon.
4) You want to keep running your whole life.
5) You consistently run 3-6 times per week all year long.

So you decided to change your form? Well, changing your form is a lot of work, can take much patience and dedication, and is often very expensive (books, clinics, etc). Many times, you will feel like you’re taking many steps backwards when you are learning new form as your body has to adapt to a new way of running, which WILL engage different muscle groups and tendons. Thus, you will have to cut much of your running per week or risk getting injured. In the end, it can take up to 4-6 months of hard work to become strong enough to even reach a moderate level of fitness and proficiency. So, before you tinker with your form, you need to figure out if it is worth it.

Efficient Running

So you think your running form is okay; maybe not perfect, but good enough to get you through your training.

If your form is good enough, you should answer NO to ALL of these questions:

1) Does running with shoes with little or no cushioning cause any pain?
2) Do you feel muscle soreness/tightness after or during longer or faster runs?
3) Do you feel like you can run for no more than 3-5 days (or less) in a row?
4) Is it difficult (or do you not prefer) to run on rough or uneven terrain?
5) Is it difficult to run downhill or uphill?

A truly efficient runner would answer NO to ALL of these questions—without hesitation.

THERE SHOULD BE NO PAIN OR DISCOMFORT WHENEVER YOU RUN!!

So how do you become an efficient runner. There are numerous ways to learn, but most importantly, you should videotape yourself jogging. You don’t need a professional to evaluate your technique, as many things will be obvious to you (i.e. my arms flail out, my foot swings to the left, etc.). Video yourself from the side, front, and behind, as each prospective will give you a different view.

The things you should look for when you see yourself run:

1) STAY RELAXED. Your muscles as well as your feet should be very relaxed when you run; thus you should look relaxed when you run (sprinting or jogging). Imagine fluid motion with no tension anywhere.

2) DO NOT POUND YOUR FEET OR BOUNCE UP AND DOWN. All motion should be directed to forward motion, which will be more natural as you follow what is stated below. You should not bounce up and down or pound your feet on the ground. Don't ever focus on pushing your feet on the ground to increase speed, as the important point about increased speed is increased leg turnover and picking up your feet from the ground is most important.

3) DON’T OVER-STRIDE. Your feet should not land in front of your body. They should always be right below you or behind you. If you do over-stride, just shorten your stride length. Exaggerate it at first to get used to it. Never actively increase your stride length in order to increase increase your speed. You can only run faster by increasing your cadence and lifting your legs higher. With an increase cadence and a higher leg left, your whole body will move faster, but your feet will remain below you. Only then will your stride length increase. The important thing to remember is an increased cadence and a higher leg lift leads to longer strides and faster pace, not vice versa.

4) HIPS SHOULD BE PUSHED FORWARD AND ALIGNED WITH YOUR SHOULDERS. At first you will feel like you are pushing your hips forward, but you will also notice it is easier to run. Most people run with their butts sticking out, which puts much strain on hip flexors. In this position, the hip flexors are mostly used to drag the leg up for the next stride, which will not use the elasticity in this muscle group. With your hips pushed forward, most of the strain of picking up your leg for your next stride is place on your hamstring, which is stronger and has more elasticity for this motion, leading to more efficient running form.

5) AVOID HEEL STRIKING. If weight of your body is directly over and supported by your foot, you should be landing on the front part of your foot. It is nearly impossibly to land on your mid foot, i.e. the arch. Your full weight should never be completely placed on your heel, as this causes a force in the opposite direction you are moving (also known as a breaking force). If you are not over-striding, this should not be a problem, as you cannot place all of your weight on your heel if your foot is landing right below you.

6) LEGS SHOULD MOVE IN CIRCULAR MOTION. They should not out and back like a scissors opening and closing, but rather in a complete circle, with your legs kicking back behind you to complete the circle. This circular motion allows you to take advantage of the elasticity in your muscles (which means less work for you) and gives you the impression you are running over the ground (instead of on top of it).

7) ARMS SHOULD MOVE FROM THE SHOULDERS. Your arms should not move only around or at the elbows.

8) NO EXTRA MOVEMENTS. Arms should not flail out, feet should not move to the right or left as they are being picked up from the ground. All movements should be focused on forward movement over the ground.

5K Theory

The 5K theory states that inefficiencies in running form should be fixed while training for shorter races, such as the 5K.

The 5K is a short race, but can be very challenging if you try running faster than your half-marathon or marathon pace. In fact, marathon runners who attempt to seriously train for 5Ks, often find it very frustratingly difficult to chop a few seconds off their 5K times. Why is this? Well, the answer has to do with running form. Running form directly affects how fast a person can sustain running a given speed, independent of the level of cardiovascular fitness. Thus, a runner can train to improve cardiovascular fitness, yet not improve performance in races due to inefficiencies in form.

During 5K training, inefficiencies in running mostly appear as an inability to lower a race time, given a certain level of cardiovascular fitness. While, during marathon training, inefficiencies in running often appear as injuries, mainly due to the larger increase in the volume of running.

Thus, the 5K theory states that inefficiencies in running form should be fixed while training for shorter races, such as the 5K. With this theory, you will avoid many repetitive stress injuries (plantar fasciitis, shin splints, stress fractures, etc). You can consider your form efficient when you consistently cut time from your 5K after given training sessions.