How to run

If you asked many people "how to run" you'd likely get a blank stare and silence. After all, running is just running. Left. Right. Left. Right. You just do it without thinking about how...and therein lies the basis for this article. Running is a skill. There are ways to run, and there are better ways to run. Considering that the greatest impediment to running is gravity, it makes sense to move over the ground in the most efficient way...especially as you fatigue, whether that fatigue is from extreme intensity (eg, 800m), extreme duration (eg, marathon), or both!!

So let's look at how to run, and what good running form is.

So many aspects of sports performance are a mix of art and science. For example, science tells us what streamlining is required to be an efficient swimmer, but it is the art of a good coach who can adapt the science to the individual athlete in a way that helps them progress. In cycling, science tells us the best position on the bike but it's the art of a good coach to adjust the individual cyclist according to their natural biomechanics. It's the same for running.

The art of a good running coach is to align and fine tune the form of a runner. The best review of running form is a visual one, in person, which takes into account all the factors affecting the runner. A good running coach can then advise adjustments and areas of focus to influence how the athlete runs. Drills can help reinforce the basic principles, and develop running motor skills. The process to improve running form is much like developing swim skills, tennis skills, etc, with some allowances for the medium of running.

In this article I'll break running form into two parts:

• Explain the basic principles and fundamentals of good running form, and
• Point out some of the common faults and areas for improvement that many runners demonstrate.

Running Principles and Fundamentals

A key aspect of running is to consider the whole body as part of the running action, in a cause-and-effect model. That is, because of the role of gravity, each small movement you make as you run has a consequence in another way. The trick - and skill - is to align the body so that the result of cause-and-effect has minimal impairment on your forward movement, so that your energy goes into running rather than compensating for poor body position.

Good running form begins with your hips. If you can control and maintain the position of your hips as you run, you're 90% of the way to running well. When you hold your hips in a good position, your limbs will find their own correct pattern for your body and biomechanics. It all starts with the hips!!

The key to achieving good position is to first develop awareness of their position. Stand up straight with your hands on your hips. Can you rotate your hips forwards and backwards? Can you feel the arc they're moving through? This is the first step to awareness and control of your hips.

The correct position for your hips is upright. Your running should be led by your hips - they drive forward and initiate the forward movement of your body. Hold your hips high, as if you're in waist deep water and trying to keep your belt dry!!

Your back should be straight, not arched or slumped. Hold your chest out, pull your shoulders back, tuck your chin in a little and run tall. This will feel a bit like you're marching at attention in an army drill - straight and tall. Nice and vertical from every angle.

The net effect of a good running position is to feel like you're a puppet being pulled forwards by a string attached to both your chest AND your waist. As you run, use a mental cue of running "over" the ground, and not across it. Run light and high, as if you're running on a beach and trying to leave the lightest possible footprint you can in the sand.

Think of running as only what happens from your waist upwards, where the cause-and-effect model ensures that the resulting effect is that your legs (and feet) will find the correct, most efficient pattern as a consequence. As you run your hips will barely change position, and your arms will only swing to counter balance the slight movement of your body...again, cause-and-effect. The smaller the movement of your body, the smaller your arm swing will be.

Common Faults and Improvements

Having described what good running form consists of and feels like, here's some common faults made by many runners.

• Having your hips rotated backwards, with a corresponding slump in your back and often a forward lean, and with your line of sight close to their feet and possibly rounded shoulders. This could be called the Ironman shuffle!!!
• Having your hips overly forward rotated, arched back with your lower abdomen sticking out – it’s a common problem amongst young women runners and those who wear high heels a lot. A bit of a Serena Williams look!!
• Rocking hips side-to-side - especially at point of landing, is when your hips collapse under the weight of impact. This is how race walkers walk, but is not desirable for running because of the lack of hip control.
• Trying to change the landing position of your feet to mid/fore-foot. NO, NO and no!!! Running form comes from your hips upwards, not from your feet. The tail does not wag the dog. Shoes promoting this approach are misguided and responsible for many calf and achilles injuries. No, no and no!!!
• Rounded shoulders and closed chest, often in conjunction with an arm swing that crosses the chest / body.
• A slouched look, just like you're slouching in a chair. This can often occur despite the runner having reasonably good chest and shoulder position...they're forgetting to hold their hips upwards and forwards.
• Leaning forward from the waist, so your nose is the leading part of your body. The consequence of this is that you'll tend to try and overstride, and land heavily on your heels...and is a situation that caves in on itself the more fatigued you become.
• Runners trying too hard and straining too much, which sounds contrary to running fast. However tension is the enemy of speed. “Loose as a goose.” Repeat this over and over and over…
• Excessive hand/arm and shoulder swing, often with arms swinging quite wide from the body. Try running for a short distance with your finger tips touching in front of your chest as a way to re-align your arms…then move them apart and back into a more compact swing.

The improvements in most of these situations comes down to control and awareness of hip position, which is directly related to core strength and control. Running drills can help to teach and reinforce good running form, to develop feel and smoothness during running.

Core strength and control is a fundamental and essential requirement of ANY sports performance, which is more important in weight bearing sports like running. The longer you can maintain control of your hips - assuming good position to start with - the better runner you'll be. A good core strength routine will teach you awareness of your body position, as well as develop fitness to be able to maintain it.

Good core strength and control, in conjunction with correct body position to start with is the key to good running form. It is the art of a good running coach to be able to identify and advise the necessary fine tuning adjustments to running form, and it takes guidance and practice to progress these to become habit. The pay-off with good running form is improved comfort, efficiency, speed and enjoyment.

There's everything to gain and nothing to lose from working on running form.