Running form? Is it important?

If you want to start a running argument, bring up running form. Many runners feel they can’t change what comes natural to them or feel that they should even try. So just how important is your running form? Jim Ryun, whose head swung from side to side, wasting energy, while at the same time his kick would allow him to blow past his opponents. Or how about the world-ranked masters runner Harry Nolan, a New Jersey legend, is still setting age records at 60 while punching the air and tilting his body. Or Emil Zatopek himself, considered by many the greatest runner ever, who ran as though he were carrying his wife on his back–one of his unorthodox training methods. And then there’s the women’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliff with her head bobbing and her some what gangly running form that is indisputably out of the ordinary. There are many more just to name a few. So why is it important to focus on your running form when it doesn’t seem to be of any concern to some of the best runners? Is there a better way to run? Should one try to improve their running form? How do we explain away the running form flaws of the some of the great ones?

First let me say that when it comes to running form improvement, it’s important to realize that no two runners are exactly alike. I believe there is a better running form for all runners, but not all runners would benefit from a better running form. Yet according to a book, The Runner’s Body (Rodale, May 2009), the role of VO2 max has been way overrated. If you want to run faster and farther, the authors say, you’ve got to improve your running economy, or how efficiently your body uses oxygen. Like the fuel economy of a car, the less oxygen and energy you need to run at a certain pace, the longer you can go without running out of gas. “Running economy is what’s going to help you run faster longer and cost you less than people around you,” says co-author Jonathan Dugas, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “VO2 max just doesn’t predict performance beyond a certain point".
Then how is it when Bill Rodgers was the best marathoner in the world in the late 70’s, a biomechanist named Peter Cavanagh tested him in his lab at Penn State. As part of the test, Cavanagh had Rodgers “fix” his trademark across-the-body right arm swing. The result? Running with more textbook form, Rodgers’ running economy, or oxygen cost at the same pace, was higher. That is, changing Rodgers’ form to something thought to be better made it harder for him to run a given pace. In the more than three decades since that lab experiment, a take-home message from it has been endlessly repeated: Don’t mess with your running form. Over time, your body will find its best way of running. The more you run, the more your body will find its natural form. So simply run what feels natural to you.

So let’s explore what a runner can do to improve their running form if they feel so compelled to do so. First the text book proper running form which even that has different suggestions as to how to have a better running form. But the one drill that everyone agrees on how to practice good running form is by doing speed workouts typically at the 200 meter distance. While running your next speed workout consider the following suggestions on proper running form.
THE BODY: Run upright. Your back should be straight, with a slight lean forward as you increase your speed.

THE HEAD: Look straight ahead. Your eyes should be focused straight down the road or track on a point moving about 10 feet in front of you. Avoid turning your head around too often if in a race to see who is behind you, it will only slow you down and take you out of your form if only for those valuable few seconds.

YOUR ARMS: Swing your arms naturally. The angle at the elbow between your upper and lower arms should be about 90 degrees. Your hands should be loosely cupped, about belly level. Let your arms swing in rhythm with your legs in the same forward motion as your legs. Avoid side to side swing of your arms allowing a more forward motion.

FOOTPLANT: The most natural landing is mid-foot, the ball of the foot landing first, the heel contacting the ground a fraction of a second later. The toes push off a fraction after that. Some runners land further forward, or backward, than others, based on what feels natural to them. Attempt to modify this natural gait at your own risk.
If you have been plagued with injuries then maybe it could be attributed to an improper running form. If you have been training for months with no real progress and you feel your form needs improvement then what do you have to lose? Or if you’re like me and it just feels better to know that you have tried to improve your form and it seems to have made a difference even if it’s a small difference, then why not go with it? What if improving your form can take 5-10 seconds off your 5K P.R.? Have you ever missed your p.r. by 5-10seconds? Or maybe it could knock off 1-2 minutes in your next marathon? It could mean qualifying for Boston or running your best time ever. If it helped you to run faster, longer and injury free, would you try tweaking your form even if it’s just a very small tweak?

Running form? Is it important? I’ll leave that up to the most important person to decide: you.

=SPEEDSTERS= Train Hard Run Fast

Perry Small