I do a lot of cycling on a local bike trail. Especially since COVID I’ve been seeing a lot more people out doing what I suppose they would call running. I see a lot people who seem to be serious but a lot of other people who seem to just get out there and flail around. I have seen arm motions where the hands swing side-to-side across the body, and leg motions that remind of a Tennessee walking horse, where the feet kind of kick out to one side on lift-off. I also see a lot of people plodding at a pace slower than I might do a brisk walk, like each step could be their last. What are the basics of good running form? I used to run for exercise but never competitively. Just from what I know about physics, I would think you would want to:
Swing the arms naturally, like a pendulum, to match your gait, and so that the shoulder, elbow, and wrist stay in nearly a vertical plane
Similarly, have the hip, knee, and ankle in nearly a vertical plane, keeping the toe pointed forward through the entire step
If you hear a scuffing sound with each step (I hear this a lot) you are probably wasting energy and putting strain on your knees by pushing the foot forward on landing rather than using it to push back and propel you
Am I guessing right?
Also what should the foot contact look like from first touch to lift-off?
You’ll naturally learn proper distance running form if you focus on doing the following two things:
Stand as tall as you can
Step softly and focus on the act of lifting your feet rather than the ‘stomp’). An easy way to get an idea of what it should feel like is to run barefoot on gravel for a few seconds.
#2 will feel strange at first but keep it up and things will start to get easier. You’ll be able to run further because you won’t be wasting energy on the stomp and also be less likely to injure yourself.
Arms are less important in my opinion. Do whatever feels comfortable but avoid clenching your fists.
I’d add that it’s generally better to hit mid-foot than at the ball or the heel of your foot. And yeah, avoid clenching your fists - not only will your arms thank you, it’s a good cue to keep your shoulders down and relaxed. If I don’t pay attention, my shoulders tend to creep toward my ears.
You hear some people say, “Heel to foot! Heel to foot!” But that doesn’t make sense. Because if your heal touches first, you’re essentially putting the brakes on your momentum for a few milliseconds. Instead, land flat-footed and then push out with your foot to project yourself forward.
Agree. Pretend there is a string attached to the top of your head, and someone is pulling up on the string.
Howdy , all. Just got back from a ride.
While “running tall” is correct, every person is different in physical structure and their running tall may not look like it to others. Emil Zatopek was described as looking like he had been stabbed in the heart. He held numerous world records and is the only runner to win the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon in a single Olympiad.
The reason so many new runners look like they’re flailing is because they are. It takes time to develop a coordinated running form and the strength to maintain an erect posture. There’s no one correct way to hold the arms and hands, it should be determined by the person’s physiology. Bill Rogers (former American marathon Record holder) had one arm that stirred rather than swung to compensate for a short leg.
Haile Gebrselassie (former world records in a number of distances) ran with a crooked left arm due to years of running to school carrying books.
Foot plant can be on the heel or midfoot as long as it’s under the runner’s center of gravity. It’s the reaching out while heel-planting that produces a braking effect.
Before giving their main finding away, take a moment to guess what they would have found…If you are anything like me, and have read the substantial amount on the internet and in books about how it’s “better” (there’s that word again) to land on your forefoot, then of course, your expectation might be that they found:
The majority of runners land on the forefoot
Those that DO NOT land on the forefoot are the runners who finish towards the back of the field
Well, if that’s what you thought, you’d be completely incorrect …! Because the finding is the following:
The vast majority (75%) of the elite runners land on the heel
About 1 in four (24%) runners landed on the mid-foot
Only 4 out of 283 runners landed on the forefoot
Overall, form shouldn’t be forced, everyone has a natural form that should be encouraged.
When I was barefoot, I naturally landed flat on the ball of the foot. Any other way and you’re doing it wrong, for a number of reasons.
Now that I’m wearing shoes, I’m not landing flat on the ball of the foot. For one thing, the structure of the shoe+foot is completely different to the naked foot. The naked food does not have a padded heel, instep protection, or friction protection for forward of backward scuffing. I get worn heels on my shoes. If that was happening to my foot, I wouldn’t be walking that way.
I don’t have a strong opinion on how you should be running, but I’m pretty sure that, among other things, it depends on the shoes you are wearing.
Not much to add to what has already been stated. When I was running a lot, advice I got was to lean forward slightly, almost like you are starting to fall forward.
Watch the elite runners during a race - they appear to be floating. You can learn a lot by watching others who are really good at something.
No. Putting your center of gravity ahead of your footplant will result in reaching with your foot to catch yourself. Besides the braking effect, you waste energy trying to maintain an off balance situation.
Nature, in the form of janky cracked pavement and sidewalks, has encouraged me to avoid “gliding forwards”. I have tripped and skinned everything on two separate occasions in recent times, both due to cracks in the running surface.
When lockdown started and the gyms closed, I realized my future was going to involve lots of outdoor running, so I immediately ordered those wrist protectors that you see skateboarders wearing. These days I never run without them–if I were to fall, it would be likely that I could safely use my hands to break my fall without injuring my palms or breaking my wrists.
After 400 mi. of road running the summer heat became unbearable, and I bought a nice treadmill. Between that and the fair weather runs outdoors I don’t need a gym membership any more!
The wrist guards aren’t a bad idea, but FWIW, I’ve eaten pavement often enough to have a permanent scar on both elbows, and the worst injury I ever got from a fall was a bruised rib. Never anything to my hands or wrists (or knees) worse than abrasions and bruises. YMMV, of course.
As to swinging the arms, I’ve always been told not to let them cross in front of the body. On the other hand, Yuki Kawuchi, the Japanese amateur who won the 2018 Boston Marathon, swung his arms all over the place during that race, in sharp contrast to the elites he was running with. He said he ran that way to keep his shoulders and chest low and relaxed.
I wish I had learned this stuff when I was a kid. Back then it was, “How?! Just run!” These days, I have two synthetic knees and Parkinson’s disease, so I ride a recumbent trike.
There is some advice that I would give to new runners.
For example, one thing that was important for me, was keeping the hips level. If you allow the hips to slightly wobble (like a slight salsa step) you can get soreness and inflammation of the hip joint, as I used to. No issues since I learned to keep the hip level.
OTOH the footstriking thing is a minefield. A lot of people very strongly believe that you need low drop or minimalist shoes, and strike with the midfoot, or you’ll get injuries. But I know a lot of elite runners and they all wear high drop shoes, and strike with the heel (well they take big strides; I’m not sure it’s even possible to do midfoot strikes with big strides).
So my only recommendation would be to try a few different shoes and see what’s comfortable for you. Dedicated running stores sometimes have shoes for trying out for a run.
Yeah, “standing tall” might work well for some people, but some of my fastest times have been when I felt I was “falling forwards” for a significant portion of the run.
The one that gets me is the people who look like they are kicking their feet out to the sides after every stride. Just looks so darned awkward and stressful, I wonder why/how anyone would think that was the way to move forward.
I remember back in HS, the track coach’s advice was simple - along the lines that all motion should be front and back - aimed at moving forwards, rather than sideways motion. I think that was in the context of arm swing and starting from blocks, but always seemed a decent starting/reference point to me.
The other day I went to an ortho for some shoulder pain. I asked if he thought it would be stupid for me to try running again. After surgeries to my right foot, left knee, and left ankle. Since the last surgery 5 yrs ago, I’ve been biking and swimming - but little biking in Chicago winters, and no swimming since COVID. I’ve gotten used to various aches in various leg joints, but realized I hadn’t felt any recently.
Ortho said it was unlikely I’d really DAMAGE anything by trying running, but thought it pretty likely my aches/pains would recur. Oh well - I gave it a good run!
I’m not much of a runner these days; I do need to get back to it.
But I do walk a lot. On walking / jogging paths, city sidewalks, through airports and (pre-COVID) shopping malls, etc. Somehow along the way I’ve become interested in people’s gaits. It’s amazing how many people do weird stuff with their feet, ankles, or knees while just walking naturally in their habitual fashion.
I see lots of splayed feet, many of which are vastly different between the two legs. I see rolled ankles (in- or out-), and again a lot of folks are far from symmetrical.
Men & women have different hip structures, but my non-expert opinion is I’d expect that to tend to trigger women being splay-legged rather than the opposite. But instead I see far more more women than men walking knock-kneed Why? Growing up holding knees together for “modesty” perhaps?
And that’s before we consider footfalls, arm motions, and all the rest of their kinematics. Anyone who gets out in public and starts really watching people walk will see a treasure trove of weirdness.
It’s not surprising to me that people who walk badly would run even worse. At least until / unless coached out of it.
One thing I notice in a lot of runners is too much bounce. I see so many people running where their head is bobbing up and down with each step and I can just feel the knee and hip damage that is coming for them.
For the few people who ask me for running tips, I tell them to watch their shadow when possible during a run and if it is bobbing up and down, make it stop doing that.
