Women who have large masses of hair should invest in a good sports scrunchie.
I do that - my feet splay out on my heel kick. Completely involuntary; as a matter of fact, it’s something I think about and try to correct, when I’m running. I would hazard that most people who run that way aren’t even aware of it.
I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s a side effect of how you’re put together. Trying to “correct” it will likely result in lower running efficiency.
And despite my post above, I too have a walking oddity.
I’m pretty symmetrical overall. Feet face dead forward, directly under the knees under the level hips and shoulders, etc. But just after my right foot comes off the ground the heel kicks inwards ~30 degrees then quickly straightens out during the forward movement and lands pointing straight ahead. The left has none of that kick. Zero.
Huh? Where the heck did that come from? It’s almost impossible to feel it happening and I’ve tried doing an exaggerated movement the other way to train out of it. But it’s pretty ingrained.
I’d probably need a treadmill, camera, and monitor setup to watch it continuously while affirmatively working to relearn that bit of my gait. Even so I bet it’d be the work of weeks and miles and miles of walking. Kinesthetic sense is not one of my strong suits. So far it doesn’t seem to have any functional consequence, but who knows what old age will bring on?
Unless you’ve run on the same side (and /or direction) of a crowned road for years, it’s a biomechanical quirk. Since it’s happening during an unstressed portion of the stride cycle, it’s highly unlikely to do any harm.
Cool. Always looks to me like it would strain the knees.
Another one no one has mentioned is the folk - generally old - who sorta LOOK LIKE they are running, tho they are barely moving. I often wonder why theu don’t just walk. They aren’t even really pumping their arms as in a power walk.
There is a whole set of brain/nerve issues that make it harder to balance, which are mitigated by using a deliberate action and a different pace, rather than allowing your body to ‘just walk’.
I find it difficult to tell how much I’m bouncing by watching a shadow - I’m bouncing along with my shadow, so it always looks like I’m running level. The best advice was from a PT who told me to run quietly and make as little noise as possible when I landed. This naturally corrected my overly-bouncy stride.
Can’t find the study now, but I read one specifically about foot strike that found your natural foot strike, whatever it is, is generally the most efficient. Our bodies just naturally land in the most efficient way according to personal physiology, pace, and terrain. As you say, messing with it will probably make things worse.
I feel like this thread is going to improve my running - I often like to run with a ‘bouncy’ style, especially downhill (trying to maximise my time in the air to get the full benefit of gravity when I can). But this is probably more tiring and less efficient on the flat. I (used to) often go running with a colleague who despite being 10 years older and much smaller/weaker in terms of physique can achieve about the same pace/time as me. Their gait almost looks like a speed-walker’s to me - a bit of lateral movement, toes pointing out a bit, but keeping their feet close to the ground and almost gliding along. I keep reminding myself to try to run more like that, as it seems evidently more efficient than my natural inclination. Also, I’ve started to notice some soreness in my heels over the last year or so - modifying my style in this way should help with that, too, I guess.
Thanks for the advice!