Basic Running Rules: 1. Proper Running Form

I think people tend to underestimate the value of running with proper form. A lot of engery gets wasted during a workout with inefficient movements and poor habits. Fortunatley, simple adjustments can be made to improve your running efficiency which will benefit you in your speed training,  race times and just everyday running. Making these simple adjustments can also help to prevent injuries and chronic pain later on down the road…

So lets start from the head and work our way down:

HEAD:  The main thing here is just to keep it upright as much as possible. Try to imagine your head being stretched upward without leaning forward at the neck.

TORSO/SHOULDERS:  Keep the torso upright and your back and shoulders relaxed. Relaxed is the key word here. Often people are too tense in the shoulders and fatigue sets in earlier than it should. Fatigue and discomfort will cause you to hunch forward which can lead to joint problems down the road. Mainly because this hunching forward will put undue strain over the knee joint.

ARMS:  This may be the most important and also the hardest portion of correct running form. We want to keep the arms bent at 90 degrees, swinging forward and back from the shoulders only. As little movement as possible is important. We want to keep the arms from swinging in front and across the body as much as possible. It is not only more efficient, arm cross-over can also cause unnecessary twisting of the spine. This may again lead to problems in the future.

HANDS:  The main thing here, once again, is to relax. Cup the hands loosely as if holding a raw egg.

HIPS:  Your hips go hand in hand with your torso and shoulder positioning. If we keep our torso upright with our shoulders up and back and relaxed then our hips should naturally stay in place. We can not understimate the importance of keeping this proper allingnment.

THIGHS:  This can vary depending on the type of workout you are doing. Basically our knee lift should increase as our speed increases. Long distances do not require an excessive knee lift to be efficient but sprints do. Long distance just require a slight knee lift to get the leg moving forward.

FEET:  To minimize the stress on the knee joint we want to keep our feet landing directly under our centre of gravity. This will also fall into place with ease if we are keeping the rest of our body in proper alligment and using proper running form. Also, as always, we want to try to keep our feet relaxed and loose to keep from developing undue strain and tension.

These small adjustments in our running form can help us to achieve our running goals and potentials. We can continue to work on these and perfect our running form through many different types of workouts. Next time we will go over the different types of workouts that should be incorporated in each and every running program.