Running Form Analysis 7

Hello,

I hope that the ideas mentioned here concerning controlling upper body sway and posture make sense. They are extremely important. Our body, like the crew on a boat, is most efficient when everything is working in unison. Now, let’s look at what we can do when we begin running, hopefully with less effort.

You hear this term - the Center of Gravity (COG). It is the balancing point at which all the body planes meet – just below the navel and in front of the sacrum. When your foot strikes, you want it to be below, not in front of, your center of gravity. If your foot lands in front of your COG, it acts like a brake. More stress is put on your legs and joints.

Visualization - Imagine you’re running downhill all the time. You are taking advantage of gravity. Let gravity be your ally. Lean forward with the slope of the hill.

Some Keys to Running with Less Effort

Stay Tall. Try to maintain a straight line between your ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles.

Lean forward - at the ankles, not the waist. Remember the image of the ski jumper? Core stability and strength helps to maintain this position. Hold the lean a little bit at first. As you become comfortable doing this, gradually increase the distance and time.

As you lean, gravity pulls you forward. During a stride your heels come up and the shin area often attains a height parallel to the ground. The non-supporting (float) leg will go back and then come forward to keep up with your forward fall. Your feet will come down underneath, rather than in front of you.

Don’t worry about your speed at first. However, you may sense that you go a bit faster with a little lean.

Experiment: You may even wish to test this hypothesis over a given distance. Run to a particular point using the form that comes most natural. Time it. Then repeat the process with a little bit of a lean. Does the time change?

If you’re like many runners, you propel yourself forward (and upward) by pushing with your legs. You’re driving with your quads and then finishing off your stride by pushing off with your toes.

Experiment: Concentrate on lifting your legs at the heels instead of using your quads.


The amount of energy it takes to lift the weight of your lower leg is considerably less than pushing and lifting your entire body weight up into the air. Energy expenditure is directly proportional to how much you go up and down. If you can minimize up and down movement, you can lower your energy expenditure. The more you lean forward when you run, the more it adds a horizontal component to your energy usage. Like the wheel, we want as much of our movement to be horizontal, not vertical.

Foot Strike

Ideally, your foot should never land in front of that imaginary point (center of gravity). If it does, you are likely overstriding — adding a force in the opposite direction — which means that you are putting on the brakes. Runners are more often guilty of taking too long of strides rather than too short. The footfall should be quiet. You should be able to sneak up behind someone. If there is slapping, this is often a sign that you are overstriding.

We seek a smooth transition between strides rather than bouncing from one to the other. This reduces the impact to your knees.

Typically, the faster the tempo, the further forward on your foot you will strike. Using some of these techniques may result in more of a mid-foot strike than was common. Most of us land exclusively on our heels, but don’t be alarmed if some changes gradually take place.

A short stride length is the equivalent of a low gear. Let your runs begin with a shorter stride. Gradually, the stride lengthens as your muscles get warmed up and looser. When you hit your cruising speed, your stride will be the right length. When you run, focus on keeping your arms and your legs comfortably bent at mid-swing. Think of the pendulum concept.

Running with less effort is about relaxing muscles, opening tight joints, and using gravity to do the work. Up to this point you have been given a lot of ideas to think about. Practice one component at a time and become familiar with it. Then try to do two at a time. Then, try three, and so on. Remember, have fun learning some of these new concepts.

We have had enough for today.

Bob