Now I am by no means the perfect runner, however, I do know the theory of where things should be!
So here are some tips on how to become a runner which focus on running technique from top to toe. We look at your overall body position and technique to enhance your performance and efficiency when you run.
It’s good to read over these things and remind yourself once in a while. Another way to learn and improve your form is to pick one of these tips and focus on it for a particular run, don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to get everything right at once, just start at the top of the list and for each run you go on work on one item. Keep reminding yourself during your run to think about your position. It will really make a big difference to your run and to your body.
Head position
It’s really important to consider how you hold your head whilst you are running. A lot of people – me included – end up looking down, particularly if you are struggling and not feeling ‘strong’ in your run, so you may feel tired, or short of breath or your legs are hurting…any of that myriad of things that you feel whilst you are running. The first thing in your posture to drop is probably your head. What you want to do is look up, as in look ahead toward the horizon. This will help you straighten your neck and back.
Shoulder position
Shoulders can often end up hunched and tight, when what you really want is for your shoulders to be relaxed and loose. Sometimes, once again particularly when you are tiring, you will suddenly realize that your shoulders have somehow crept up and you are all hunched up. Give them a shake and a shrug and loosen up when this occurs. Your shoulders should also be relatively level as you run and not dip up and down.
Arm position
Your arms will help you to balance your body and to drive forward. Keep your arms relaxed and let your fingers gently rest on your palms, without clenching them into a fist. Your arms should swing back and forth with your elbows at approximately 90 degrees. If you do feel your arms tensing up then just allow them to drop and give them a ‘shake out’.
Upper Body
You want to keep your upper body torso area and back relatively straight. Keeping your head up, eyes looking forward and shoulders relaxed this will help you to achieve an effective position with your upper body. I once trained with a local triathlon club and we had a running coach along. He told us to imagine your had a piece of string from your chest being pulled forward at about a 30 degree angle. He said you need to lead with your chest, without putting yourself into an unnatural position. This helps you to keep your lungs unhindered whilst you run and promotes the best posture for you.
Hips
The idea here is that your hips should be in good alignment and facing ahead with your body upright. Leaving over too much or hunching whilst you are running can tilt your pelvis too far forward which isn’t good for your back. So try to stay focused here on keeping upright.
Legs
We’re referring here to distance running, as sprinting will require a different approach. Your stride should be fairly short with your feet landing beneath your body – if your foot is landing out in front then it’s likely that the length of your stride is too long. The idea here is to have shorter faster steps, rather than an exaggerated lift of the leg and longer stride. Your knee should be slightly flexed and bend with the impact of striking the ground.
Feet
Your foot strike should occur in the back part of your foot somewhere between the heel and the middle of your foot. The foot then rolls forward and pushes off from your toes. Try to focus here on pushing off or springing forward with each step.
My Mantra!
So there’s some food for thought! Remember, don’t try to change everything that you do at once, it’s just too hard! Pick one area to focus on for each run and revisit areas that you may have trouble with. Sometimes a short ‘mantra’ can help, like ‘Relax, Look Up.’ Be aware of how ‘tense’ your body is in general during a run and if you find yourself tensed up just tell yourself ‘Relax, Look Up’ – and often this will bring your body back into a good position.
I’ve just posted a video in the 