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Running Form - Facts vs. Fad

It seems like everyone is weighing in on running form. Some are writing books and becoming overnight experts at running form advising the world how we've been doing it all wrong all these years. Ok, it's my turn.

I will use logic, research and the power of observation as the basis of my comments. Here are some things we know:

• "Perfect" running form probably exists and can be drawn schematically or computer generated. There may be a handful of runners who possess "perfect" running form in the world. There are elements of "good" running form which create a more efficient runner.
• Your form is a result of your bone structure and musculature. Bone structure for the most part is unchangeable. It can partly be changed or affected through orthotics. Your musculature is genetically determined and largely determined by development over your life through activity or non-activity. This can be modified through training. However, a misconception is that all muscles in the human body are located and attached exactly the same in each person. This is not true. Therefore, there can be limitations due to genetics much like with bone structure.
• Fast runners have comparatively better form than slower runners… but not always. Less wasted motion leads to more efficient running which leads to faster running at all distances. The most dramatic comparison for you to make is one with an elite sprinter.
• Beginning runners have poorer form than more experienced runners… but not always. As you get stronger, your form improves. If you do core strengthening exercises and work on weak muscle groups which do affect form (i.e. lower leg muscles if your feet point outward) then your form will improve. Just watch the huge variation in children as they run - from day one! There is no such thing as a single "natural" running form. It is beyond an absurdity to say "mimic running like children because it is so natural".
• As runners fatigue their form deteriorates - even at the Olympic level. Strides shorten and more excess (wasted) motion can be detected further into races. However, leg-turnover increases (perhaps to compensate) and it has been shown that in the fastest races (i.e. records) negative splits, or faster second halves are far more predominant. So, though form deteriorates, the runners run faster even though they are fatigued! This is a training issue you can affect.

Much as there are different swings in golf or baseball, different techniques in shooting free throws in basketball or different forms in bowling; there are different forms in running. We are not all created equal. If we were, we would all be Olympic runners if we just did the same workouts and "ran the same way". Our bodies are put together differently (providing we have all the usual body parts). Our biomechanics - how all our body parts work together in movement - differ. Based on this alone there is no way to establish a single "best" running form. This exists only in theory and on drawing boards and for the rare person who biomechanically fits that form.

Darwin could be at work here. Are better runners better (at least in part) because of their genetically more efficient biomechanics? If someone has poor biomechanics due to genetics can they overcome it by working harder than the genetically endowed?

Paula Radcliffe and Don Janicki are a couple of my favorite elite marathoner examples. Watch Paula's form. Though her leg action is extremely economical watch her arms. Anyone observing this would say there is excess movement and it is less efficient running form. With that she is the world record holder in the marathon and no woman is close to her 2:15:25 in 2003 (By the way, no British male runner beat that time in 2003!). I used to train with Don in Tucson (on his easy runs!). He ran 2:11:39 and was ranked as high as #2 in the US in the 1980s. He runs so erect it's like a poll is up his back. His stride is comparatively short and choppy. Their forms diverge from an idealized form - their results cannot be debated. Most of us only wish we could run as well.

Of course we want to improve our efficiency to run faster or further or just not to get injured. Don't ignore your form. If your running form is causing injuries then you need to change or you won't be running long. This is different than effecting change in someone's form arbitrarily in the name of aiming for a "perfect" form.

However, the goal is to reduce as much excess motion as possible; move as easily and effortlessly as possible; keep your body moving forward with limited lateral movements; propel yourself forward more than upward with each stride - within the context of your uniqueness! Here is what you should do regularly as part of training to optimize your form:

• Work core strength.
• Remediate any weaknesses or discrepancies in muscle groups that may cause injuries.
• Do running-specific drills, plyometrics and exercises to optimize your specific abilities as they relate to running. Use proper form during all drills.
• Do hard hill repeats.
• Do speed work.
• Run more (within reason of course).

In the end we optimize who we are. We do not recreate ourselves in the likeness of someone else because it works for them. We must find the best "us" we can be. I have yet to hear a distance runner magically transformed into a great runner because their form changed. I have however heard a plethora of stories of how working hard at your sport has made someone better. Stop searching for a magic pill or the next form fad. Drop us a line if you want to know about running-specific strength workouts to optimize your running form.