Perfect Running Form

by Rhielle Widders

When talking about running barefoot last week, I only mentioned stride mechanics but that is not the hot topic surrounding barefoot running.  Instead, barefoot runners everywhere are preaching a change in running form.  They claim that the change prevents them from experiencing overuse injuries and provides them with faster times.  If those promises were guaranteed after untying my laces and kicking my shoes off, I would be the first on that train. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple.  The good news is that you can make all those changes to form without buying new shoes or taking them off.

As cliche as it is, I am going to use my shoe-clad friends, the Kenyans, as my example.  These runners are known for their gazelle-like speed and their ability to cover long distances in record time.

Over the past week, as you have experimented with changing your stride mechanics have you noticed that the easiest way to achieve 90 RPMs is to change the way you run?  Three things are happening.

First, your foot strike is changing.  Instead of landing with your feet out in front of you and crashing down on your heel, you are most likely landing with your foot closer to your body and underneath your weight.  Look at our Kenyan friends again.  Notice the one guy who with his foot on the ground.  His foot is directly under his center of gravity when he lands.  This transforms the lower half of the body into a giant spring and it is able to absorb more impact with its hinges instead of absorbing with its joints.  More Spring Action = Fewer Injuries.

Second, because your foot strike is closer to your center of gravity your legs extend behind you after you strike instead of in front of you before you strike.  This is harder to picture.  Imagine yourself riding a scooter.  You extend your leg out in front of you but it doesn’t touch the ground until it is firmly underneath your body.  Then, you accelerate as you push off and your leg extends out behind you.  You foot spends very little time on they ground because of the acceleration phase.  When you run at 90 RPMs, you will typically extend your legs behind you and increase the time spent accelerating.

Third, a change in your upper body positioning has changed.  Because your lower body is balanced directly underneath or behind your hips, your upper body must counteract that weight.  Check out our friends above and draw a line from their shoulders to their hips.  Did you will notice that their chest is slightly in front of their hips?  Striking on your heel with your foot out in front of you causes the upper body to lean back, like you are slamming on the brakes and bracing yourself against the back of your seat.   Take your foot off the brakes and you go faster.  The same is true in running.  My friend, Tom Miller, explained this concept, in his book Programmed to Run (out of print, find it on ebay or amazon), as the difference between push and pull.  When you land on your heels way out in front of you, your body position is identical to what you would look like if you were pulling something.  Instead, you want to land with your body weight in front of you, as if you were pushing something.  Take a look at the Kenyans again; only this time imagine their arms extended, like a zombie .  They are perfect examples of pushing, right?

It is too hard to think about all three of these things, plus stride mechanics.  The nice thing is that once you master one element, another will usually fall into place.  If changing your cadence doesn’t do it for you, try leaning forward like you are pushing something.  Regardless of what element flips the switch for you, the important thing is that you can keep your shoes on.  They keep your feet warm and they protect you from things like glass and rocks.  Now go out and experiment!