Marathon, Duathlon & Triathlon Running
June 19, 2010
There is no such thing as perfect running form , as everyone has different limb lengths, varying muscle fiber sizes, angles and mass, and separate running distance requirements. No single athlete will run the same, but characteristics of a good runner do exist that are fairly constant person to person. Here are four, along with a drill to improve each.
1. If you recall watching a sprinter, you’ve probably seen them running with their thighs stretched out forward and knees more bent (or shorter). This lets them move the weight of their feet much faster with less effort. Similar to swinging a weight attached to the end of a stick, you can move the weight faster, with less effort if the stick is shorter.
So increase your knee range of motion during the swing phase by flexing it towards your bum when your right thigh is pushed forward. This will result in a taster swing time and turnover of feet, as well as reducing fatigue when increasing the sought after stride length.
Drill Heel-to-bum kicks: Try touching your bum with your heels to exaggerate the knee flexion - 20 touches for both the right and left legs, then continue with your normal running pattern.
2. Keep your thigh muscles – the quadriceps and hip flexors – flexible by stretching them. These muscles along the front of your thigh act to straighten the leg, and if they’re tight, it can suppress your ability to fully extend your legs when you push off with each foot .
Drill platform stretches. Its best if your pelvis can be angled backwards when stretching the quadriceps and hip flexors. So find a platform or raised surface about knee height or a bit higher. Then facing away from the platform, and standing on your right leg, bend your left knee and lock your left foot, shoelaces down, onto the surface. Hold the positiion for 15 to 30 seconds, then switch.
3. Focus on pushing backwards with each step so that you incorporate your gluteal (bum) and hamstring muscles in the push-off phase of the running gait. It also keeps your center of gravity consistently rolling forward, and rather than focusing on knee muscles to provide the driving force, it puts more focus on running from the hips.
The Learn-fall-run drill: Stand completely still and as tall as possible. Then without bending your knees, lean your whole body forward until you fall toward the ground and are forced to take your first step forward. Then go straight into a short 10-20 yard run, continuing to lean forward and push backwards with your hips.
4. Avoid excessive ankle and hip flexion. Don’t bend your knees or flex your ankles excessively when your feet land on the ground. While it may seem that bending decreases the joint impact forces, there’s actually no empirical grounds that runners who bend their knees more have fewer injuries than runners who don’t.
However, there is evidence that increased time spent in contact with the ground decreases the elastic rebound and overall power of each stride. You will naturally avoid excessive knee and ankle flexion if you focus on minimizing your footstrike time.
Drill: Cadence counts. During your run, count the number of right footstrikes achieved in a span of 20 seconds. There should be 30 or more, indicating a cadence of 90 or higher. Increased cadence indicates decreased ground contact time.
