Torso And Head

Open up your chest, hold your head upright and look straight ahead (about 10 to 30 metres).  Imagine a string pulling from the middle of your chest diagonally upwards, pulling you forward and taller.  While opinions vary on whether or not you should adopt a slight forward lean when running, you definitely don’t want to a) lean backward or b) bend forward from the waist or hips.  Keep your lower abs pulled in.

Shoulders, Arms And Wrists

Make sure your shoulders don’t twist and rotate inwards when you run.  Swing your arms towards your running direction and hold your wrists above the hops, loosely closing your hands.

Pelvis

Imagine that your pelvis is a full bucket of water.  Your goal while running is to make sure you don’t spill the water.  That means that your pelvis shouldn’t tilt forwards or backwards.  Pulling in the lower abs helps with this.  To see how your pelvis is tilted, stand with your back up against a wall.  Making sure your shoulder blades and butt are pressed onto the wall, you should be able to slide your hand into the small of your back, but just barely.  If there is a lot of space, tighten up your abs, squeeze your butt and try to press your lower back towards the wall.  Check with your hand again, making sure you can slide it in.  Then walk away from the wall and try to hold that pose.  You will notice that you will have to keep your shoulders back and walk with straight posture to keep your hips aligned.  This may feel awkward at first, but this is the way it should be.  Practice will make it feel more normal.

Legs, Feet And Ankles

Your legs are your most important body parts when running.  Some people suggest that you lift your knee high while running, but this is a waste of energy.  Lifting your knee should be about driving the leg forward, not up.  Also pay attention to the height at which you lift your heel.  The faster you run, the higher you lift your heel.  At a moderate pace, your knee should be your heel’s highest point.  Move your thigh forward while your heel is still in the air.  The hamstring in the leg that has just hit the ground and is pushing you forward is tense.  The hamstring in the leg moving towards the ground should be relaxed.  This allows you to lift the thigh and swing the foot forward passively.  This feels a lot less strained and prevents over striding.  Also avoid running with rigid, flexed ankles.  Let all the tension go when the foot is in the air.

Placement Of The Foot

The part of your foot that strikes the ground will depend on your personal technique.  It may be the heel, mid-foot or the forefoot.  When your foot lands, make sure it is at your centre of gravity.  Slower running tends to get the heel to touch the ground first.  A forefoot landing tends to happen at higher paces.  Do not run only on the ball of the foot, as this causes stress on the Achilles tendon and muscles of the foot and shin.  Keep brief, complete contact with the ground.

Go For Comfort

On paper, perfect running technique may exist, but in reality, there is no such thing.  Above all else, make sure you feel comfortable with your running technique, because if you don’t enjoy the experience, you will end up not doing it at all.

Vanessa Agosta is a personal trainer with G Force Home Training Inc.  For more information visit www.gforcetraining.com.


Sources:
Murphy, Sam. “Top Form How to assess and improve your running technique”. Can-Fit-Pro Magazine, March/April 2009.