Running form focuses

This post lays out the form focuses I try to concentrate on when I’m out for a run. A lot of the core ideas are from the ChiRunning method. I have also found that fellrnr’s Wiki has a ton of valuable running information, including running form.

I’ve laid out my form focuses by body part, from the feet to the head.

Breathing

  • Inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. If you can do all your breathing through your nose, even better.

  • Time your breathing with your footfalls. Inhale for 4 steps and then exhale for 3 steps. Increase this to inhale for 3 steps, exhale for 2 steps for faster paces/hills.

Lower Body

Legs

  • Let your legs swing out behind your hips rather than in front. Don’t pull your legs in front of your hips during your stride as this will likely lead to heal striking.

Feet

  • Don’t splay your feet, keep the toes of both feet pointed forward in the direction you wish to travel.

  • Land on your midfoot instead of your heel with your foot underneath your hips.

  • Aim for a cadence of 90 spm (steps per minute) per foot, or 180 spm if you’re counting footfalls on both feet.

  • Relax your feet, don’t push off with your toes.

  • “Peel” your feet off the ground starting from your heel.

Ankles

  • Lean forward from your ankles.

Knees

  • Land with your knees slightly bent

  • Keep your knees down, don’t lift your legs up.

Hips

  • Keep your pelvis level by pulling your tailbone in using your core muscles.

  • Allow a slight rotation in your hip during your stride, but keep the rotation isolated to your hips/back and not your upper body.

Back

  • Keep your back straight, don’t hunch. Imagine a line going from the top of your head, down through your tail bone to your heels and try to keep that line straight.

Upper Body

Shoulders

  • Keep your shoulders relaxed, don’t hunch your shoulders up or pull them back. Don’t rotate your shoulders as you run, instead keep them perpendicular to the direction you wish to travel.

Arms

  • Allow your arms to hang loosely from their sockets.

  • Bend your arms at 45-90 degree angles

  • Keep your arms tucked in at your sides

  • Swing your arms forward to back, parallel to the direction you wish to travel. Don’t swing your arms laterally.

  • Keep your swing motion restricted so that your hand doesn’t go behind your torso on the back swing and your elbow doesn’t go in front of your torso on the forward swing.

Head/Neck

  • Keep your chin down and your head back, imagine the straight line going from your head to your toes.

  • Don’t stare at your feet, keep your head up looking at the road in front of you.

Fri, Dec 20, 2013

Categories: running
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