Throughout my years as a runner and perhaps even a few years before, I have heard gym teachers, coaches, and other running enthusiasts give their best advice on running form. With this advice coming from many mouths, I found that I often got mixed signals and contradicting information. Some said to run with your natural form; that your body knows how it should move based on one’s individual physiology. Others gave more strict guidelines as to how many steps you should take in a minute, where you should strike your foot, and which muscles to focus on activating. At the green, young, age of 29, I have found some truth on both sides of the argument.

 

    I ran most of my running career thinking that my form was as good as it could be. I had a smooth long stride, very little vertical oscillation, and quite frankly it was helping me win races. I also had chronic shin splints (medial calf), occasional hip pain, and 6 or 7 stress fractures in my lower legs throughout my competitive years. In other words, I was an over-striding heel striker for a majority of my weekly mileage. While on the track in spikes, this form was okay as I was usually running fast enough to have efficient movement. But while running slower, longer training runs, this form was breaking me down with each inefficient step. If only I knew how to flip the switch and strike on the middle of my foot with shorter strides on my easy days and long runs, I would have spared myself the setbacks and ibuprofen binges.

 

    Ultimately, there are many different forms out there on the track and road. While running near top speed, there is something to letting natural form take over, as most people become more efficient as we run faster. Drills and strides, when done correctly, will be engrained in muscle memory and remind the body to recruit certain muscles to promote economical movement. But when a runner is logging base miles to build aerobic strength, the form needs to be more calculated to minimize the pounding and breakdown of muscle tissue. Check back in the next few weeks as I will break down form even further as it pertains to sprinting and longer sustained runs.