Perfecting Your Run Form
Where to turn to speed up your run without increasing mileage

Do you find yourself getting repetitive strain injuries each season? Are you new to running? Or do you keep adding mileage but can't seem to get faster? The key to improving your run may lie in improving your running form.

The importance of good form Good running form can help you run more efficiently, reduce injury, and give you more energy to go faster longer. Spend some time observing fast and slow runners the next time you're in the Park. Notice how the fast runners usually run "proud" with their shoulders back and head held high. If you hunch over when you run you restrict your breathing passages so less oxygen can get to your muscles. Look more closely and you might notice that fast runners usually strike the ground with their feet directly below their body. Striking heal first with the foot in front of the body means that the foot, ankle, and knee absorb a lot more shock which can lead to injury.

There are several schools of running. You may have heard of the Pose method, Chi Running, and Evolution Running. But the basics are simple and these methods share many of the same principles with the ones that Olympic athletes apply to their own running. Observe the difference between the fast runners and the slow runners and you'll see some of the key elements of good form: high head and shoulders, arms swinging forward, not side to side, torso leaning slightly forward, knees moving at a high cadence, feet striking under the body.

Drills: Have you noticed that those drills you do in the pool help you swim faster? You'll notice the same benefits from practicing running drills. Drills will help your muscles remember where they're supposed to be, and when.  Here's a video of some drills you can do, along with an explanation of how the drill corresponds to good form.