Running Better: Technique

"Running Better" is the first project that I've completed for the 2012-13 school year. Over the course of my project, I've researched many aspects of running and even tested a few out on myself.  

No matter how fast or how far you run, having good technique is important. Although I already know a variety of good techniques from my dad (a runner in high school), my ski coaches, and my track coach, I was curious about improving my own running and was interested in further researching the different techniques of running. There is a book that I read during my research called Timeless Running Wisdom, which is contributed to by a variety of elite runners and coaches. Here’s one cool fact I learned about how important it is to run with as little bounce as possible: apparently, if your head raises one inch-per stride on a 2500-stride mile, it adds up to the equivalent of climbing 5458 feet into the air! This helps to explain why Olympic runners tend to have such smooth gaits! There are always the standard technical rules like running with your head slightly up, a slight forward tilt in your torso, as little upper-body rotation as possible, and with your feet landing below your body mass. Good technique can make anyone into a faster and more efficient runner. 

There are different techniques for every kind of running. For example, marathon and ultra-marathon runners (people who run 26-100 mile races) want to run with a slower turnover and a slightly longer stride length in order to still be efficient in the last miles of the race. Marathoners are generally tall and lean which gives them the advantage of having less impact on their feet and less body mass to push up the hills. In contrast, sprinters, who have to achieve their maximum velocity in a matter of seconds, run with as fast of a turnover as possible and a slightly shorter stride length in order to be able to run on the balls of their feet. Sprinters usually tend towards a medium build and are often far more muscular than marathoners, especially in the upper arms and torso because they pump their arms in order to generate as much momentum as possible. Both types of runners also train differently. Marathoners usually train by building up their daily /weekly mileage toward a race and generally cross-train on bikes or by skiing in order to stay fit during the off-season. Sprinters usually train by running fully out in shorter intervals and working out in the weight room when they’re not running. No matter how or what they run, athletes need to have good technique in order to individually excel.

When I started my project, I knew that my own running could use a little work. It still does, but it has improved a little over the course of the two weeks that I focused on running my very best. Because I was running a full mile, I focused on efficiency issues such as the fact that my upper torso and hips were twisting too much and how I wasn’t bringing my head up high enough. After a week of trying my best to run technically better, I got some videos and pictures taken of my running form. Compared with previous pictures that had been taken of me running (during the previous track season), I could see that my form had improved by quite a bit over the summer and because of my recent focus on technicality for my project. The effect that better technique had on my mile times was also encouraging. During the first week of my running plan where I ran normally without any change in my researched variables, I averaged 9 minutes, 10.6 seconds. During the second two weeks where I ran using variables that I had researched, I averaged 8 minutes, 52.3 seconds. I hope that as my running form gets better I’ll be able to reach more milestones in my ski training program.

Here is a picture of how I was running after I had researched technique. Notice that I have a slight forward bend in the torso, a higher focus point, relatively little upper body rotation, and that I'm not heel striking. 

Here is a picture of me from the 2011 track season. Notice that my arms are too high, indicating shoulder tension, my torso is twisted almost completely sideways, I'm staring at the ground right in front of me, I have very little knee drive, and that I've been caught in mid-heel strike.