Stop Trying to Achieve ‘Perfect’ Running Form
We all dream of gliding across finish lines with the same look of effortless speed as Shalane or Kipchoge. But for every platonic ideal of a racer, there’s another feet-flailing, arm-chopping abomination who’s probably passing them for the win.
Yet the world of running is packed with “crucial” tips about holding your head still, keeping your arms at 90 degrees, driving your knees up, and avoiding pronation at any and all costs. RunnersWorld.com even has a running form guide for the form-curious. But where’s the proof any of it matters?
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What does have proof: ugly strides kicking ass. Look at Paula Radcliffe’s marathon world record run from London 2003. Her head was bobbing like she was at a rave. Haile Gebrselassie, another serious contender for running’s GOAT, had a crooked left arm swing that left him looking like he was sweating flies out of the way throughout his entire record-breaking career. Or, take Priscah Jeptoo, a favorite target of running form critics. Jeptoo’s knees collapse in so far they look like her legs will snap. Yet she holds an Olympic silver in the marathon (2012) and won the New York and London marathons in 2013. Heck, even Usain Bolt, the fastest human the world has ever seen has an asymmetric stride.
“Perfect running form is theoretical,” says Dr. Colleen M. Brough, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist and Director of Clinical Education at the Columbia University RunLab. “It depends on each runner as each runner has a signature form that will minimize injury and attenuate stress and load optimally.”
What she’s saying is, to prevent injury and keep yourself on the road, there’s no golden technique every runner should follow. Instead runners should run however feels natural and comfortable. That’s the most efficient stride and best technique to minimize injury.
“I worked with a four-time Olympic marathon qualifier-that’s 16 years of Olympic-level running,” Brough says. “Yet, I’ve never seen such exaggerated pronation as I saw in this accomplished runner. All of those years of health and high-level running without sidelining injury debunks for me the myth of perfect form.”
That’s not to say there’s no connection between form and injury, but it’s related to exhaustion. Our body is used to the load and forces of running with our stride, says Brough. “But our natural form still breaks down as we fatigue.”
“If you deviate away from that natural motion path when you run-even when you are trying to use someone’s idea of ‘perfect Olympian form’-that leads to straining and uneven loading on your joints, which makes you prone to repetitive stress injuries,” says Dr. Matt Trudeau, a biomechanics and ergonomics researcher and the Senior Research Scientist at Brooks Sports.
The Science Behind Your Stride
Recent research on form also backs up the idea of there being no universally perfect technique. Seven novice runners at Utah Valley University were coached on “proper running mechanics” for a week, with a particular focus on “improving arm movement and cadence” to improve running efficiency. And while the runners did adapt their form, and reduced energy-sapping upper body movement, tests showed that they used more energy to do so and thus became less efficient.
And a 2016 meta-study, “Is There an Economical Running Technique?” reviewed whether an ideal stride could be built out of previous studies on individual aspects of running form but found mixed results and concluded that “recommending an economical running technique should be approached with caution.”
It did find areas where runners could improve efficiency, but they were subjective cues-no exact measurements could applied across runners-like a self-selected stride length (whatever is comfortable), a low vertical oscillation (don’t leap too high), and low muscle activation (of course using less muscle is more efficient!). Technique criteria that were conflicting or unknown: ground contact time, impact force, trunk lean, and foot strike pattern.
That meta-study also noted a particular piece of running gear with conflicting research: the shoe orthotic. That’s not to say shoe insert production should halted and arch supports tossed in landfills, but that they should only be used if they make you-again-more comfortable.
There’s yet another study that backs this up too. In 2001, Dr. Benno Nigg, founder of the University of Calgary Human Performance Laboratory, and his colleagues gave more than 100 military personnel the choice between six different inserts to wear in their boots during training-with the only guideline being, “take the one you like best,” Nigg says. “We didn’t say you have a high arch so you need a medial arch support. We just let them choose what felt good.”
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Another group of more than 100 didn’t get an insert. At the end of the trial period, the sample group who had chosen their insert based on comfort had 50 percent fewer injuries than the group without a choice. “It was unbelievable,” Nigg says. “That’s why my advice to people who run is this-go barefoot or wear shoes or heelstrike or midfoot strike or do whatever you like. If you are comfortable then it’s an indication that it’s good for you.”
Strengthen Your Stride
Thought there’s no technique to mirror, you can improve your efficiency, and comfort, by increasing your strength. “Instead of thinking, ‘you have to land like this,’ ask, ‘what are the things my body needs to be able to handle running?’” Nigg explains. By building strength, you increase your tolerance for what’s comfortable when you run, and will maintain your run signature longer before fatiguing and becoming susceptible to injury.
So instead of wasting time on technique drills, add these three simple moves from Brooks Beasts Track Club coach Danny Mackey to your routine. “Lateral box step ups with weight on shoulders is one of my favorites exercises because it addresses so many parts from our ankles to our hips and glutes,” he says. Take a 6-inch box to your right or left side, step up on the box slowly, and then hold a “high knee” position at the top of the exercise once you step on the box.
“I also like hip hikes and Pigeon Hip Extensions,” he adds. Both of these exercises strengthen multiple areas that are susceptible to weakness. Hip hikes are one of the best core-strengthening exercises that also increase glute, hip, and lower back strength, as well as stability. Pigeon Hip Extensions activate your glutes while releasing tight hip flexors-helping to prevent sore calves and knee injuries. Incorporate these exercises into your warm-up or cool-down about three to five days per week with 2 sets of 20 repetitions on each side, says Mackey.
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