5 Important Tips To Improve Your Running Form

Today we’re going to dive into running form!

When starting your journey, the main objectives should be getting acclimated to running and building a base mileage for yourself. So focus your running form on injury prevention. You can shift your form toward optimization and efficiency gains as you improve.

There are so many important components when it comes to having a good understanding of running form. Today we will be taking a quick look at five!

Good Posture

First up is good posture. This refers to staying long and tall! Make sure you are centered and stabilizing your core.

Running with good posture can not only increase running efficiency, but also open your airway so you can breathe easier. It can also reduce injuries to your lower back, knees and hips. That alone should make you want to run with better posture!

Foot Strike

Second on our list is foot striking! This refers to which part of your foot comes in contact with the ground first.

The most common foot strike is a rear foot strike, sometimes called a heel strike. Mid-foot and forefoot strikes are also pretty common. The rear foot strike is the most critiqued form.

Cadence

Third up is Cadence! This is the number of steps you take in one minute. Cadence is the first building block of speed. Most average runners are in the 150-170 range, but an ideal range is closer to 180.

You can find yours with most smart watches or by simply counting the number of steps you take in one minute. Check out this smart phone app called Cadence Trainer if you want to improve your speed!

Stride Length

Fourth on our list is stride length. This is the distance between successive ground contacts of the same foot. Think of this as the measurement of two steps forward.

Stride length is the second building block of speed. Cadence + stride length = speed! Increase one or the other and you increase your speed.

Rotational movement

Last but not least we have rational movement. This refers to your arm swing.

Runners can develop a tendency to swing their arms with rotational movement, which is counterproductive. You want your shoulders to stay grounded and your arms swinging forward and back without your shoulders jumping vertically.

Running form to start your journey

When starting out, your focus should be on building a running habit and increasing base mileage. Remember, injury prevention is the key in the beginning. We’ll optimize later.

And remember that we are all built differently.  We would never recommend anyone make drastic changes to their running form based on what is considered “correct” or “proper.”  If you choose to apply some of these principles, do so slowly and gradually.

If you want to take these 5 components to the test, sign up for our next race here!

And we’ll be taking a deeper dive into these five components in upcoming blogs so subscribe so you don’t miss out!