Running Style

neonman

Hi all, I've been looking into the correct running style for long distance running and from what I've found is that you should try and land on the balls of your feet to the middle section of your feet and not your heel as this can cause injury to the knee and other areas of the legs.

I wasn't 100% sure if I was landing heel first, but out on my last run I decided to concentrate on landing ball/mid foot while running. At the time I didn't notice any benefits and now my calf muscles are very sore today (ran Monday night).

Is this normal for this style of running and should it go after awhile running this way or am I doing it all wrong ??

I'm a noob to the running scene so trying to get a good running style from the get go which hopefully will stop injuries down the road.

Any advice would be great

RoyMcC

A large and contentious topic neonman, and you'll find lots of opinions out there. I'll content myself with saying that I think you're on the right track

neonman

RoyMcC wrote: »

A large and contentious topic neonman, and you'll find lots of opinions out there. I'll content myself with saying that I think you're on the right track

Thanks RoyMcC

dna_leri

There are as many styles of running as there are runners out there, almost. And many different opinions also about the correct running style.

It is not unexpected to get soreness (or even injury) when you try to change your running style as you are using muscles in different ways.

A good place to get more information is the Science of Sport website, in particular their series about Running Techinque:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/running-technique.html

Husavik

dna_leri wrote: »

There are as many styles of running as there are runners out there, almost. And many different opinions also about the correct running style.

It is not unexpected to get soreness (or even injury) when you try to change your running style as you are using muscles in different ways.

A good place to get more information is the Science of Sport website, in particular their series about Running Techinque:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/running-technique.html

That's a great link dna, thanks.

I read a couple of the articles and did not see this mentioned, that is drag on the footstrike. It was discussed in Runners World this month. A good runner, like a good swimmer, will have minimal drag or counterforce with each footstrike/stroke. I would suspect that running a slowly (8 min/mile up) on the forefoot would not only be uncomfortable but would likely create counterforce or momentary backward force.

So in addition to doing what feels right, it would be worth trying to have minimum drag with each strike.

neonman

dna_leri wrote: »

There are as many styles of running as there are runners out there, almost. And many different opinions also about the correct running style.

It is not unexpected to get soreness (or even injury) when you try to change your running style as you are using muscles in different ways.

A good place to get more information is the Science of Sport website, in particular their series about Running Techinque:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/running-technique.html

This is great thanks for the link. Couldn't go running tonight as my legs were still very sore. Hope to get out tomorrow evening all going well even for a light run.

yop

Did the same thing as you OP. Think it may have been the root cause to my knee (now hip) problems

We will see what happens

--amadeus--

I think that a lot of this is rooted in teh Chi running style. I'm trying to read teh book at the moment but it's hard going as I am very far from convinced by the medical information given (I need to go back and check this but I'm sure that in teh early part of teh book the author claims that there are no alveoli in the upper part of your lungs and thats why you need to belly breath )

As I understand it in Chi running you try and keep a straight posture but tilted forward at an angle from the ankles. You then lift your feet up behind you bringing them in to land on the ball / front of the foot but directly below your torso (think of the roadrunner cartoon).

The claimed advantage is that you are essentially always falling so gravity is doing all of teh work, you just pick your feet up to stay upright. To go faster you just lean more. As your feet land directly under you there is no braking effect as tehre is in a heel strike and so there are claimed lower stresses through the body. That, coupled with the claimed lower effort levels at a given pace, are said to reduce injury.

I haven't bought into it - the whole book is suffused with a 60s californian hippy glow and is based on teh movement of "chi" in teh body. And as I said teh scientific claims strike me as dubious. However ignoring that I could see how that style of running could reduce impact and so lessen the chance of some injuries. I know a lot of people swear by it. It does seem aimed at mid to back packers though (4 hour plus marathon)

If you are doing something like that though it would probably make sense to go to one of teh workshops and learn how to do it properly

T runner

neonman wrote: »

Hi all, I've been looking into the correct running style for long distance running and from what I've found is that you should try and land on the balls of your feet to the middle section of your feet and not your heel as this can cause injury to the knee and other areas of the legs.

I wasn't 100% sure if I was landing heel first, but out on my last run I decided to concentrate on landing ball/mid foot while running. At the time I didn't notice any benefits and now my calf muscles are very sore today (ran Monday night).

Is this normal for this style of running and should it go after awhile running this way or am I doing it all wrong ??

I'm a noob to the running scene so trying to get a good running style from the get go which hopefully will stop injuries down the road.

Any advice would be great

If you run on a slightly soft running surface like a beach it will help your running style. Often people start out with well cushioned runners running on the road. This causes them to have a slow leg turnover with heavy steps. The runners will cushion out any errors in form, and you will continue running incorrectly.

Taking heavy steps on the beach does not work and your body will immediately adjust to a lighter faster step.

For any road running you should wear runners as light as possible for you.
You want to feel the road a bit so you automatically adjust to a more efficient running style that doesnt hit the ground hard.

After 3-4 weeks of running you can do 6 strides after every 3rd run. These are 3/4 sprints running fast but relaxed that last about 100m. Recover after each one before doing the next.

These wont make you much fitter but they will increase your average speed for all your runs and will therefore make you more efficient.

pgmcpq

neonman wrote: »

I wasn't 100% sure if I was landing heel first, but out on my last run I decided to concentrate on landing ball/mid foot while running. At the time I didn't notice any benefits and now my calf muscles are very sore today (ran Monday night).

Is this normal for this style of running and should it go after awhile running this way or am I doing it all wrong ??

I am far from an expert here here, but changing to a mid foot strike is something I did gradually. I would transition between heel and mid foot strikes on a run if I felt under stress. I wouldn't be so keen on landing on the ball of my foot and coming down pretty evenly on the midfoot (less on the ball and more ball and behind the ball). Now I primarily run with a midfoot strike but will find myself landing on the heel as I tire and lose focus. Mid foot does stress the calves more than heel so that's not unexpected. I found strengthening my calves helped (e.g. walking on my toes for a while).

In short I'd suggest not making dramatic changes. Foot strike does not have to be an either or choice - I still change during runs to give different sets of muscles a break. Nor does it work for everyone - I'd be suspicious of anything that does not feel "right" after a little trial.

gerard65

Micheal Johnson - you'll never get anywhere with that running style, for God sake man, you look like your falling backwards, now, run proper or your out of here!

neonman

@pgmcpq
@T runner

Thanks for the replies, great advice.

aero2k

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I I haven't bought into it - the whole book is suffused with a 60s californian hippy glow and is based on teh movement of "chi" in teh body. And as I said teh scientific claims strike me as dubious. However ignoring that I could see how that style of running could reduce impact and so lessen the chance of some injuries. I know a lot of people swear by it. It does seem aimed at mid to back packers though (4 hour plus marathon)

If you are doing something like that though it would probably make sense to go to one of teh workshops and learn how to do it properly

Hi Amadeus,

I haven't read the book but I did do a workshop with Catherina McKiernan. Contrary to the bit in bold above, I think a lot of top runners follow the slight forward lean / midfoot strike / foot landing almost underneath style recommended. Have a look at these guys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r3_sKkHnTU
I think it's a bit like yoga, if you strip away all the funny breathing, chanting, and strange names for poses, it's a great way to increase flexibility.
Incidentally a recent race photo showed me with a horrendous heel strike, so it seems all thoughts of good technique go out the window when I'm tired or under pressure!