What does running form consist of?
In short, running form is the way you run. This includes everything from your posture to the movements of your individual limbs when running. As we are all built differently, there are innumerable different running forms - for this reason, it makes sense to investigate whether or not there is a particular running form that is advantageous.
In terms of running, there are certain focus areas regarding running form that are often looked at. We will go through them below in the article, but first, here is an overview of some of the most popular focus areas:
- Arm movements
- Hip movements
- Footstrike position (forefoot, midfoot or heel landing)
- Cadence and stride length
What is a good running form?
Before we delve into the specific focus areas, we should take a closer look at how to actually conclude whether or not a particular running form is "good" or "bad".
You can have many different reasons for running. Maybe you just run to keep yourself fit - maybe you want to improve. Depending on your motivation, there can be different reasons for why it may be interesting to look at your individual running form.
If you run for pleasure, or simply to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you might be interested in whether a certain running form reduces the risk of injury; seeing as you have to be free of injury to be able to keep up with your training!
If you run to get better/faster, it will likely be much more interesting to look at whether a particular running form gives you increased running efficiency - if you are able to improve your running efficiency, this means that you are able to use less oxygen at the same running pace, thus being able to run faster.
Running form and arm movements
Currently, very few studies have been done on the connection between arm movement and running.
The very function of the arms is to "straighten the running movement" and counteract the rotation you generate with the legs when you set off.
With such little knowledge of the topic, it seems that the very best movement pattern is in a "completely normal way", without exaggerating the movement.
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If you swing your arms excessively towards the centre or backwards, your running efficiency will be reduced.
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If you completely fail to swing your arms, your running efficiency will also be reduced! This is probably because you will likely have to rotate using your whole upper body, which is less efficient.
As for injury risks and arm movements, there is very little relevant knowledge to be found in studies on the topics!
Running form and hip movements
There is actually a surprisingly little amount of scientific knowledge about hip movement and running style!
In practice, this means that as a runner you can either choose not to worry about your hips, or, you can take a closer look at the advice given by prominent running professionals, trainers etc. - of course with the risk associated with following anecdotal and advice based on personal experience.
Intuitively, you might think that the hip is a very important focus area if you want to achieve an optimal running form – after all, it is a central element in the body! For this reason, you may be fooled into thinking that "wrong movements" at the hip will result in a lot of "wrong movements" in other elements of the chain of movement - i.e. both in the upper and lower body.
One of the few things that studies have been able to conclude is that it is beneficial to have a "suitable flexibility" in your hip movement. That is, a level of flexibility that enables you to run with ease and unhindered. If your individual ability to be flexible limits your running movement, then you will probably benefit from working on flexibility in your training. In relation to the hip, the ability to move the leg sufficiently forwards and backwards is what is worth noting.
Another study has shown that there may be a correlation between how much you "collapse" sideways towards the one hip upon ground impact and the risk of runner's knee - the greater strain you allow your hip to take, the greater the risk of contracting runner's knee. However, it is unclear whether this is due to a lack of hip/core strength, running form or something else entirely.
Footstrike position
Heel landing or forefoot running? The position of the foot upon ground landing is probably one of the most debated focus areas when it comes to running form. As a result, there are also significantly more studies done on this particular topic.
The conclusion of the majority of such studies is quite straightforward: There is simply no evidence that you can benefit from changing your running form one way or the other if the goal is to optimize your running efficiency.
As far as running injuries are concerned, there may be a few things to consider.
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A forefoot runner places more strain on the arch tendons, Achilles tendons and calf muscles.
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A heel runner places more strain on the shin musculature.
This means that you cannot control how much load you are exposed to when running by landing on your forefoot or heel, but importantly you can shift some the load from one area to another. If you are finding it challening that certain areas of your body are being overloaded, it may make sense to attempt to shift some of the load away from this area by adjusting your footstrike position.
Cadence and stride length
Cadence and stride length are two important parameters – together they define your running pace. For this reason, you are able to maintain a given pace by either adjusting your cadence or stride length.
Cadence is measured in number of steps per minute - typically both legs are counted, which means that the cadence is typically in a range of around 160-200 steps per minute.
Stride length is measured in metres, and is the distance from toe off to landing; in other words, how far you are in the air before you land and take your next step. The stride length is very dependent upon both running form and pace, but is typically somewhere in range of 0.8 and 1.5 meters - shorter stride lengths are seen at a slow pace, while the stride length may well exceed 2 meters when sprinting!
The optimal running cadence?
Seeing as you can adjust the cadence and stride length, it makes sense to look at whether or not there is an optimal cadence. For many years, many worked with the idea that the optimal cadence was 180 steps per minute. However, it later turned out that there are some important nuances, which are equally important to keep in mind.
There is a lot that suggests that runners are significantly better at adjusting cadence and stride length than previously thought. 180 steps per minute is probably still a pretty good rule of thumb, but studies show that runners naturally adjust towards an optimal cadence and stride length, and sticking with your natural cadence is likely your best bet!
References:
- Christopher J. Arellano, Rodger Kram; The metabolic cost of human running: is swinging the arms worth it? (2014)
- Saunders, P. U., Pyne, D. B., Telford, R. D., & Hawley, J. A. Factors Affecting Running Economy in Trained Distance Runners. Sports Medicine (2004)
- Louw M, Deary C. The biomechanical variables involved in the aetiology of iliotibial band syndrome in distance runners - A systematic review of the literature. (2014)
- Anderson LM, Bonanno DR, Hart HF, Barton CJ. What are the Benefits and Risks Associated with Changing Foot Strike Pattern During Running? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Injury, Running Economy, and Biomechanics (2020)
- Moore IS. Is There an Economical Running Technique? A Review of Modifiable Biomechanical Factors Affecting Running Economy. Sports Med. (2016)
- van Oeveren BT, de Ruiter CJ, Beek PJ, van Dieën JH. Optimal stride frequencies in running at different speeds. (2017)
- de Ruiter CJ, Verdijk PW, Werker W, Zuidema MJ, de Haan A. Stride frequency in relation to oxygen consumption in experienced and novice runners. Eur J Sport Sci. (2014)
- Hunter I, Lee K, Ward J, Tracy J. Self-optimization of Stride Length Among Experienced and Inexperienced Runners. Int J Exerc Sci. (2017)
