The most important factor influencing running form, according to researchers, is how fast you’re running.ABRAHAM GONZALEZ FERNANDEZ/Getty Images
Running may be the simplest of all sports, but it’s surprisingly hard to escape the feeling that you’re doing it “wrong” – that you’re bouncing too much or too little, say, or holding your arms at an odd angle, or landing on the wrong part of your foot.
Such worries are likely misplaced, according to a new review in the journal Sports Medicine led by Aurélien Patoz of the University of Lausanne and the Volodalen sports science laboratory in Switzerland. A mounting pile of evidence suggests that there is no universally ideal running stride that everyone should emulate, according to Patoz. Instead, the challenge is figuring out a way of running that works for your body and your goals.
The illusion of the perfect stride
There are two main arguments against the idea of an ideal running stride. One is that experienced runners self-optimize automatically. If you measure how much energy a runner takes to maintain a given pace, then ask them to consciously change something – stride length, step frequency, forward lean, foot strike – they almost invariably become less efficient.
That’s true even if the runner appears to have obvious deficiencies. In fact, a 2020 study asked 121 veteran running coaches to rank five runners from most to least efficient based on video footage. The results were no better than random chance. When it comes to running form, the “eye test” is ineffective.
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The other clue stems from the remarkable diversity of movement patterns that you’ll find in any given group of runners, even at big competitions such as the Olympics. When you test runners in a lab, the most efficient ones don’t have any particular running style in common, suggesting that there are many ways to run well depending on individual factors such as the length of your limbs and the flexibility of your joints.
Why speed matters
The most important factor influencing running form, according to the researchers, is how fast you’re running.
Running researchers often conceptualize the body as a ball connected to the ground by a spring. That’s because your legs function as springs, storing energy with each stride as your tendons stretch, then releasing that energy as the tendons snap back to help power the next stride. By some estimates, about half the energy you need to take a step is provided by elastic energy recycled from the previous step.
The ideal spring-like runner will have a bouncy up-and-down stride, stiff tendons that store lots of energy and a short ground contact time, meaning that the foot pushes off the ground quickly. They will likely land on the middle or front of their foot.
While this model has dominated running science for decades, Patoz and his colleagues argue that it’s most appropriate for sprinting and fast running.
Slower runners, even elite competitors in long distances such as marathoners and ultramarathons, tend to be less springy. Their feet stay on the ground for longer, they often land on their heels, and they store less energy in their tendons. Instead of elastic energy, their steps are fuelled primarily by muscle power.
How to (slowly and subtly) adjust your stride
Most people lie somewhere between the extremes of a springy Olympic sprinter and a muscle-driven ultramarathoner, both by nature and in the speed of running they aspire to do. Whether you’d like to move toward one end of the spectrum or the other depends on your goals.
Patoz and his colleagues are skeptical of the benefits and feasibility of trying to adjust specific components of your stride, such as ground contact time or step frequency.
Instead, they suggest training in ways that favour either elasticity or strength. Plyometric exercises such as drop jumps and hops boost tendon elasticity; resistance exercises such as squats build strength to support a more endurance-oriented stride.
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They also suggest taking a more holistic approach using “outcome-focused” imagery. For faster running, think of yourself as a bouncy spring, imagining the ground as a trampoline and your tendons stretching and snapping back like elastic bands.
For longer, slower running, think of yourself as a rolling wheel, flowing smoothly over the ground and pushing forward through your toes.
Or, if you prefer, you can just daydream – because there’s a good chance that you’re already running exactly how your body wants to.
Alex Hutchinson is the author of The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map.
