Good Form Running Clinic

Last night, I went to the Good Form Running clinic at SWAT, presented by Rob Lillie, Gazelle Sports' store manager.  A lot of the Choose to Lose participants were there, and I hope they got as much out of it as I did!  Rob was entertaining and informative, and I left feeling like I had the tools to improve my running and possibly avoid further injury.

Rob explained that GFR was developed to help people move over the ground more effectively.  As Rob put it, "Running is no fun if you're beat up."  That's how I have felt most of the last year - beat up.  With tendinitis in my left foot, capsulitis in my right foot, and now a diagnosis of arthritis in my right knee (and I'm betting my left knee too...it has some of the same symptoms, but I haven't had an MRI on that one), I need to do everything I can to protect myself if I want to keep running and avoid more "-itis" of any kind!  Rob explained that a lot of running injuries, such as tendinitis and IT band syndrome, come from poor form (although, I'm pretty sure my genetic hypermobility contributes as well).

There are four parts to GFR: posture, lean, midfoot strike, and cadence.  I'll explain those (as best as I remember!) below.


1. Posture:  You want to keep your body moving forward.  This sounds obvious, but often, when we're out of alignment while running, that is what causes injuries.  Keep your arms swinging forward and back, keep your head up looking at the horizon, and squeeze your abs and butt to stay tall.  Rob gave us a trick to use while we are out running, which he calls RESET.  To reset, stretch your arms up as high above your head as you can.  Your body will automatically squeeze those posture muscles to do this.

2. Lean:  If you lean slightly forward while running, you'll learn to use gravity to help move your body forward.  This is just a slight lean - usually only a few degrees.  To practice this, lean against wall at home (facing wall, hands in front of you) and then let go- how far can you comfortably lean without putting your hands on the wall and without falling?  This is about the lean your should have during your runs.

3. Midfoot Strike:  One of the biggest issues we have is striking on our heels, which can cause injuries.  Try just hopping and landing on your heels - not a very natural move, right?  It's hard to keep your balance!  Try the same thing on your toes - easier, but still not as natural.  Then try it landing on your midfoot.  This is where you want your foot to strike when you're running.  To practice, hop from one foot to the other, getting your knee up and landing on your midfoot. 

4. Cadence:  Rob said cadence is the most important part of GFR.  Basically, you want to increase the number of steps you take per minute.  This does not necessarily mean you'll go faster right away; it means you'll have a shorter stride and take more steps (the shorter stride also helps with midfoot strike).  More steps and a shorter gait leads to less time during each stride to fall out of good posture.  It also recruits your biggest muscles (quad and hamstring), keeping you in alignment and helping to prevent injury.  For running, your goal is somewhere around 160-180 strides per minute.  There are a few different ways to practice this.  You could run for 30 seconds, counting your steps on one foot.  If you multiply that number by 4, you'll get your strides per minute.  Repeat this, trying to increase the number each time.  Another way is to run from one point to another, counting the number of strides you take.  Repeat this distance, the next time trying to increase your number of strides.   When out for a run, try counting your steps for 30 seconds out of every five minutes; eventually, your body will develop muscle memory.

Rob said a great place to start practicing GFR is on hills - you can't heel strike on a hill because of the incline.  He also said a byproduct of being efficient while running is that you'll be faster eventually, though that is not necessarily the goal for GFR.  Rob also discussed the Galloway method, saying that's a great way to get into running.

I know Gazelle offers GFR clinics on Wednesdays (6-7:15 pm, I think) - I highly recommend it to anyone interested in improving their running or walking form!