Focus on improving your basic running technique and your speed will soar

WORDS: TINA CHANTREY

When runners are in the zone we feel invincible. We see ourselves gliding gracefully over the ground, arms driving in perfect parallel, face relaxed and happy. Then, with our race finished, we go on social media and someone has tagged us in a picture and we see how we really look when we run. Usually shocking! All those feel-good feelings go plummeting down to our throbbing feet as we see ourselves bent over, arms flailing, hands flapping.

Most of us think we look like the legendary greats when we run. The relaxed stride and high heel kick of Haile Gebrselassie. The beautiful neutral head, relaxed shoulders and forefoot strike of Tirunesh Dibaba. Surely, we look a bit like these masters?

The reality is our heads often look down, our shoulders may slouch forwards, our arms swing across our bodies, we slap down with our feet and shuffle our straight, not bent, legs. While it’s fair to say there’s no one ‘perfect’ way to run, recognising these flaws, and trying to improve our technique so we run skilfully, is the first step to becoming a stronger and better runner.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE

Runners come in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to achieve a so-called perfect running technique; we all have those annoying friends with worse styles that are faster than us, and there are plenty of elite athletes with unconventional styles. As a coach, I want all my runners to keep running into old age. Improving your basic skills will help ensure this. That said, I’m just as guilty as the next runner. I heel strike. I used to look like an old person, hunched over, until a stint at the Running School helped me re-find good posture, work on high shoulders, a neutral head and moving my arms backwards/ forwards, not across my body.