It has been said that running is the simplest thing there
is, all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. However, this
saying disregards the one thing that separates mankind from animals, our
ability to learn. It neglects the intricacies that comprise all movement
patterns and gives us little hope of improving beyond whatever our habitual
movement patterns are.
Whether you are new to running or have been a runner for
years, running form is the foundation of our sport and no doubt of interest to
you. If you want to know something about the ideal running form, how to stay
injury free or improve your performance there are numerous articles to be read
in books and on the internet. We can read for instance about “running tall,” in
other words good spinal alignment and head carriage, with a slight forward lean
of the whole column. We can read about
stride angles, a bent knee at mid-stance, not over striding and other basic
principles.
These universal principles of running form a sort of
roadmap, a set of ideals. Once we have the ideals, all we have to do is read
the books and go out and run applying the principles. Right? However, it is one
thing to study photos of elite runners and another thing entirely to imitate
their movement.
A recent article I
read showed clearly that even elite runners had deviations from each other and
from what might be considered “perfect” running form. It is true that all of
the elites in the article approached the ideal to a much greater degree than
the average runner. But, there were still differences. If the elites, some of
whom have coaches using the latest high tech equipment to analyze their form,
are not perfect, then perhaps it is not as simple as just reading a book. There
are billions of people in the world and not one of them has the same body.
There are differences in height, weight, and proportions. And to add to the
complexity each human being is capable of an infinite number of movement
variations and adjustments. We have to ask not only what perfect running form
is, but what perfect running form is for each individual. How do we apply the
basic principles to each physique?
If we think about the principle of good spinal alignment,
then we have to ask what is good alignment for me. It has been said that
whether someone does something well or poorly it is the same if they do not
know how they are doing it. I hope it is becoming clear that learning to use
one’s body well is actually an intricate and ongoing process. How we do things is as important as doing
them. It has also been said about the learning process that “If we know what we
are doing, then we can do what we want.” (Moshe Fledenkrais)
My conclusion from all this is that there is no perfect
running form because there is no end to learning. After running for years we
can continue to learn and improve, and we can by learning re-form old movement
patterns that we thought we had lost, or overcome nagging injuries.
