Jack Daniels Calculator wrote:
In a follow-up post, I will provide some info on proper running technique, which is important info for beginners and/or joggers with some running experience.
Regarding technique, I will first drop some comments from World Record Setter Gordon Pirie, and then I will follow-up this post with an excellent exercise to practice proper running technique.
As Gordon Pirie stated in his book (written before he passed away),
"It is important that a runner uses correct technique from the very first to the very last step of every run. The coach must begin teaching proper technique before any hard training is attempted. It is never too late to begin running correctly, no matter how long you have been running improperly. You can change! Running technique must be viewed as a skill and must be practiced like any other skill until it is mastered, and becomes second nature.
"Most people who begin to run, either competitively or for health reasons, believe that all they need to know is the location of the nearest running shoe store. They dash out, pay a large sum of money for the latest running shoes, and start running. Most - about 70 percent according to medical statistics - will be injured before they have broken in their new high-tech footwear, their legs usually being affected first. This injury cycle will continue unchecked until the runner either quits in frustration, or is forced to do so because he or she is too crippled to continue.
"There is no point in running large distances until the athlete has learned to run correctly. I cannot emphasize this point enough. An athlete who runs correctly can train hard for years without any time lost to stress-related injuries.
"Bill Toomey, the 1968 Olympic Decathlon Champion from the United States, made video tapes of 100 champion runners in Montreal in 1976 in order to evaluate their technique. It is common-sense to assume that the best athletes in the world (those who consistently place highly in major championships) share common technical traits. All of the athletes filmed by Toomey used the same basic technique - the same technique I use, and teach to my athletes. The athletes filmed by Toomey all landed on the forefoot. None of the 100 landed heel-first!
"The best way to begin injury prevention is to learn correct technique and practice it constantly. A computer study of pressures on the foot during running indicated that the highest pressure and "wear and tear" zones were at the front and ball of the foot, and beneath the toes. Certainly, when one runs on the beach, one notices that the sand is dug up by the toes. The ball of the foot makes a strong print, while only a soft indentation is made by the heel.
"The champion runners, who all have to run correctly, do not make much noise when their foot lands. When the fastest runner runs, he is very quiet on his feet. Excessive foot noise indicates that you are striking the ground instead of caressing it. You are dissipating energy which should be utilised in propelling yourself forward. This shows bad timing. The force to drive you forward should only be applied after the foot has settled on the ground completely. Striking the ground, especially with the heel, causes trauma and makes the runner susceptible to injury.
"The nerves conveying tactile sensation from the foot are predominantly located in the forefoot. When the ball of the foot touches the ground, these nerves "alert" the muscles of the legs, which involuntarily react to absorb the shock of landing. If a person hits the ground heel-first, this reaction of the leg muscles will be considerably less, and consequently more shock will be experienced at the point of contact of the foot, and be transmitted to the bones of the leg. This jarring is guaranteed eventually to cause injury to the ankle, knee and/or hip joints.
"It is therefore important that a runner lands on the forward portion of the foot, with the knee slightly bent, and with the foot placed beneath the body. By doing so, the runner will make use of the body's own efficient shock absorbers - the arch of the foot, the calf muscles, and the quadriceps muscles in the thighs - and in this way reduce the stress experienced by the heel, shin bone, knee joint, thigh bone and hip joint. It is these areas which are stressed the most when the heel strikes the ground.
"If a runner is making full use of his feet and legs as shock absorbers, he will make little if any noise when he runs, even on the steepest downhill stretches, because there is no vertical pounding of the feet and legs into the ground. The body will not crash down on the foot, but will pass smoothly over it. For most runners, the timing of this action does not come naturally and takes a good deal of practice. Close attention needs to be paid to correct technique from the outset. A runner must be as concerned about proper technique as a field-event performer or a hurdler. Hurdlers do not go over the barriers two legs at a time, because that technique is too slow. They work constantly at removing even tiny technical flaws, just as a flat runner must. It may be slow-going at first, but the pay-off will be months and years of injury-free running. "