Perfect Stride for XC

a long sride is always nice, but whatever comes natural is what one must deal with.

Well, i have a pretty mild stride. It's not like doing the splits or anything, but it isn't like my feet are stuck together.

Another question would be, how can you practice getting the stride you wish, or improve your stride?

I would focus more on stride frequency than stride length. Running around 180 strides per minute is optimal for distance running.

If you try to run with a long stride you'll most likely end up over striding and that's where injuries will start popping up.

The only thing I know is that I have been told to use shorter strides with a lower knee lift going uphill instead of powering up a hill.

"To the max" is absolutely correct. It has been a long standing running myth that a long stride is good. I, personaly, had delt with a bad coach (he tried, but he just didn't know anything about running. He was a basketball player) and other runners telling me I needed to open up my stride becuase my legs were so long (35 inch inseam). Well, in order to do that, i had to slow down to a ridiculous 70 rpm (140 steps a minute).

Conventional wisdom has put 90 rpm to be ideal, and it is actually faster than what most people run. A quicker cadence will make you more efficient and less likely to injure yourself (less pounding).

There are excersizes to help improve stride efficiency, but you'll really need to see those in person. Striders, high knees, and butt kickers are some common ones. I try to do them every day. Keep on the lookout for these types of excersizes in magazines or find a coach who knows what they are.

-B

2 good runners to view on video for x-c would be:

Bekele: He hovers over the hills. There is very little vertical motion of his hips going up hill, flat, down hill. His stride rate has to be quite high to enable that and he is running right over his weight (center of gravity) but that just brings out an average push off (efficient).

Kipchoge: Is a power strider, very good snap on every push. Slightly more vertical motion than Bekele, but way more power output with every stride. Perfectly straight line from the hips, knees, ankles (no sideways movement lost at all- full power transfer).

Both require a lot of balance, feeling of where you weight (center of gravity is). You have to really feel your way through your drills. Some people get a lot more out of drills just by not going through the motions, but actually try to feel how to apply those bloody drills to the running.

HS Chica wrote:

What would the perfect stride be for a XC running girl? I've been hearing a bunch of different things. And how would i be able to achieve getting that stride, like what exercises can i do to practice?

Thanks

Huh! Well, this has to do a little more with upper-body mechanics, but my friend and I were working with a kid (7th grader) and her friend at the 'Y' track just this past week on form (she ran with her head and chest (and arms) constricted so far forward we were half expecting her to sock herself in the face). Some principles we tried to instill (anyone please correct me if I am off on any of these!!)...

Maintain the hips, torso, chest, and head sufficiently 'tall' and relaxed. 'Relax-open' the chest and spine (should facilitate easier breathing for one). Shoulders sink down some, not forward or to the back. Head gently sits atop its perch, and not tilted to a side. Face and hands relaxed. An analogy I like to use, partially drawn from "The Way of Qigong": imagine yourself for a moment a marionette suspended by a puppeteer, the primary string attached to the top (and very slightly to the back) of your head. Now imagine yourself being lightly raised upward by the crown, effortlessly dangling 'tall' (gentle stretched-out feeling head-to-soles-of-feet, spine supple) and wisping along the surface of the ground. Then allow yourself to gently sink down easily to earth, but maintain some of the 'tallness' and open feeling while running or walking. Be light on the feet. You should feel centered and balanced, and easier breathing facilitated. The exercise has strong elements of body awareness and requires conscious practice and patience.

Shifting gears somewhat: during very fast running, have your arm levers really working for you (downward drive in particular) (this will help cycle the legs), good knee drive and snappy turnover, and don't overtense face, shoulders, hands! (tense these and it'll set-off a lightning rod effect). Relaxed hands and face in general - a trick a coach taught me is to imagine yourself gently holding a brittle stick in each hand, and with each arm cycle attempting to softly poke yourself in the eye. It's good if your hands come across the body a bit, BUT not excessively, and be aware not to pull the shoulders very much across. When your training is a little more specific: the best runners practice running fast and sustaining form when they are tired.

We didn't get into anything like drills, calisthenics, even weights or plyos, and maybe should have mentioned these in some way. But anyway the kid (upper-body mechanics at least) did look appreciably better.