hold on back up wrote:
I don't know...check out Lagat from 2:55 to 3:06 in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c-bI5Ui5OEThe right leg really looks like it's coming in over the midline to me. Btw I chose this clip because (1) I notice it more when he is running slower, so I tried to find a U.S. championship race, (2) I notice it more from head on, so I was trying to find a nice long view of that.
Very good clip. If I could put it into QuickTime, I could try to give a more detailed opinion, but it's still a nice angle and clear shot, so see if my eyes are picking up the right things. At around 3:00, Lagat begins to swing out towards lane 2 and runs on the lane line for a few steps. As you said, he appears to come very close to the midline of his body. If there were a string in the middle of the lane line, he looks like he could almost touch it with the inside of his foot. The other guy in the tri video would stomp on that string.
Even though his feet swing in a little, they don't seem to ever crossover. This video -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeE75Oj1lnQ - isn't straight on, but again gives the impression that both feet don't crossover, even when he's just jogging. The athlete in blue in the first video is giving a tremendous effort, but his stride pattern doesn't allow him to deliver a great deal of force through the ground like the New Zealander who runs by him.
Coaching high school, it's common to see kids with a severe crossover gait like the guy in blue. Some go all the way over to the other side of their body with the stance foot. It's very hard for that kid to be fast, and to stay injury free. The crossover is usually combined with a great deal of hip movement side to side and up and down. The arms also tend to swing more across the body and the elbows protrude out. Sometimes, even the head moves side to side for balance. Guys like Lagat (and Armstrong) have excellent strength in their glute medius and have minimal inefficient movement.