Does having good form even matter?

Form doesn't matter over 800m

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFbgyBOJCqM

Just look at that form

Why does good form only matter for short distances? Wouldn't bad form only get magnified as the distance gets longer?

form form wrote:

Why does good form only matter for short distances? Wouldn't bad form only get magnified as the distance gets longer?

Because you need good form to go fast. Short distances require speed, long distances don't.

Bolt couldn't get a world record if he nodded his head while running.

but lets say a marathoner bounces two inches with every step. Think of how much distance he is going up and down over the course of a marathon compared to what a sprinter would be doing. I assume this forum meant all aspects of form and not just foot strike and head bobble.

312Runner wrote:

Years ago I heel striked. I had shin splints and other injuries all the time. Then I started running with a midfoot strike, landing under my center of mass and having a slight forward lean.

Paces dropped, injuries disappeared, mileage increased. That's all that matters to me. Your results may vary.

Or maybe you just got fitter...

You know, I have known so many crappy runners who spend way too long worrying about form and mechanics and this and that... Meanwhile, I just log miles and crush workouts and have a had a great career. Could I have run faster with perfect form? Probably, but maybe I wouldn't have worked as hard logging miles and crushing workouts if I was spending 30 minutes a session doing barefoot strides in the grass to work on perfect form.

I think you need to nail the important stuff first, and if you cannot stay healthy, maybe form is important, but most of the time the important stuff is going to be logging miles and crushing workouts.

All I know is that I was able to get a full ride to my school of choice while heel striking. I do not have a conference or NCAA title, but I am happy with my career. Now I am closing in on 40 and have - knock on wood - stayed healthy and continue to run daily. I may heel strike, but I can heel strike a sub 2:30 marathon. While I can no longer run sub 30 in the 10k, I once ran sub 30 on my heels in the 10k.

Just run and try to stay healthy. If you have some sort of injury problem, do some therapy and work on form. If you're otherwise healthy, get out there and spend time logging miles and crushing workouts. Otheriwse you're just polishing the chrome on a junkyard scrap pile.

You sound like you're 16 years old .... 'crushing workouts'. Right.

Wether he is 16 or 40 it does seem that there are a lot more important things than form. It seems that doing proper training and getting enough sleep and eating healthy are just as, if not far more important.

Paula lets her head roll about, but her actual running form is very good.

If you watch the video you can see she has little sideways movement below her neck, keeps her arms swinging helping to maintain her momentum, relaxed shoulders and her stride doesn't shorten too much towards the end of the race.

Isn't Paula considered one of the most economic runners of all time?