Is a forward lean more efficient in distance running?

Firstly, faster than his brothers?

And yes, if you think about it, an upright runner is lifting their knee upwards, a forward leaning runner is lifting their knee forward. However, you will have a slower cadence due to the fact that the foot has further to go when moving backwards. If you have long legs then it is probably better to lean forward as you need to utilise the length of the step whereas if you are short you want to be more efficient.

Interesting Training wrote:

Firstly, faster than his brothers?

And yes, if you think about it, an upright runner is lifting their knee upwards, a forward leaning runner is lifting their knee forward. However, you will have a slower cadence due to the fact that the foot has further to go when moving backwards. If you have long legs then it is probably better to lean forward as you need to utilise the length of the step whereas if you are short you want to be more efficient.

Yeah, that makes sense. I did notice that. To re-phrase what I said, he is MUCH faster than his brothers for his age. He is currently 6 seconds away from his oldest brother who ran the Norwegian record, yet much younger.

A healthy forward lean comes with a strong core and good cadence- it's a side effect of two things that make you faster

A forward lean also comes from not listening to bad American advice like "run tall".

I suggest looking into 'POSE' method (pronounced PO-ZAY). Let gravity do the work! Good luck!

Lean forward a the ankle, not the hips.