The Key to Running Fast is Behind You

The key to fast running is behind us… Now that is a clickbait headline if I’ve ever written one. What does that mean? Has our chance of being fast runners passed? Are we condemned to plodding along at unimpressive speeds at our local half marathon, Hyrox or the run leg of the local triathlon? Nope. The key to running speed is literally behind us. In our hamstrings.

The biggest difference we can see in the running form of a world-class runner and a weekend jogger is where the emphasis of their running stride is placed. Joggers run as if they are doing a series of jumps, from one leg to the other. They land heavily, absorb the impact and then PUSH off again to start the next ‘jump’. World-class runners glide across the surface of the road or track, stretching their foot forwards as far as they can but then impacting the ground with their foot already going backwards, making contact and then PULLING themselves over their foot. There is very little up and down oscillation as we can see in a jogger. Their hips, shoulders and heads seem to travel forwards in a smooth line while their legs work underneath them like the circular animation of the cartoon road runner.

Not only is this efficient running technique less of an impact on joints and connective tissue, it is way faster. If the application of force of a jogger’s technique could be graphically represented we would be able to see that not all application of force is in the correct direction for travelling forwards. I am no scientist but it is fairly obvious, even to me, that the correct direction for force to be applied on the tarmac in order to drive us forwards, is in the opposite direction, backwards. The series of bounds or jumps of the jogger mean that there is at best a force acting downwards on the road at the moment of impact by the foot but in many cases, it is actually pushing forwards, against the direction of travel. So, the jogger is actually braking and slowing themself down as the foot strikes the ground, losing some momentum and of course, wasting valuable energy, before the next jump begins.

How do we correct this? The first thing to acknowledge is, the longer we have been doing something a certain way, in this case the incorrect or at best, less efficient way, the longer it will take to relearn it. So, it is going to take patience, persistence and, above all else, consistency. We need a period of training where we are not concerned with any events. No time goals or pace targets. We want to spend at least 4-6 weeks focusing on technique and strengthening our posterior chain. That is the: Hamstrings; calves and glutes.

Every run we do we want to focus on our technique and posture. This can be mentally exhausting as well as physically. We may enjoy a nice run on a scenic route where we can clear out mind and destress but this is not the time for that. We are trying to improve the way that we run and this is going to require focus. In the future we will be able to enjoy those ‘zen runs’ but they will just be a lot faster.

To correct our running posture there are a few simple cues:

• Run tall – Just as in our day-to-day posture we don’t want to slouch. Chin up, neck in the line of our spine which is straight with our shoulders square.
• Forward lean – This may seem counterintuitive to the first point but we are not bending at the waist to lean forward. We are leaning our whole body from our ankles to the top of our heads so that there is a straight line to be drawn through our central axis. We then lean slightly forwards as if we are a tall tree that has been cut down and has started falling.
• Arms back, chest out – The predominant movement of our arms during the running stride is thrusting the elbows back with the forearms parallel to the ground. We don’t swing excessively forwards and definitely not across the body. This will result in the chest pushing forwards as if preparing to break the finishing tape. Not only will this improve posture but, as a happy side-effect, our breathing will be easier.

All of this will produce a foot-strike below our centre of gravity. No need to stress too much about this. Actually, being overly worried about where our foot hits the ground can cause bad posture as we are looking to close to our feet. We want to be looking up the road which will then result in a raised head and a more upright posture.

Every time our foot hits the ground we must focus on a soft impact, as if we are sneaking up on someone. We then want to immediately engage the back of our leg and pull the foot back against the surface of the road. We then drive the foot back as far as our hip flexibility allows while driving the other leg forwards. Our quads do not enter our thoughts. We are not worrying about the speed that we are running during this period so, we should shorten our strides and pick up our cadence and run with quick, soft footfalls.

Depending on how efficiently we used to run, this could place an unaccustomed load on our hamstrings, which will protest. If we feel stiff and even a bit tender in the days that follow starting to focus on improving our running form, it is a good sign that we are doing something right.

While we are quietly running around our neighbourhoods focusing on propelling ourselves forwards we should also be hitting the gym and strengthening the muscles in our posterior chain. There are a multitude of exercises that work these muscles and it is a good idea to vary our weight training regime as much as possible. Once we have adapted to the weight training and the initial stiffness and soreness has dissipated, we can start adding plyometric work which is more explosive and will mimic the running action more closely.

While we are in the gym we might as well work on improving the range of motion through our hips as well. An increased ability to extend through the hips at the back of our running stride will mean a longer stride and more ground covered with every step. Maintaining our usual cadence means more speed. Simple!

4-6 weeks of this kind of focus will start ingraining the technique and posture and we will have to think less and less about it. Increasing the strength in the working muscles, both in the gym and on the road will also encourage the body to utilise them correctly. It will always be a good idea to focus a bit on our technique throughout our running careers but this can be limited to specific sessions like intervals and track work. The rest of our running can return to the mind-clearing, flowy, zen state if you are into that, but you will just have to alter your routes because you will be covering more ground in the same amount of time.