Status report: I skipped the Club Champs because I’m having lingering knee-ache issues. I’m giving it a few more days.
In the meantime, though, I came upon some stuff on running form. In an earlier post I linked to some super-slo-mo videos from Boston. The source is Pete Larson, who has a nice blog (I’ve added the link), and has a couple of pieces derived from Alberto Salazar’s recent comments about running form. Larson’s an evolutionary biologist so he looks at these matters in a scientific manner. He just posted a piece entitled “On Running Form; Variability in Elites, and What it Means to You (and Me).”
Steve Magness is a very fast runner who also writes good stuff on running in his “Science of Running” blog. He posted a piece, “How to Run: Running with proper biomechanics.” (I’ve made a couple of comments there.)
In the end, what does it mean? Damned if I know.
RunWestchester 
3 comments
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August 9, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Flo
Wow, like a pig in shit, a kid in a candy shop, a runner in heaven… Thanks for the fabulous links, Joe!
August 10, 2010 at 6:32 am
Ewen
Thanks Joe. Enjoyed Larson’s piece – also the one from Steve Magness (which is a little harder to work through). My take is that it means there is variability in the best form for the individual. The very fastest tend to run with similar form (for example, the sub-13 5000m men), but their form when running fast is not the same as when jogging 8 minute miles in a warm-up. Runners who race at slower than, say, 5:30 miles would have the greatest variation in form. After all, it’s possible to run backwards at 5:30 miles!
I’d say Salazar is looking for the last few percent gain from “perfect” running form. I’m very much looking forward to how Ritzenhein goes in NYC. Also Goucher when she races again.
August 10, 2010 at 9:26 am
ny wolve
Thanks. This piece is particularly apropos for me given that I have been thinking about it a lot lately. Unfortunately, as highlighted by your posts, there does not seem to be a consensus as to heel strike/mid foot strike debate.
I have resigned myself to becoming the best I can be within my limitations. As Ewen suggests, maybe to optimize speed, I could change form dramatically, but I have so many other things to worry about before I try to optimize speed to gain that last 3-5% that I have tried to focus on those.
Of course I am equally interested in running form to prevent injury, and there is even less consensus on that.
One other very interesting place that discusses this in detail is over at “The Science of Sport” blog. They have examined the footstrike issue and also have a six part series on barefoot running, which is incredibly insightful and I consider to be the definitive survey on the issue. As for footstrikes, they discuss different foot strike patterns to try to draw conclusions, and surprise, there is little consensus, either in literature or in observing elites. Try http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/04/running-technique-footstrike.html
For the “Science of Sports” series on barefoot running vs. shoes check out the posts at:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/search/label/running%20technique
And I really liked the link to the running drills for older runners.