How to run

Over the last few years I have read loads of information about efficient running - some of it has been genuinely useful for me, other sources would have been useful twenty years ago, and some of it is useless!

However, some online resources are so good I just keep going back to them, and these are the ones I really want to share with people who ask me about running.  After a while you start to realise that certain key messages keep being offered by lots of resources, and I list these so they can be used as a checklist for anyone who wants to improve their running form.  There are some videos that are just plain inspiring as well.

I am very aware that most people don't want to research as much as me, and so I have listed resources in order of importance; if you want just one good resource watch the video by Mark Cucuzella and go no further.  If you enjoy it, read on down. Of course you may have your own running style or school of thinking about running form, but these have worked for me.  I am not professionally trained, or an expert other than having spent far too much time on the laptop when I should be out running, and I daresay other people will offer totally different viewpoints, but like I said, they work for me.

So, here we go!

The first is the following video - I can't find a better model of good running technique along with clear identification of key areas to focus on.  I know not many people want to run barefoot, and he does look scarily fast, but watch this a few times, memorise the messages and I promise you will be faster and more efficient.

This next video outlines some of the exercises that come from the Alexander Technique school of running.  It may not be a complete programme but it does give you an idea of this technique. I am interested in how similar the messages are to the first video.

OK - the next most important resource is the Kinetic Revolution website.  This is run by James Dunne and is a comprehensive resource for all sorts of exercises etc.  Click on 'Resources' for a million videos and discussions. You can sign up for a daily newsletter that usually includes a video on some exercise or another - I love it. The discussions are well-researched and I particularly like the way he starts with 'Hey team...' and ends with 'let me know how you get on'.  I sent him a question and he replied!  There is also a 30 day challenge, which I did start but failed to complete.

http://www.kinetic-revolution.com/ 

You can also be on his Facebook group - loads of ideas there

From these sources and a few others I have gleaned the following set of areas to focus on.  I wish I had known these years ago; perhaps I would be running injury-free now.

1.  Stand and run tall, straight body but leaning forward slightly.  Imagine a piece of string attached to the top of your head and pulling you up into the sky

2.  Active knee drive forward - look at Mark Cucuzella doing it

3.  Aim for short ground contact time, and run light.  Think about running on egg shells

4.  Core and hips need to be strong and flexible - James Dunne offers some excellent exercises; or go to yoga!  

5.  Strong Glutes.  Again, look at Kinetic Revolution, but actually a good running stance will activate the glutes more effectively anyway.

6.  180 steps per minute - I have a metronome app on my phone.  This feels quite fast and you may not manage it, not everyone works at 180bpm.

7.  The leading foot needs to land under your mass, not in front.  You should hit the ground with a slightly bent knee and avoid a long stride out front that casues you to recoil against the direction you are trying to travel.

8.  Heel-striking is so 1980's!  Aim to land on the mid-foot and roll onto the fore, driving off with the ball of the foot.

9. Elbows bent at 90 degrees, slightly diagonal (nip to hip!), and driving the arm back like a sort of chopping motion.  

My advice to anyone starting running would be to choose one of these points to work on rather than all at the same time.  Go for a technique run once a week where you concentrate on running form.

So, visualisation and conditioning - when out running you will run like you think you should run.  If you visualise Stallone in Rocky with that boxer's shuffle and Eye of the Tiger playing, that is how you will run.  Instead, look at the first video and memorise the feeling.  Or watch this;

Yeah yeah, I know he is the fastest man in the universe, but who better to learn from?

Ok - inspiration;

Vertical Kilometer - how mad do you have to be?  Kilian Jornet gets beaten in this vid;

Barkley 100 - why would you?

I read Bernd Heinrich's book years ago - he pretty much invented sports drinks, and his impassioned evaluation of running is very emotional.

I bet there are a million other videos that have a similar effect on you - please leave their details for me!

I hope all this is helpful.

Taormina, Sicily

Sometimes you set out and after a short while you know that this is 'the one'. This is a run to be remembered and possibly even written about so others may have a small taste - like bringing home wine from your holiday and sharing it with a friend. Actually, not like that because the wine you bring home never tastes the same; removed from the context it only provides a bit of the story and the magic is often gone. However, we do seem to want to share our experiences, like setting up a little show of holiday snaps for people to sit through; as they surreptitiously top up their glass to make the time go quicker.
So, with Karin safely ensconced in our (5 star, get us) hotel, painting her nails with the new varnish from the shop in via Umberto and getting ready to have a nap, I threw on the robo-brace and my trainers and headed up. Actually that is pretty much what I did - I ran uphill, turned round and came down again.

The path to Madonna Della Rocca was the start; a processional path that edged its way up the cliff using steps and handrails with sculptures of the stations of the cross at every bend. The air was crisp and warm and I took it steady; an earlier run had emphasised the steepness.  The hillside was decorated with spring flowers and huge cacti, and a glance back offered a hazy sea that gave hints of the sand beneath through variations in colour. It wasn't long before I was having to breathe deeply and the heat started to cut through the morning.

A very brief look at the view from Madonna Della Rocca, avoiding the curious stares of tourists clutching their cameras, children and cigarettes, and on to Castelmola. This village sits on top of a rock like a hairstyle and cars need to take a convoluted zigzag route to the ancient buildings at the top. The path was equally challenging and steep enough to be stepped all the way.
I arrived at the cosy little square at the top and was forced to walk through the groups of people gazing at the view, the traffic policewoman looking suitably nonplussed - at least I didn't give her any work as my car was down in Taormina. One lap round the tiny streets and then off to find the path to Monte Venere.

Things were hotting up now, and sweat was rolling off me. The track was concreted in ridges, presumably to give traction to the cars of the few people who lived up there, and this made for uncomfortable running. It was unbelievably steep, so steep I couldn't imagining our car making it up there. If ever there was a need for a 4 x 4 this was it; forget all those people in cities driving their all- terrain vehicles around with only speed bumps to contend with. Pride prevented me from walking so I plodded up the face of the hill with only lizards and birdsong for company.

As I gained more height, back-glances afforded me increasingly vertiginous and startling views; I appeared  to be  right over Castelmola.  The smell of broom and jasmine filled the air, and giant powder-puffs of fennel leaves lined the track.  The hillside was ridged in a way that suggested a history of agriculture - possibly olive trees, as I can't imagine anything else growing successfully on such exposed slopes.  With only the odd bird for company the winding route became a meditation on a mountain as a living thing.

Around the corner and there was Mount Etna, sat like a white-robed parent.  Hazy clouds repeatedly drifted across the peak and I was frustrated in my search for a perfectly clear photograph of the peak.  I partially blame the mountain itself, because much of the cloud was forming around the crater at the top.
One last curve, the coastline stretched out below and away, Etna on the horizon and all around steep hills looking like erosion was just beginning. I was in among a cluster of radio masts - obviously as high as it is possible to go with a vehicle.  There was more to climb as the actual peak was still above me, but no obvious path and huge silent banks of drifting mist kept me from going further. I had left Karin for long enough and so this seemed a good point to consider returning.

Running downhill is often so much harder on the legs and I didn't want to push myself too hard, so I rolled comfortably down the track with plenty of glances at the spectacular view.  Past a rather puzzled dog, onto the road into Castemola, and then down the steps that lead to Taormina.  Tourists struggling upward had to step back to let me roll though them and the air was filled with comments about the folly and impressiveness of runing in that terrain and weather.  In Taormina I somehow contrived to get completely lost amid the many one-way streets, finding myself at one point running twice past an old lady who was shocked to see a runner first time round, let alone repeating 10 minutes later.
Suddenly, a drop down some steps, round a corner and I was pitched into the main street; tourists filling the road with their trickling pace.  I decided not to bother pushing against such a steady tide, and walked along to the hotel.