Fun Runs; Running for
Fun; when they hear these phrases, the cynic in most people immediately think “oxymoron”. But why?
Running, at least when we were children, was something we enjoyed and
literally did for fun! It seems that as
we get older and our bodies succumb to the rigours of daily life, and our
failure to look after our health, we become less able to cope with the physical
stresses that running imposes on our bodies and running becomes less “fun”.
I am going to go out on a
limb here and suggest that more than 80% of the adult population, who currently
don’t run for fun or fitness, could begin doing so with little or no risk of
sustaining an injury, save for the occasional rolled ankle or blister. The reason I feel confident in making such a
bold statement is that most people simply don’t know how to run safely and
efficiently and need to be taught.
Ok, didn’t I state in the
opening paragraph that we all used to run when we were children? If that is true, how can I suggest that so
many of us need to learn how to run? It’s
really quite simple. As children, we
begin running in the same manner that we began walking, in the best way we
could manage, given the physiological imperfections that every single one of us
carries with us. The thing is, as
children we manage to cope very well with minor physiological challenges
because we are naturally more flexible and able dynamically adapt to changes in
balance, centre of gravity etc. As
adults, not so much.
The primary reason most
people stop running is usually reported as the onset of a chronic injury or an
inability to recover well from a training run, or race. More often than not, these chronic injuries
and a failure to fully recover after a run can be attributed to poor running form. There are exceptions, some athletes to
genuinely break down despite being an efficient and well trained runner and
each case requires careful investigation and diagnosis.
The key factor in being
able to run well and without injury is your form or, to put it another way, the
way that your hold your body, move your arms and legs and, how and where your
foot strikes the ground. According to barefoot running expert, Professor Daniel Libermann, up to 75% of
runners today are heel strikers, that is their heel is the first part of the
foot to strike the ground and the design of modern running shoes makes this
running style comfortable.
The danger inherent in this running style is the impact on ankles, knees
and hips caused by the braking effect that occurs when the heel drives into the
ground. All of the force of that impact
is driven through the ankle, knee and hip and has a major compression effect on
those joints. The effect is cumulative
and over time, can be very debilitating to the extent that arthritis and cartilage
breakdown can occur.
A good running technique as one that allows an individual to draw from
their free recoil energy, which is the momentum that is created when muscles
stretch and recoil as the foot hits the ground. Flat footed or heavy runners
don’t have a lot of free recoil and so rely on their global muscles, such as
their quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes to do all the hard work. This style of running consumes a lot of
energy and causes individuals to fatigue faster than someone with good recoil
would.
A common mistake people make is to have the foot strike too far away
from the centre of gravity. Good running
technique should feature the following:
- Head in neutral alignment looking straight ahead.
- Shoulders relaxed with minimal rotation.
- Arms relaxed and gently swinging.
- Neutral spine.
- Core engaged, supporting a normal lumbar curvature of the torso.
- Hips slightly tilted which creates horizontal momentum by utilising gravity.
- Strong pelvis, with no upwards or downwards tilt.
During recovery, the heel should be tucked under the hamstring, with the
toes on the striking foot up and the strike should be close to centre of
gravity. That is the centre of gravity
both laterally and along the direction of travel. The runner’s weight is carried through the
mid-sole more so than the heel.
The simplified version of this description is to run so that the foot
strike is close to the leading edge of the hips and on the midsole rather than
the ball of the foot or heel. This
action will result in a shorter stride, a more upright posture and faster
turnover rate. Don’t underestimate the
amount of work you will need to do to develop this running style, it will take
expert coaching and dedication to the task.
The end result will allow you to run easily, quickly and enjoy it.
If you have lost the “fun”
in running and really do want to get it back, it is not such a difficult thing
to achieve. I periodically run ‘Learn to
Run’ clinics on the Sunshine Coast and I know that there are a number of other
coaches and trainers around Australia who are able to teach you these techniques.
Copyright
© 2014 by Drew Dale
All
rights reserved. This article or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used
in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the
publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly
journal.
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