My mistake in naming the very informative running instructor on Thursday evening. Her name is actually - Jen Kripki (not sure where the other name came from - lol )
AND below is the How-to AWESOME instructions she shared with us... Anyone can learn to run properly now :-)
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Proper Distance
Running Technique
“Proper running form is
from head to toe”
Randy Accetta – Running
coach in Craftsbury, Vt.
Head: Keep head tilted down
slightly, 3 to 5 degrees from your torso. Look forward at the ground in front
of you, about 12 feet ahead and concentrate on trying to run in a straight
line. Your jaw and neck should be relaxed. Imagine running with a book on your
head.
Shoulders: Keep shoulders down, back, and relaxed. Hunching over will restrict
breathing.
Torso: When you run, you want to have an
upright relaxed posture with a slight lean forward from the hips. This “lean”
keeps the body balanced over the hips and allows you to
use gravity to your advantage. This will allow the foot strike to be directly
below your center of mass, making it very difficult to over stride and heel
strike (which puts added stress on the joints.) Standing too erect can throw
off center of gravity and muscle in the back will need to be recruited to
offset the backwards motion of upper body as lower body continues to propel
forward. This could potentially lead to low back pain in distance runners.
Arms: The purpose of the arm swing is to
provide balance and coordination with legs. Improper arm movement can decrease
performance.
Arms should hang loose, relaxed, and close to
the body. Keep tension out of shoulders, don’t clench fists, hands should be
relaxed (you can practice this by running with soda crackers between your thumb
and forefinger). Any tightness in hands will transfer up arms, resulting in
tension through the shoulders.
Keep the elbows at a 90 degree bend
and remember that the movement of the arms comes from the shoulder joint, not
elbow joint.
Arms should swing comfortably at the
sides of the body, driving backwards as close to the body as possible. The
backwards pump of the arms is the “drive” phase of the arm swing, helping to
propel you forward. The forward motion of the arm swing should be the
“recovery” phase, used to set up the next drive phase. Do not drive arms
forward as this encourages over striding. Instead focus on driving them
backwards, which will help to quicken pace.
Stride Mechanics: Avoid up and down (bouncing)
movements while running. Hopping or bouncing is not efficient, will waste
energy, and increases stress on joints. All effort should be directed in a
forward motion.
Knees: Should drive straight forward and back with as
little deviation as possible.
Don’t exaggerate a high knee lift is not
efficient for the long distance runner, as it is for a sprinter. Think about
driving knees forward as opposed to upwards, this will help conserve much
needed energy.
Quick, light strides are easier on the joints
and lead to a more efficient and faster running pace.
Foot: Should be relaxed and
contact the ground somewhere near the mid-foot, directly under the body’s
center of gravity and NOT out in front of the body. This will help to minimize
or eliminate the heel strike, which is inefficient and can lead to numerous
injuries, including shin splints and joint problems over time.
The Foot Strike is the position of your foot
when it lands on the ground. It will be either on toes, ball of the foot, flat
foot, or heel strike. It is best to land more towards the forefoot or flat
footed, this will cause you to land softly and not over stride, therefore
decreasing the amount of stress (load) on the joints.
**** Over striding will not improve
speed or running efficiency, it will cause the opposite.***
Focus on quick, light strides = 180
steps per min (cadence/leg turnover). This will decrease the amount of time
your feet are on the ground, forcing you to run lighter on your feet.
Jen Kripki RMT, CPT
