Beginner's Training Program

Contact Us

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

Week 2: Form

Runner's Handbook Recommended Reading

• FIT Prescription: Chapter 8, pages 68-87
  
• Running With Good Form: Chapter 34, page 537
  

Every runner develops his or her own form. Generally, running is a flowing movement. But flow doesn't happen without some thought and practice.

There are four basic parts to good running form:

1. Footstrike
2. Forward stride
3. Body angle
4. Arm action

Beginner Curriculum Textbook

Footstrike

As you move from walking to running, adjust your form. In walking, one foot is always on the ground. Running uses a propulsive push. In the resulting airborne "float" between steps for a brief second neither foot is on the ground.

Land briefly on the heel bringing the forefoot down quietly as your body moves forward. Most runners hit the ground on the outside edge of the shoe heel, rolling inward lightly to the ball of the foot with the knee slightly bent to absorb shock. Running shoes are thicker and more cushioned in the heel to accommodate this heel-toe footstrike. Use a rocking motion, spreading the impact over the whole foot. You hit the ground with the force of three times your body weight -- don't expect your shoes to absorb all this shock, it is essential that you learn to land gently.

Push off the ball of your foot with a little spring. Toes pointing forward - not at an angle.

Stride

Don't consciously try to adjust stride length. Stride extends naturally as your legs get stronger and more flexible.

Body Angle

Focus the eyes forward. Keep your back straight, tucking your buttocks under the hips produces an erect, comfortable position. To achieve the proper alignment imagine a perpendicular line from your head, through your shoulders and hips

Keep your head erect. If you bring it too far forward, you will start to lean frontward. Keep your eyes focused straight ahead. Your head weighs about ten pounds (perhaps more for some of my thick-headed friends), so keep it centered on your shoulders in a natural, relaxed position. Imagine a book balancing on your head while you run.

Tension collects first in the neck and shoulders - let them hang loosely. Run relaxed. Move freely. Release any building tightness by occasionally letting your head roll from side to side, shrugging and lowering your shoulders, and dropping your arms loosely. Let your chin flap -- as in talking -- this helps keep jaw and neck muscles relaxed.

Arm Action

Your arms are not just along for the ride. Arm movement provides the rhythm. The faster and more forcefully they swing, the faster you will move. Vigorous arm pumping is essential when running up a hill.
Don't worry too much about remembering all these form tips. If you feel good when you run--relaxed and comfortable--you're no doubt doing far more things right than wrong. There's no need to become obsessed with attaining perfect form; nobody's got it, not even the world's fastest runners.

General Beginner Guidelines

Run at least 3 days per week, but take off at least 1 or 2 days per week.

Run slow enough for conversation and fast enough for perspiration. Run slow with fast walking breaks.

Save hills and other terrain challenges for later. If you have to include hills, walk them until you are strong enough to run them.

Run for minutes, not miles. Your first goal is to build up to running 20 minutes non-stop. You can do this in 10 weeks by sticking to our program.

Warm-up with a 5-10 minute brisk walk. Cool-down with a 5-10 minute slow walk.

Flexibility is an important heath and fitness component as well as part of a good running program. Stretch when you are well warmed-up.

A Little More

Running Coach Shelly Glover has a master's degree in exercise physiology from Columbia University. Co-author of The Runner's Handbook and The Competitive Runner’s Handbook, she is a veteran road runner and marathoner. She coaches The Greater New York Racing Team and is available for private coaching. Coaching Services