Good range of motion in your feet and ankles would seem to be a no-brainer, but a lot of runners ignore these areas.
Restricted flexibility in these joints can have a major negative cascade effect throughout your gait and will also make you slower.
Maintain strong, vibrant levers for your running stride with regular foot and ankle work. Gas pedals, in which you flex your foot down and up as if flooring a car accelerator, and foot circles, in which you rotate your foot clockwise, then counterclockwise several times, are great. They’re the sort of stretch that’s easy to sneak in a few times a day while you’re otherwise in non-running mode. Sitting at home, perhaps while reading or watching TV, you can tend to the balls of your feet: Grab your toes and move them up and down.