Running
Technique
Brian Martin
Published by Brian Martin at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Brian Martin
Discover other titles by Brian Martin
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/brianmartin
Visit Brian's blog
http://www.runningtechniquetips.com
Coaching practice
http://www.runningtechniquecoach.com
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment and use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Disclaimer
This publication is written and published to provide information about the subject of running technique. It is sold with the understanding that the author is not engaged in providing medical or other professional services by reason of his authorship or publication of this work. If medical or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
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Author's note to the
reader
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Philo Saunders
PhD
Chapter 1 -
Introduction
Chapter 2 - Anatomy and basic
biomechanics
Chapter 3 - Should I change or improve my
technique?
Chapter 4 - What does good running technique
look like?
Chapter
5 - The muscles the drive good running technique
Chapter
6 - How to perform running gait analysis
Chapter
7 - The strength, coordination and skill of
running
Chapter 8 - Learning to run
better
Chapter 9 - Strength and coordination
training for runners
Chapter 10 - What's on your
feet?
Chapter 11 - Technique and training
philosophy
About
the author
References
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To every runner, humble or great, this is for you.
Running is the only form of exercise I truly love. I tolerate swimming, enjoy the gym and riding a bike, but there is nothing that compares to the freedom, buzz and personal gratification of running. I’ve loved running since I was a young teenager, but it didn’t love me back. Soreness and injury eventually forced me to abandon running for years and at other times reduced me to jogging one or two days per week.
Three years ago at age thirty-three I got serious and gave running another chance. I followed all the right training advice and ran in all the recommended shoes. I pushed weights, got my aching thighs and shins massaged and even went swimming to help keep me on the road. This quasi professional approach worked well; I ran 50 to 60 kilometers a week. This was much more than I’d managed when 30 to 40 kilometers seemed like marathon training. But I was still getting sore and I wasn’t able to run as fast as I wanted to, barely eclipsing the times I used to run when I was fourteen. More depressingly, I succumbed to the inevitable curse of injury.
It was in the process of diagnosing the injury that I realized I didn’t know how to run. I had some video footage taken of my running technique and showed to various experts. It was easy to see I didn’t move the same way as more talented runners, but what I didn’t understand was why and what I could do about it. The professionals didn't add to what I already knew and the general consensus was there was not much I could do about it. In fact one physical therapist advised me strongly not to try and correct my running technique. Hardly encouraging stuff!
So I started researching and reading. The answers about my own running shortcomings and what I could do to improve them were not easily forthcoming. By the time I had read through most popular running books and started delving into biomechanics and academic journals, I knew I needed to start documenting what I was finding. I was getting the answers I wanted, but they were so deeply buried in scientific literature and encoded in technical language that I decided writing a book on running technique for regular runners would be a useful thing to do.
Over the course of two years I examined every possible aspect of what good running technique is and how regular runners can get it. This book is the product of that research and the experience of improving my running technique. I’m excited about sharing what I've learned: a detailed but easy to understand guide for a runner of any level of ability to understand, learn and train for better running technique. This book is the first of its kind in making running and the complex area of biomechanics understandable for runners of all levels of ability. Everything I’ve written is geared towards improving your knowledge of running and helping you run better.
This book demystifies running, a primal activity that inspires people on so many levels. The ability to endure, even suffer in pursuit of a humble goal deeply connects the running community. Every runner, no matter how fast or slow understands the dedication and courage required to run your best. All humans can run, but some of us do need to learn how to move better. This book brings together three important ideas that justify taking running technique seriously. Running should be enjoyable and pain free, injuries should be the exception not the rule and performance improvements can accrue by improving technique, not just training harder.
I’m aware that some people might question the opinion of a regular runner when it comes to describing how to learn good running technique. For the record, I am not an elite runner or a scientist. I actually think it helps me not to be either of these things. I am a writer, qualified running coach, fitness instructor and I worked for many years as a business process analyst. This has honed my ability to describe complex ideas in a logical and easy to understand way. I was also a terrible running technician. To begin overcoming my shortcomings I started with a blank sheet of paper, because nothing I have read could give me the answers I was looking for. Bizarrely, there’s very little written about how to learn, train for and improve running technique.
My methodology for explaining running technique is simple: understand how the best runners move and why. If I could describe how and why good runners move they way they do, then I and others would have a chance of adopting these building blocks of good running technique. There is something in the phenomena that often the best teachers are the people that had to work hardest to master their craft. I’m not saying I’m a genius coach, but I have worked extremely hard to understand how running works and then even harder to put what I found into practice. Experience has been a great teacher. You’ll never get an explanation of what running feels like for the average person from an elite runner or coach. They’ve never experienced what it's like to run like a sack of potatoes. Describing the process of running without drowning in scientific language is a challenge. A large part of the research and writing process for me has been to decode, understand and then translate biomechanics into language that anyone can read without a dictionary.
The popular running titles that I have read are long on training instruction and short on advice about running technique. To be clear, I am not proposing a new or revolutionary running technique. Everything I have written is based around describing and understanding how elite runners move. They are the best runners and it makes sense to use them as a benchmark for explaining what good running technique is. Where this book makes a difference is that it clearly shows how regular runners can learn the basics of, adopt and train for these fundamentals of good running. I’m not promising to make champions out of average runners, but I’m convinced runners of any level of ability can benefit from adopting and training for a technique that brings them closer to the movement pattern of the best runners.
I’ve crafted the advice in this book to give you the best chance of enjoying your running, staying healthy and not getting hurt. I love running hard and challenging myself, but after a few injury lay-offs I’ve grown to love easy running and training just as much as striving for the next personal best time. I hope you enjoy learning more about running technique and it helps you to achieve your running goals.
Brian Martin
January 2011
Additional resources: as this is an eBook there is a limit to the amount of diagrams and photographs that could be reasonably included. The reason for this is you need to be able to read the book on your smart phone, computer or any of a dozen or so popular eBook readers. This book is readable in about 10 different file formats, for this to be possible some compromise had to be reached on the volume of graphics that could be included. There is also a file size limitation that precludes inclusion of large photos. Where possible I have included simple diagrams to illustrate any technical concepts, these are further supplemented by photographic and video resources hosted on http://www.runningtechniquebook.com. If you are reading the book and get stuck on any concepts, please check out the web-based resources for further explanation.
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Any writing project takes a great deal of energy and dedication from the author, but most writers would find it hard to get to the end of any project without the help of others. Sometimes this can be something big, other times a small, but significant contribution can make a big difference. My sincere thanks to the following people for your help with this project:
Mark Gorski allowed me to use the Melbourne Running Company store as a working laboratory for gait analysis and helped me work through many ideas. His enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for running are infectious - I can see why Mark is a great coach. He also reviewed and provided comments on the chapter about running footwear.
Dr Philo Saunders sanity checked my ideas and wrote the foreword for the book. His suggestions and help along the way have been extremely valuable. Philo has tremendous knowledge of running coaching and training methods that I look forward to continuing to tap into in the coming years.
Lisa continues to provide enthusiasm and spark for getting moving on this and other projects. It's rare to find people who walk the talk. She also keeps me honest on the training track.
James and Carly helped with the intricacies of the media and World Wide Web.
Mike and the Eureka Athletics Club in Ballarat helped get me back into running.
Natalie aided me in avoiding various crimes against grammar by reviewing the finished book.
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