Many people believe that you are born with either good or bad running form, and that there is little that you can do to change it. We have all seen "natural runners," and envy their fluidity and grace. But by knowing a little bit about the physics of running and trying to adopt some of the common traits of all "good" runners, it is possible to improve on what you're stuck with.
Physics: Your body's center of gravity is in your midsection. Any force that is applied to the ground in front of this center gravity acts as a braking force to your forward movement. Picture a runner with an exaggerated running stride. Every time he plants his heel forward of his body, he applies a braking force, slowing himself down. In addition, before he is able to apply force to the ground and move his body forward for the next stride, he must wait until his body has moved directly over his foot. If you look at the form of most good runners, you will see that their feet strike the ground directly beneath their body.
Stay Upright: Good running posture is simply good body posture. When the head, shoulders and hips are all lined up over the feet you can move forward as a unit, with minimum amount of effort.
Head: Your torso will normally do what your head is doing. So if you are dropping your head right down, your torso will probably follow and lean too far forward. Your eyes should be focused on a target 10-20 feet ahead.
Chest Forward: Many runners let their chest sag into a slouch. In such a position, lungs won't maximize their efficiency. Before starting your run, relax and take deep breaths, which moves the lungs into an efficient position.
Arms: Any excessive side-to-side motion, or swinging across your body is a waste of energy. Try to think of everything moving in a straight line and in one direction: forward. Keep your elbows in and bring your arms up in a straight motion. Hands should be relaxed and loosely cupped.
Hips Forward: One of the most common running form errors is letting the hips shift back and the butt stick out behind you. Taking a deep breath often pulls the hips forward into an alignment that allows easier running. This is the home of your center of gravity. Try running with your hips forward. Pretend as if you have a rope tied around your waist and someone is pulling you forward with it.
The Foot Plant: There is a difference between what should happen and what you may be able to control. Your personal stride is the result of your shape, your physique and the strength and balance of your muscles, at least all the way up to your waist! Please do not try and change your foot plant as you train. You will not be running naturally, and you are very likely to cause more problems than you solve. As you gain fitness and strength you may notice that many irregularities resolve themselves. Regardless of how you plant your foot, you can try to plant it directly under your body and your center of gravity. Try running with a quick cadence of 90 steps. Simply count the number of times that your left foot strikes the ground in one minute. It will feel strange at first, but if you practice enough it will become second nature.
Practice: A few times per week remind yourself of proper running form! You will be surprised the difference it makes to your running efficiency and overall relaxation!
Training for running follows the same principles as any other sport -- the training part stresses a particular physiological system, while the rest part afterwards allows your body to re-build itself stronger than before. Any successful training program will focus on teaching you how to run longer, faster, stronger, and more efficiently, and will also build in sigificant rest periods for you to recover and get stronger.
This first section goes through some of the basics. The second section builds on the first, and provides specific training programs to fit your individual goals.