Optimize Your Form
How to successfully plan and train for your first marathon– and enjoy yourself while doing it
By Dan Glover
You’re on your way to performing one of the greatest feats a person can achieve: running a marathon! Now that you’re breaking in your shoes, you can start working on learning healthy and proper running form.
We’ve all seen those people running on the sidewalk looking like extras from the Walking Dead. Your goal is to not only avoid looking uncomfortable but to actually have the people you run by think, “Damn, they look good!”
Most people don’t have proper running form naturally, but the good news is that it’s not hard to obtain great form with consistent effort.
Optimize your form
Good running form starts with having your hips over your knees over your feet. Think about leaning forward slightly from your ankles, creating a fairly straight line from your ankles all the way up to your shoulders. Here’s a good resource for tips on proper position for your head, shoulders, arms, and hands.
Knee lift, or knee drive, is also a key factor in optimal running form, which in turn affects your stride length and speed. Understanding and mastering this aspect of your run will go a long way to avoiding knee, ankle, hip, and lower back pain over the course of your training. Check out this great article to learn more about it.
Now let’s talk stride efficiency. Two of the most important factors in how efficient your stride is– and how fast you run– are 1) how long your feet are on the ground when you are running, and 2) what your foot turn over rate is. The perfect turn over rate is 180 foot ‘hits’ per minute. Too slow or too quick of a turn over will be less efficient.
Are people able to run with an inefficient turn over rate and still run? Absolutely! The vast majority of runners do not have an efficient turn over rate. However, the more efficient you can be, the easier and faster your marathon will be (relatively speaking in regards to running 26.2 miles!).
Test your turn over rate
To determine if your turn over rate needs improvement, perform this easy self-assessment.
Have a stopwatch handy. Run at a “typical” pace for you.
Time yourself for 30 seconds, counting every time one of your feet hits the ground.
Multiply your number of foot hits by four.
If that resulting number is 43 or below, or 47 or above, your turn over rate is not “ideal.” Most people will be below 44.
To cure this issue, “pull” or “tighten” your stride so that it is 44-46 hits per thirty seconds.
If you discover you need to do this, know that adjusting and “tightening up” your stride from a less than ideal rate will feel a bit weird at first. In fact, if it doesn’t feel awkward initially, you are almost certainly not doing it correctly. But keep at it!
Fifteen years ago I noticed that my mile time had slowed by about 40 seconds per mile. I performed the test above and realized that my turn over rate had slowed. I pulled my stride in and increased my turn over so that it was consistent with 45 hits per foot for thirty seconds. After practicing and reinforcing this for a few weeks– because yes, it did feel weird at first– my mile time improved by 30 seconds.
Why is pulling/tightening your stride effective? After a few weeks of intentionally increasing your turn over, your stride “opens up” and you naturally begin covering more distance in the same amount of time, without any extra effort. You’ve become a faster, more efficient runner, which will certainly come in handy during your marathon. How great is that? It worked for me and it will work for you, my friend!
Next week we dive into determining your mileage strategy, how to recover from your runs, and training conditions to be mindful of. Get a leg up on your fitness by scheduling a free assessment with a Pongo Power personal trainer today!
About the Author
Dan Glover has been running for over 45 years. He’s completed three Boston Marathons, fifteen Sprint Triathlons, and two Half Ironman Triathlons. He has been Varsity Coach for Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Track and Field, and Men’s JV Hockey Coach at Nashoba Regional High School for fourteen years, as well as being its Guidance Counselor. Recently, he qualified for the 2023 USA Triathlon Nationals, to be held in Milwaukee, WI in the summer of 2023.
