Ways To Improve: Form.

By Ka’Deem Wynn

With any athlete, as well as any human being, there’s always the constant urge to reach perfection. Us as humans are always willing to do whatever it takes to not only be the best that we can be to ourselves, but the best out of everyone we come in contact with. I remember back in elementary school that when it was time for recess, kids would always compete. We would all see who’s the fastest in a sprint, which one of us could do the most pull-ups, and many various activities. These competitions were part of our daily lives. To us, that was equivalent to winning a championship. Some days were better than others. But we never ceased to want to progress and improve.

With humans being so diverse, we come up with new ways to do things more efficiently. Ways to get the job done faster, and with better performance. With that being said, note that image is everything with humans. This brings us to the first topic: Form.

Form is very essential to a runner. Along with all of the other little necessities, a bad form is one thing you don’t want to have to worry about. Some people have a distinct running form that particularly suits them, while others are very similar. Overall, you don’t want to look sloppy, or too constricted while running. You want to look smooth and relaxed.

David Rudisha, the world’s fastest half miler has great from, and you can too! All can agree that he is a very graceful, yet aggressive runner. Rudisha didn’t get the 800m World Record (1:40.91) just by being an aggressive runner. Some say that it’s because he’s Kenyan, (as Kenya is known for and has produced some of the greatest distance runners throughout the history of running) others say it’s his training. Both may be true. However, people fail to notice the small things.

If you look at the first picture above, notice how erect he is. He’s not slouching or leaning back at all. In the picture beside it, you see how he uses his arms. He fluently swings them back and forth, not side to side. Notice how his hands are open as well. Whether you’re finishing, or in the middle of running, you don’t want your hands clenched tightly in a fist. If your fists are tight, your arms will be too. With that, your legs follow your arms. If your arm swings are short and locked, so will your stride.

In the third picture, you see Rudisha’s shoulders are low and relaxed. Along with his great arm swings, you see his elongated stride. In the final picture, you see Rudisha’s eye path highlighted. Notice that his eyes are straight ahead. In order for his eyes to be straight, his head must be straight first. Keep your head up and straight ahead. Never rock your head around while running. You tend to look weird, and it doesn’t get you to the finish line faster. It actually slows you down, along with making you more tired.

If you’ve ever heard the saying “A little goes a long way” then know that it’s the same deal when it comes to running. Working on these small things continuously will help you improve in more ways than you think.