On September 24, 2023, Tigst Assefa flew through the Brandenburg Gate towards the finish line of the Berlin marathon, startlingly fast even at a glance; stunningly fast according to the clock. How? I can’t speak to all the factors involved in her performance. However I can speak to her running form and what it suggests. … Read more
Sunday, April 23, 2023, was a historic day in the annals of mid-run stretching. On that day Sifan Hassan stopped twice–once for a brief quad stretch and once to stretch her glutes–and went on to win the London marathon. Let’s look at Sifan Hassan’s running form along with her explanation to understand what happened. After … Read more
To say Eliud Kipchoge’s Boston Marathon didn’t go the way most people anticipated is putting it mildly. And yet this performance was actually more revealing about what makes him one of the greatest marathoners of all time than his many successes have been. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in feeling a baffled sense of unreality … Read more
People have been asking me to do a gait analysis of Franka Potente’s character Lola in the film Run Lola Run for years. I love this movie and only hesitated to write about it because I was afraid only people my age or older would know it. (I was 28 when it came out in … Read more
As Peres Jepchirchir and Ababel Yeshaneh raced towards the finish line of the 2022 Boston Marathon, one of the announcers observed Jepchirchir’s form looked, “like she’s about to fall over.” A short time later she left Yeshaneh behind for the last time and broke the tape. So did Jepchirchir win despite her form or because … Read more
The actor Tom Cruise’s running form has been much discussed but little analyzed. That’s a shame because there’s so much to see. If you’ve watched a couple of his movies you can probably close your eyes and picture him running. However if you’d like a little help, this video will do the trick: The one … Read more
As you lace up your shoes for a traditional Turkey Trot Thanksgiving Day race, here are a few tips from a real turkey trot gait analysis that may help your performance. Take a look at this video of three wild turkeys–two hens and a tom, I think–running down a road. (I recommend viewing with the … Read more
2021 NYC marathon champs Peres Jepchirchir and Albert Korir both had running form signatures that set them apart from the rest of their elite competitors. Runners of any level can benefit from understanding how their gait strategies worked for them. At the time of this writing there doesn’t appear to be an official race highlights … Read more
The Tokyo Olympics Women’s Marathon was exciting for more than one reason. From a running form perspective it was a treat to have the top three women–Peres Jepchirchir, Brigid Kosgei, and Molly Seidel–all running with such different form. Take a look at this brief highlights video to see what I mean or find a highlights … Read more
This is the first in a series of videos I’ll be sharing from a session in a gait lab. Today’s video looks at the core action in the context of normal running. For gait analysis professionals, here are the details: the markers on my pelvis were on the ASIS and PSIS on each side, and those … Read more
In the video above you’ll see me running two ways, revealing a surprising effect of trying to hold your pelvis still: it reduces the mobility of your legs. This video is the second in my series of gait lab videos. All the runners in these videos are me; one of the perks of being a … Read more
The popular running form recommendation to avoid letting your chin stick out, but instead to run tall and keep your head in line with your spine, doesn’t work for people who need to look at the ground or run on uneven terrain, or for athletes who play sports that involve running. For them, as well … Read more
In last week’s blog post we looked at this video of Joseph Pilates running and compared it to the running form of tightrope artist Nik Wallenda and gymnast Shannon Miller. The similarities were striking. Here’s the Pilates video again, but this time contrasted with video of Kenyan distance runners training in Iten. Take a look: … Read more
I found this little gem of archival film on YouTube. I have no idea what language the titles are in or what they say (if you do, please let us know in the comments!) but it gives us the fabulous opportunity to watch Joseph Pilates run for a few moments. You’ll find the running from … Read more
