London Marathon 2020: Kosgei, Hall, Chepng’etich, Kitata, Kipchumba, Kipchoge

Sara Hall passes Ruth Chepng'etich London 2020

What a joy to watch a marathon again. Let’s just dive right in and look at the different movement strategies the runners used and how this related to their performances. As interesting as it is to watch any individual athlete, it’s in comparing athletes that you really see how they’re running. Brigid Kosgei and Ruth … Read more

What No One Tells You About Footstrike

Plantar fasciitis or fasciosis, Achilles problems, runner’s knee, lower back pain… improving your form by working to change your footstrike is supposed to help with these problems and also make running feel better. But your footstrike is only part of the story, and trying to change it without making a few other key changes generally … Read more

How to Run Faster

Running faster means running differently. Form changes with speed. Some of those changes will happen automatically. Sometimes, though, runners don’t know how to let them happen, and make extra effort fighting themselves or trying to keep running with the same form regardless of speed. This week in my Stuck-at-Home Running Form Tips I’ve been looking … Read more

Run More Playfully

Does your running feel like drudgery, a chore, or a mindless routine? If so, you’re not getting the fitness benefits you could, you’re missing out on some of the biggest stress-relief, mood-lifting, and even brain-building benefits running can offer, and you’re keeping yourself from becoming a more skillful runner. I have been lucky enough to … Read more

Solutions that Work for Sore Quads

The past two weeks I’ve explained what a pattern of frequent post-run quad soreness indicates about your running technique, and I’ve explained why a lot of the popular solutions both to manage the discomfort and try to solve the underlying problem don’t work. Now let’s look at what will. The fundamental problem underlying frequent quad soreness is … Read more

Frequently Asked Questions about The Balanced Runner Online Camp

This week as I’ve introduced The Balanced Runner Online Camp, a number of people have emailed me with questions about it. Since they’re mostly the same six questions, I thought it would be helpful to share the answers with you in case you have one of these questions too. The Most Important Factor The key … Read more

2016 NYC Marathon Running Form Analysis: Huddle, Ghebreslassie

While there were lots of interesting comparisons to make between runners in the 2016 NYC marathon, what really jumped out at me was the unusual thing both Molly Huddle (3rd place woman) and Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (1st place man) were doing with their legs. Here are screenshots of Huddle: And here are screenshots of Ghebreslassie: As you can see, the space between both runners’ knees … Read more