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Running School

Many people do not realise how technical an activity running is. They get out and run then wonder why they get injured. Drills and gait correction are important both for preventing injury but also for improving performance and technique.

• warm up prior to training or competition
• help develop correct upright posture, knee drive, dynamic balance
• help strengthen specific muscle groups needed for powerful running and take the ankles, knees and hips through greater range of motion.

Here are some examples to add to your programme:

Drill 1
Marching(knee high), the most basic form of technical exercise. Begin by walking slowly forward on the balls of your feet using small steps. Your heels should not touch the ground during this exercise. Continue by raising your right knee to hip level (with thigh parallel to the ground) on each stride. Your right foot should be 'cocked' at the top of the leg swing, and your right ankle should be directly under or slightly behind your right knee (your knee should be at a 90 degree angle or slightly less). Rise on the toes of the left foot and extend the left ankle and knee as your body passes over the left foot during the walking stride. Your trunk should be held upright (think 'chest tall and slightly forward'), and your chin should be held level. Swing your arms slowly and deliberately in a mock running motion in rhythm with the marching/walking strides.

Repeat this action, raising the right knee to hip level with the left leg moving through a normal walking stride into full extension on the toes, for 20 to 40 metres. Walk back to your starting position and repeat the action, with the left knee rising and the right leg extending, for 20 to 40 metres. Continue to focus on short steps, proper posture and limb mechanics, whole-body balance and control of your marching rhythm. All of your movements should occur in a slow and controlled - not jerky - manner. After performing the drill with each leg marching separately, combine the marching actions of both legs over the 20- to 40-metre distance. The marching high knee drill emphasises proper running mechanics - a driving knee lift, upright posture and a coordinated arm swing - and should be practised and mastered before progressing on to the skipping and running techniques drills

Drill 2
Marching (knee high) with knee extension Begin this high knee with extension drill in the same manner as the high knee drill - walking forward slowly on the balls of your feet. Raise the right knee to hip level with each stride, and as the knee approaches hip height extend the knee by swinging the lower leg and foot forward to nearly full extension (your entire leg will end up parallel with the ground). Allow your momentum to carry your body forward, and step with the ball of the right foot one to two feet in front of the left foot. Your trunk should be held upright, and your chin should be level throughout the course of the drill. Your arms should compensate for the extended leg action by swinging in a slightly wider arc (100-plus degrees at the elbow) while maintaining rhythm with the strides of the legs. The actions of the left foot, ankle, knee and hip (extended) are similar to their activities in the high knee drill

Repeat the high knee lift and extension action with your right leg for a distance of 20 to 40 metres. Then rest while walking back to the starting point, before performing the drill with your left leg. Finally, perform the exercise with both legs alternately over the same 20- to 40-metre distance

The marching high knee with extension drill emphasises hamstring flexibility and body control, in addition to other basic aspects of proper running mechanics. It provides the basis for learning more advanced skipping and running drills

Drill 3
Skipping (high knee):
The skipping high knee drill follows the same basic format for posture and limb mechanics as does the marching form of this drill. The trunk position and arm and leg actions are identical to those of the march, but the cadence is slightly faster to accommodate the skipping action.

Practise the skipping drill with one leg at a time before combining the movements (first lift only the right knee, then only the left knee, before alternating right and left lifts) over a distance of 20 to 40 metres for each drill

The skipping high knee drill develops inter-muscular coordination during fast movements to a greater degree than do the marching drills, which are carried out at a slower tempo. In addition, the load placed on the musculoskeletal system is considerably higher during skipping, due to a greater vertical shift of the centre of gravity during the exercise. This additional loading leads to increases in strength in the motor support structures of the feet and lower part of the leg, as well as the thigh, hip and trunk muscles.

Skipping is a more advanced motor skill than marching and requires a greater degree of coordin-ation and motor control for correct performance. The basic form of skipping is slow and deliberate and should follow a straight line without significant deviation of the limbs or trunk to the right or left. During the drills, the arms and legs will tend to move toward the centreline of the body slightly (as they should), but excessive movement of the knees or hands across the midline of the body is often indicative of poor economy of movement.

Of all the drills, technical running exercises are the most intensive and potentially most difficult to perform correctly. For one thing, the speed of movement of the arms and legs is the highest of the three forms of drills. The rhythm of movement, as measured by the cadence of foot strikes, closely resembles full-stride running. Finally, the ground-impact forces are significantly higher during running drills, compared to skipping or marching. The major difference between running drills and regular running is in the length of the stride (during drills, the stride is significantly shorter, to allow for better concentration on limb and trunk mechanics). Major benefits of technical running drills include improved intermuscular coordination (including the proper timing of arm and leg movements), an enhancement of dynamic balance and an upgrading of the power of the primary running muscles

• Emphasise proper trunk posture on all drills, keeping your chest up, your back straight, and your chin level
• Swing your arms smoothly and under control, with hands coming forward to chin level in front and just past the hip in back
• Emphasise the lifting action of the knee on the swing leg while keeping your foot cocked upward. Emphasise the driving action (extension) of the support leg at the ankle, knee and hip while stressing a 'tall on your toes' action with the supporting foot
• To develop optimal movement coordination, perform all drills when your energy levels are high - before your main workout begins. Performing drills when fatigued leads to less ideal posture and form - and fewer gains in efficiency
• To reduce impact forces and minimise the possibility of injury, perform all drills on grass, a rubberised track, a wood floor, or some other type of resilient surface