Gruesome Over-Striding

I've dug out these pictures to show the extent of the problem. And the 35 years over which the problem has been ingrained!

1982 Southern Schools XC - 15 years old

2009 Indoor 800m - I cringed looking at this photo even back then

2011 - this is my 5k personal best!  just imagine how faster it could have been!!

2012 - at least I'm not trying to plough the track up with my heel any longer..

2013 - worryingly, this is not even exceeding 80% effort!

I was looking on YouTube at the drill videos, and of course other suggestions came up in answer to my google search.


There are a lot of people preaching about running style, and there's a lot of stuff on line about it that I just hadn't appreciated before. Some content from what appear to be experienced coaches, and some from just generally keen individuals.  But most of it amounting to the same advice about not over striding.



But the key differences are how the message is packaged about what the runner should concentrate on whilst running to achieve the desired effect.  Some concentrate on the landing, some on the legs, some on the knees, and some mention the hips.



There's a series of extremely dry videos from Michael Yessis.  Also the POSE running stuff, and ChiRunning.  And the UK's Running School.



I also listened to this weeks marathon talk.  The main interview was with Richard Moore, who wrote "the dirtiest race in history" (about the Seul Olympics 100m) and more recently " the Bolt Supremacy". Writing the Bolt book took him to Jamaica, where he experienced the sprint training for youngsters at school.  It struck me that we never had any training about "how to run", at school or at club in those days.  I remember a coach telling me, once, to "run more upright or you won't be running at all in 5 years".  But that was about it.  In Jamaica, Richard says it's more like dance classes, and that the running is almost secondary.

Why don't we get that in the UK?  How do we change that?