West Stride Running Form Clinic

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This past month I was given the opportunity to participate in a Running Form Clinic offered by West Stride in cooperation with running form expert Kyle O’Day of Continuum Sports Solutions.  I, like most runners, am aware of my form, but I am never absolutely sure if I am doing it right.

If you read much about running form you know that a lot of emphasis is put on foot strike and what type of shoe you wear or maybe don’t wear.  Too many times people try to fix their form and bent toward injury with shoes or other gadgets instead of seeking professional help with tuning up their form.

Upper Body Form–Is It Easier Than Lower Body?

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The second week of the hands on form clinic which Kyle promised to be the more difficult did not disappoint.  The first week at the track we worked on upper body form which was pretty easy to pick up on and to feel if you were doing in right or not.

True to his word, Kyle did not let us down and give us more easy work.  All I can say is that I did not start off looking like a rose, and I am not sure there is even an ugly flower that would be a good comparison with what I looked like.

We started off the evening with drills and everyone was given the time to once again get comfortable with what would be the stepping stones of the work we had in front of us.  Following the warm up Kyle O’Day from Continuum Sports took center stage and demonstrated the lower body form that we would be working on.  It looked easy enough while he was demonstrating it, however once we started to attempt to put it to the test things fell apart rather quickly.

How Would You Rate Your Running Form?

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Some people think they have near perfect running form and can be found talking about it all the time, while others haven’t even thought about it at all.  There is, however, a third group of runners that I like to think I can most closely relate to – those that think about running form and try to do the right thing, but are not quite sure if they are getting it completely right.

This third group of runners may read books, magazines, and blogs and think they understand, but without a knowledgeable individual giving an honest assessment they can never be completely sure they are correctly implementing what they have understood from their research.  This is where I have found myself for so many years.  I am proud of what I do know, but truth be told I have a lot to learn.

Running Form – Could it Cause Injury?

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Running Form is not something I have given a lot of thought to up until now.  Sure I have tried to relax and pay attention to my stride, but it has always been a passing thought and something I convinced myself was other runners problems, and not mine.

Previously, when thinking about running form, it was always with how it related to my speed and premature fatigue during long runs, and yet I rarely questioned if it had anything to do with any of my recent injuries.  In my mind, injury has always been associated with overtraining or shoe choice.  The only time I ever have related injury with form has been with extreme form issues, which I have always convinced myself I do not suffer from.