Every runner wants to have good running form.
Running with proper form not only helps you look as graceful as an Olympic marathon runner—perhaps saving you from passers-by staring at your hunched-over body, shuffling feet, and pained expression—but it can also make running feel more effortless, natural, and pain-free.
Additionally, good running technique can reduce the risk of injuries by optimizing your biomechanics and ensuring your joints, muscles, and connective tissues are properly aligned for the stresses you impose on them.
But, many runners aren’t sure how to improve their running form or what proper running posture and form even look like.
The good news is that even if you’ve been running for years, you can improve your running form by consciously working on it and using certain mental cues during your workouts.
Are you eager to start looking and feeling like a champion runner who seemingly appears as if running is entirely effortless? Keep reading to learn how to improve running form instantly.
Why Focus On Improving Running Technique?
Sure, we’d all love to have exemplary running form as a matter of pride, but running with proper form can also improve your running economy and efficiency.
This can allow your body to run faster and further with less effort because a higher percentage of the energy you’re exerting is actually going into moving you forward rather than being wasted on unnecessary motion or excessive friction from shuffling your feet against the road.
Running with poor form can increase the risk of running injuries. It places undue stresses on certain bones, joints, muscles, and connective tissues. This can subject them to excessive loads or alter the line of force they are designed to withstand.
Proper running form, on the other hand, optimizes your biomechanics and places the forces and stresses through your joints appropriately, reducing the chance of tissue overload and resultant injury.
Although consciously working on your running form can feel awkward and challenging at first (and raise that heart rate!), once your body has adjusted, it will allow you to run more comfortably and effortlessly as you become a more efficient runner.
What Injuries Can Bad Running Form Cause?
As mentioned, running with poor form can potentially increase the risk of certain running-related injuries, which is why it’s so important for us to know how to improve running form.
Depending on your a variety of factors, such as your overall training, body size, biomechanics, and footwear, bad running form can contribute to the following injuries:
- Plantar fasciitis1Trojian, T., & Tucker, A. K. (2019). Plantar Fasciitis. American Family Physician, 99(12), 744–750. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2019/0615/p744.html
- Achilles tendonitis2Mayo Clinic. (2018). Achilles tendinitis – Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/achilles-tendinitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20369020
- Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints)3McClure, C. J., & Oh, R. (2019, April 4). Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538479/
- Stress fractures4Patel, D. S., Roth, M., & Kapil, N. (2011). Stress Fractures: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention. American Family Physician, 83(1), 39–46. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2011/0101/p39.html
- Runner’s knee (patellofemoral pain syndrome)5Bump, J. M., & Lewis, L. (2023, February 13). Patellofemoral Syndrome. Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557657/ and other knee pain and injuries
- Iliotibial band syndrome6Hadeed, A., & Tapscott, D. C. (2020). Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542185/
- Low back pain7Mayo Clinic. (2018). Back pain. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/back-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20369906
What Does Good Running Form Entail?
Before we go into how to improve running form, let’s look at what good running form is comprised of.
Although there’s no universal standard for what makes “good” running form as each of us is different, here are some of the key elements to look out for:
#1: Balanced Pelvis
Your weight should be split evenly between your two hips and legs. Keep your core muscles tight and engaged to promote balance.
Even though each leg swings separately, you want your hips to be level and balanced. When each foot lands, engage your glutes and core to keep your hips level rather than sinking down into the weight-bearing side (the Trendelenburg sign).
If you notice you are indeed dropping your hip on each side when you land, you need to strengthen your gluteus medius muscle, an important hip abductor.
When added to your strength training plan, exercises like clam shells, lateral leg lifts, single-leg squats, and side steps can help strengthen this muscle group. Unilateral exercises will also work out muscle imbalances in general.
Also, include core strength exercises for improved stability.
#2: Upright Posture
Proper running form hinges upon using good posture because it allows your lungs and diaphragm to expand and breathe as easily as possible.
Keep your upper body upright and your spine neutral.
In other words, you should not be hunched over or leaning backwards while you run. Picture yourself “running tall,” as if there’s a string attached to the top of your head pulling you up towards the sky. A slight forward lean is encouraged.
Think about keeping your chest open, up, and proud. Engage your core and keep your shoulders back and down, away from your ears.
#3: Legs and Feet
The workload on your legs should be even. You want your legs to be mirror images of one another. The stride length on your left leg should be the same as on the right leg.
Lift your legs high enough that your feet aren’t shuffling along and scuffing the road, treadmill, trail, or track beneath you.
Some runners think that shuffling along will conserve energy because they don’t have to lift their legs as high, but this creates excess friction and reduces forward momentum.
Land on your midfoot (or forefoot) rather than your heel. Heel striking puts excessive stress on your shins, which can travel up to your knees, hips, and back, and can increase your risk of injury.
Landing on your heel also inhibits your forward momentum by essentially applying a braking energy to your stride.
Try to land lightly on your feet with a midfoot strike rather than slapping your feet down with each step. You shouldn’t hear your running shoes slamming against the pavement.
A quick running cadence, or step rage, of approximately 170-190 steps per minute is ideal. Studies have shown8Heiderscheit, B. C., Chumanov, E. S., Michalski, M. P., Wille, C. M., & Ryan, M. B. (2011). Effects of step rate manipulation on joint mechanics during running. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43(2), 296–302. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181ebedf4 that running with a faster cadence can help with injury prevention because it reduces joint impact forces.
#4: Head and Gaze
Your head should be in a neutral position, so that your chin and forehead are facing straight ahead rather than up or down.
Your gaze should be straight forward, or slightly forward and down so that you can spot the upcoming footing on the road or trail in front of you.
Resist the urge to look down at your feet. This can compress your airway and make it more difficult to breathe deeply.
#5: Arm Swing
Many runners don’t focus enough attention on their arms. The arm swing component of running form helps improve your balance, rhythm, power, and speed. In fact, the arms drive the legs. The faster you pump your arms, the faster your legs will move.
Your shoulders should be relaxed and down away from your ears. Your elbows should be bent at about a 90-degree angle. Swing your arms straight forward and back along the side of your torso.
Minimize any motion of your arms across your body.
Your hands should not swing past the midline of your body, so if you picture an invisible fence running down your torso from your chin to your belly button, do not allow your right hand to swing across to the left side of this fence, and vice versa.
When your arm swing has too much side-to-side motion, your running form is less efficient. This motion wastes energy that could otherwise be propelling you forward.
#6: Relaxed Hands
Your hands should be in a loose, relaxed fist as if trying to keep a butterfly safe inside without crushing it. A tight fist increases tension and can fatigue your muscles over time.
How Can I Improve My Running Form Instantly?
Changing your running form can definitely feel quite overwhelming, especially if you’ve been running for months or years.
This is because if your form turns heads—and not in a good way—most of us run with whatever form feels natural, and we put very little conscious effort into our form while running. We simply run.
However, the time and energy you invest in improving your running form usually pay off in the long run by allowing you to run more easily and stay injury-free.
Start making changes to your running form gradually. For example, rather than trying to use every running form cue and change everything at once, focus on just one body part or one form tip per run.
Try using a cue or mantra that will help remind you how to adjust that aspect of your running form, and check in every mile or so to see how your form looks and feels.
Here are some examples of proper running form cues:
- Balance: “Level pelvis”, “even hips,” “level hips,” or “balanced pelvis.”
- Posture: “Run tall,” “head to the sky,” “proud chest,” ”shoulders back,” ”shoulders away from the ears,” “upright like a soldier,” or “stand, don’t slouch.”
- Head: “Eyes forward,” “chin straight ahead,” “eyes on the horizon,” or “eyes up” (if you tend to look at your feet).
- Feet: “Light feet,” “quick steps,” “light and quick,” “step, don’t shuffle,” or “prance and glide.”
- Arms: “Don’t cross the fence,” “swing and drive,” “forward and back,” or “powerful pump.”
- Hands: “Hold the butterfly,” “light and loose,” “light fist, not tight fist,” “relaxed hands,” or “loose fists.”
As a running coach, I suggest my athletes pick one or two running form components per run—say, arms and hands—and then choose the running form cue that resonates most with how they envision their form needing to change.
A tip on how to improve running form is to recite the cue every few minutes during your warm-up and run to give yourself a visual reminder of how you want to hold and move your body as you run.
Concentrating on your running form in a piecemeal fashion with just one or two components at a time will allow you to make improvements without feeling overwhelmed.
Another tip on how to improve running form instantly is to run in front of a mirror on a treadmill so that you can visualize your form and get immediate feedback on what you need to change.
You can also ask a friend to take a video of you running or work with a running coach so you can critique your running form, check out your foot strike, see if you are overstriding, etc.
Remember, taking the time to practice and perfect proper running form can make your runs more enjoyable.
You will be able to cover the same distance with less effort, allowing you to run further and faster.
Proper running form can reduce the risk of injuries and make you look and feel like the champion you are.
Next step? Perfecting that cadence. Take a look at this next guide:
I thank you for your time guiding me through this process and helping me to understand how to enjoy to run with passion and feel alive while running and love running thus you are a great teacher