PERFECT RUNNING FORM - Why Do PRO Runners Kick Their Feet So High?

[@JamesDunne]

*Next watch this video on how to increase your stride length and run faster: **kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoPOqGl-nJmBaLs* ⚡ FREE DOWNLOAD ⚡ How to improve your running technique: jamesdkr.lpages.co/running-form-guide-youtube-bonus/

[@glyndonwakeman7420]

From a straight biomechanics viewpoint it makes sense that the knee flexes more as we run faster, as it decreases the moment arm of the mass of the lower leg. Essentially making it more energy efficient and faster to swing through. Look at the neat role of sartorius in both flexing the knee and hip through swing, and gastrocnemius at toe-off helping to flex the knee. Regardless, there is a definite correlation between pace and knee flexion in swing. Taken to the extreme, can you imagine a sprinter that doesn't 'butt flick', but instead tries to sprint with minimal knee flexion?.....and conversely how wrong it looks when someone shuffles along with an exaggerated heel lift.

[@siewkaykam]

Ooooo

[@siewkaykam]

O

[@siewkaykam]

O

[@siewkaykam]

O

[@Dinckelburg]

Sometimes when running I catch a glimpse of my reflection in a shop window and think I look silly, hardly lifting my legs. But then 20km and no aches or pains later, I'm grateful to have made it back in one piece and fit enough to go again tomorrow.

[@OverlyCuriousEngineer]

True that. In my own experience as well, the technique shown in the video makes me end up with sore hamstrings and also strains my patellar tendon more, which takes long to recover from once it flares up. In contrast, keeping a lower angle of knee flexion i always feel comfy after a long run. Though this also results in a lot of vertical bounce and using the technique in the video becomes imperative as the pace increases.

[@sillymesilly]

Best technique is barefooted that let you run easy and joyful

[@carrotandpineapple8756]

I see my shadow. It looked silly too, but like you say, as long as no injury and pain after running, I am okay with it, tho faster will be nice😁😁

[@mohamedorayith4626]

@@OverlyCuriousEngineer that is fine but you will never reach your optimum/peak performance by having low knee angles

[@Zhinazi]

Same here!

[@jasonree]

When I have tried this, pulling my knee up, it certainly feels faster, and feels like my legs are turning over quickly. Almost feels like flying!!

[@MegaDreamOo]

I did this also in my long run. Felt less fatigued and controlled.

[@kartikjadhav5329]

please your workout and diet please

[@nuclear9977]

@@kartikjadhav5329kese ho mitra

[@sorayapierre7432]

YESS

[@freedom413]

Same here

[@BornAdventures]

Thanks. That was very interesting. I often try bring my legs up at the back when I run. It does feel like my pace increases, but quickly I get exhausted. The pros make it look so effortless

[@elstingergt3374]

Years of practice.

[@GwuacNSalza]

But that speed increase tho!? I lost so many races as a kid simply because I aint pick my feet up like I thought I was

[@visceraeyes525]

pros only kick their heels up that high because theyre running at incredibly fast paces/speed that its natural. for the average joe or even athletic types, they wont ever need to raise their heels up that high naturally because theyll be running at a much more normal pace and yeah like you said, forcing yourself to any unnatural running form will just tire out your muscles faster than being relaxed and loose

[@Magrinist]

I was exhausted 3km in lol. I just try to make heels look up. Makes my form better.

[@garetht9666]

​@visceraeyes525 I saw a video of Kenyan marathoners jogging in Central Park, and they still had amazing heel lift. And Mo Farah doing 10 minute miles is ridiculous, when even his easy runs would be 6 minutes. Even when I sprint a 30 second 200m all-out (I'm 53), I don't have the heel lift of an elite 2 minute female 800m runner. It can't just be about pace.

[@bentravels390]

I found out it is a sweet spot. You cannot force it. Just try to gradually get comfortable, running at that speed without losing breath & form. Toughen yourself in many ways. Be gritty.

[@SlashPanther]

What about nitty gritty? Or is that too much?

[@bev9708]

Just focusing even a little bit on this has had a huge impact on my running over the last few weeks, combined with some of your other tips and exercises I've been doing daily... I've added about 20-30% to the distances that I'm easily able to do on a daily basis. But most of all, as I've commented before, it has added enormously to the pleasure I feel out there running and that is by far the most important thing for me... the sheer joy of being out there running!!! Many thanks to you James.

[@JamesDunne]

Great to hear, Bev! It's great to see how your running is progressing :) Keep it up!

[@TAH1712]

I'm 100% with Bev- new to running, was getting calf pains / cramps so i've been changing foot strikes, running more upright, hips more underneath, focussing on limiting the foot/ground contact time ( if that make sense ?) and i have to say i've never felt so comfortable nor enjoyment in running. So, there's alot to running properly...yep, thanks James. Something in my little engineers mind is yelling Angular momentum - when gymnasts/trampolinists do fast acrobatics , they tuck their arms and legs in - i felt almost immediately 'lighter' in raising the calf/lower leg.

[@exerciserelax8719]

It would be great to see footage of what good form vs. poor form looks like at, say, 10:00 min/mile. Most videos on running form show elite runners during a race, which is great to have as an ideal, but as you pointed out, it looks very different than an amateur doing an easy pace long run.

[@jackepples2811]

All you need to focus on is landing flat footed with your foot below your body. Don’t land in front of your body

[@piwo647]

You are right. Many videos of pro runners such at Kipchoge and other elites doing slow runs or warm ups in Item. They run around 9 to 10min per mile during some segments and never lift their feet that high. It would be ridiculous to do that at these paces.

[@andytv22]

The fastest way to improve your form is take shorter/quicker steps

[@caseysmith544]

Try to find some elite runners who are running an easy pace on KZbin, you will see even then they are bent at about a 90 degree angle for the slowest runs.

[@98percentGorilla]

Try this kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4ecZnSZirKooJI

[@RunWithDaniel]

Well explained 👍🏼 cheers from Kenya 🇰🇪

[@JamesDunne]

Thanks Daniel!

[@MegaDreamOo]

Daniel my man ❤️

[@edcal33166]

@Run With Daniel: Every Kenyan runner I’ve ever seen has that beautiful high-back-kick stride that James Dunne talks about. Is that something that Kenyan runners learn when they become serious about their running or do children just do it naturally?

[@jayvonpryor1956]

Daniel what kinda times you run?

[@RunWithDaniel]

@@edcal33166 actually I think it is because of the trails we run and the training we do from the beginning

[@jackrose7303]

This tip does increase my pace. However, it makes me ran out of breath faster too.

[@Esperluet]

Weight of the legs

[@JStock1032]

Hell, breath doesn't matter. It'll get better automatically.

[@ryanrobbie]

these high level athletes also weigh under 60kg

[@peterwall1951]

It takes time for you body to adjust to new stimuli

[@WideAwakeHuman]

@@ryanrobbie yeah I have zero desire to look like an elite marathon runner lol

[@Maxyshadow]

Another running question explained! I just want to take this opportunity to thank you James for all these great videos you've shared over the years.

[@thatlumberjack]

I believe a better cue for picking up the feet is to push off with the toe. There's a reason the gastrocnemius' origin is on the femur and not the tibia: it's to automatically initiate knee bend as soon as the toe has left the ground. While the hamstrings is useful for knee flexion as they will perform a similar function if they are still being activated at toe off, I believe that in this case it would be more beneficial for amateur runners to focus on a stronger toe off through calf flexion to fix the problem of dragging feet.

[@zacharythatcher7328]

How does this not go completely against the idea of leaving flat footprints in the sand? Flat footprints was one of the best pieces of running advice I've ever gotten and really help me realize how a higher cadence is supposed to shorten my stride. Pushing on toe off only really matters above a 7 minute mile pace as far as I'm concerned. Under that pace a runner should focus on driving the knees forward in a straight line at a high cadence in order to get a circular foot motion. Telling someone to push off with their calves at these slow paces will displace the effort from their glutes to their calves and lead to muscle imbalance injuries like shin splints.

[@Stephangarcia79]

Gonna put your theory too the test tomorrow..10.5 mile tomorrow..

[@fake10hourentertainment17]

I think your ball of foot or midfoot is better than your toe. Running on your toes can cause calf issues. Conversely running on your heels causes shin issues.

[@Starboardstoicruise-ls4fy]

So basically landing midfoot on the front and pushing front the toe at the back.

[@jessymervinlawas5650]

Did that and it was the best run I've ever done and I was able to log a 1km for 4:40. It was the fastest I've ran. I got tired really fast though, I should have more endurance training. Thanks for the video.

[@richardbeattie5575]

Great video. Well explained. Ive just started running about a month. 2 or 3 times a week at the minute. Doing 5km each and getting faster.

[@athulsebastian6863]

I was having this doubt for a long time. Even I consciencly tried to lift my legs higher during some runs and found that I was getting tired faster even though my speed and stride length increased substantially.. Thanks for video. Now I will run in my normal style for I am not an elite and doesnt have that recoil force.

[@triscurtis]

I find it a weird chicken-and-egg situation. I've based-trained from about 10:20/mi to 9:30/mi over past few months, and recently started working on getting a 155spm cadence up to somewhere around 180sqm. At the same time I have abnormally loose hip flexor extension, which requires more lifting than recoil. So I'm awkwardly learning a new motor pattern, keeping cadence up, while trying to stay under Zone 4 at the same time. It feels like a shuffle, but it's starting to look smooth with less vertical oscillation. When I do faster intervals closer to 8min/mi, good mechanics is much easier. It's almost like you need a good level of fitness for the body's mechanics to hit their sweet spot. The flow gets easier as you get faster. Something to look forward to!

[@daniellewsey768]

Great video James - and very relevant as I’m spending this time focused on form. For me I’ve been focused on picking up my knees and I’ve found that has helped lift the feet up too. That, combined with focus on increasing my cadence has really helped me to feel like I can run faster with what feels like less effort.

[@JamesDunne]

Great to hear from you, Daniel! Faster for less effort is always a good result 🏃🏻‍♂️💨

[@CSRunner7]

Sometimes when I focus more consciously on the knee lift and feet then my cadence can drop. Any way to avoid that? Not sure if I’m doing it wrong?

[@rahulbosebose1]

Realizing this helped me improve my running speed to 8:30 from my regular 9 minute mile pace for 10k runs. Thanks.

[@aunimarzuqi8113]

hows ur breathing? is it making u exhausted?

[@rahulbosebose1]

@@aunimarzuqi8113 No , it feels about the same. I do have to be concious about it , in my normal running motion I revert back to not lifting the heel too much.

[@DanAbsalonson]

I’ve been wondering about that, and what you said makes sense. Thanks for explaining it so well.

[@rasherth9324]

I just start practicing sprinting. I like to imaging myself doing a knee strike when lifting my leg. It seems better than other cues.

[@matthewstephens5005]

Thanks for this. I’m looking at upping my pace from the 8.5 min miles and this has given me something to try. Cheers

[@AlexaMorales]

Great advice -- currently need to get my motivation back to run at all! It will come soon, watching vids like these help...

[@jaysonong6364]

Watching your videos for my preparation on my first half-marathon. Your videos are amazing!

[@trocchiettoski]

I found this video googling kick and run that is a soccer tactic. I am really glad to have seen this video. I always asked to myself why the runners had such broad strides. while my coach told me always to focus on tempo, and doing instead small steps for 5 per km.Thank you very much

[@SamWynne]

Great video James. I really enjoyed this one. I’ve been working on cadence, but this needs to be considered while I’m doing so.

[@JamesDunne]

Thanks, Sam! Pleased to hear you enjoyed the video. Hope you’re staying safe and well.

[@cheesesteakphilly]

Great tutorial! This guy uses proper anatomy and it’s terms and does it less time than than the other KZbinrs.

[@jlprescott7243]

Training for the 50th annual Honolulu Marathon 2022. For me, I try not to exert too much energy to pickup my trailing foot and allow physics (centripetal) force automatically raise my heel to the butt as I run drive my knee via stretching my hip flexors, while running faster. No problems with my foot landing as I land with a mid-foot strike. Cheers!

[@carlos-fv1rc]

From my experience, I know that you have to strengthen your leg muscles before successfully applying the high leg kick. If you regularly do various types of squats and lunges (easy to find on YT), you'll be able to lengthen your stride, which will help you greatly improve your running pace.

[@deanb61]

Depends on the style of running suited to your body type. Take a look at 'gliders and gazelles', this explains it quite well using the two differing styles of Marinda Carfre and Chrissie wellington, who both run at a similar pace, but with very contrasting styles.

[@andymackellar]

I enjoyed this very much. My main area of gait analysis is in my day job, working with stroke survivors, so there is good potential for cross pollenation of ideas. Good work, well done. Keep it up.

[@Mr-ye1vu]

That was really helpful. I’ve been over thinking my running form over the last couple of months and it’s hindered my progress. This has cleared up a few things for me. 👍🏻

[@JasonTorpy]

helpful video. I feel like I'm just slow, hence low high follow through... good info here to think that through for me. I recommend highlighting katelyn tuohy for a video like this. she's got a fantastic running style including a high heel kick. good to highlight the women as well, especially a rising star.

[@progress.topick6226]

This high lift of legs comes with long amounts of running over the years and not just practice to do it else you are going to end up back with just barely lifting your legs These athletes have been running since they were 12, 13 so they have built up that technique

[@MegaDreamOo]

Absolutely every want want the short fast way. They dedicate their lives for that.

[@elitejrunner6580]

I've noticed the vaporflys really help with a higher backick and long stride, but one thing is in cross country, it's a lot harder to this since the spikes barely have as much energy return. I've noticed even the elite runners have a lower backkick in cross country rather than in a road race or track race. This may be due to lower speed in cross country and less energy return in spikes and less traction on grass.

[@piwo647]

This technique should not be forced. Besides, it’s something that comes naturally with speed and during racing. Not something you should try to replicate during your slow runs. I advise people to look at Kipchoge or other runners easy pace such as videos taken in Item, the Mecca of runners. These guys are all sub 2:10 marathoners yet during their easy runs (they often run 9 to 10 min miles) they don’t lift their heels much.

[@think-islam-channel]

Well said

[@jessicashih6235]

We truly appreciate your video. Awesome.

[@bougieproletariat]

A high kick is just the result of running faster and pushing your foot harder against the ground you can see yourself naturally do this if you try to beat your PR.

[@kevinberger3501]

I ran a marathon where the amateurs started first and then the pros started the same course later. I never fully appreciated the speed they run at until that day. I was cruising at my relaxed 11 km/h pace and they went by me like gazelles; yet with relaxed, effortless strides like they weren’t even racing. I forget his name but the winner was Kenyan. Kenya has an unbelievable history in endurance running.

[@shizzler7176]

When I first tried this I found I ran slower with more effort. Eventually I realized that counterintuitively this form actually leads to a higher cadence for the same effort level. But because I was not used to running this way I was landing with my feet even more in front and even "earlier" compared to before. The very problem that you are supposed to avoid! I was doing more work going back but then braking on each stride. To fix it I focused on slowing down my cadence very slightly while trying to land further back. The "swing tip" I can give is that I basically try to pretend I am riding a bicycle. You will feel like your legs are moving in a circle (they are) and it is obviously way more efficient; you will realize it is better almost immediately if you are doing it right. Note that because it is a different motion you may not speed up that much until you train it but for me it was so much faster that what I was doing that I improved right away.

[@rusticromeo]

Awesome explanation to an important question on the minds of all newbies like me.. why am I not lifting up my leg like the guys on KZbin. Tried that and all it did was bring me pain, exhaustion and lack of enjoyment. Almost tore my calf. Now I am back to my low lift 8 Mon per km and towards the later half of each run I take short faster steps which reduces the contact time and also enables me to run faster.. think in the end ur body and mind r the best judge on how u run.. if u concentrate a bit on what is comfortable during ur run ur mind will figure out the best running rhythm for u...

[@TheHumanBodyTalk]

What a great video. I gonna break this down in a video! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

[@gengar678]

Form comes with speed. Start running 150+ km a week and start running at 20 kmh and you will run exactly like the examples. I am not saying it's not true what you are saying, actually it is all true, but it's quite useless. Unfortunately. You think Paula R never had a coach that would have changed her stride if it was like a golden key? Style doesnt win races, in the end you just have to run. And your body will find the most economic way to do it if you make enough miles. Thousands of miles that is. And for all of us that dont run under 3:30 mins we are not going to look like Bekele. Like I said your info is valid though. Thx for the video.

[@izuanheadstompvega2152]

Totally agree.. Our body is more intelligent than we think. As you increase mileage the body will be more adaptive and more efficient..

[@jpsullivan4845]

Completely backwards, speed comes with form. Ask any running coach.

[@h_lundstroem]

Would be nice if you had a treadmill to better exemplify the various techniques, cheers! :)

[@ghostoperator-op6ku]

This video is very helpful .....can you make video to fix footwork in long distance running 👍

[@james9659]

Worked a treat for me..thank you!

[@UDR-Channel]

WOW !!! You really know your stuff !! So glad I found this channel

[@GD-my5hm]

Fantastic explanation, thank you!

[@CSRunner7]

Fantastic video! Just what I’ve been searching for as been reading lots about leg technique and heel lift. I’m never sure when running what cue/feeling to focus on. In other words do I consciously think about my feet and what to do with them or ignore those and think about hip and thigh/knee action. When I try to consciously flick heel up seems too bouncy and cadence drops quite a bit. I’m now trying focusing on feeling like really short steps to keep high cadence and less about foot and more keeping tall with high pelvis and pushing hip forward and driving top of thigh through and hoping that reduces over striding and heel landing. Does that sound correct? Do you have a specific cue/feeling you work on re leg action? Thanks again, spot on!

[@agpsimoes]

Great video! Thank you James

[@walt4670]

There are no shortcuts to increasing your stride length organically so it looks similar at all to that of elite marathoners, or even those who run marathons in the 2:30-3:00hr range; you can't put more power into your legs without the long term strength and aerobic systems training these runners employ, just by making a sudden change to your form to try to increase pace. It might feel faster for a short distance because frankly, you're running faster, but it doesn't mean you have a secret well of fitness you just haven't tapped into. It takes a considerable amount of time and dedication to smart, consistent training to evolve your biomechanics in a way that enables the kind of stride length/power you see in elite marathoners.

[@davidspencer8233]

These videos you make, James, are really great. Fun to watch, informative, helpful, presented in such a nice way. Excellent 👍

[@jasondumont297]

So insightful and helpful. Thank you, James!

[@DavidDeeble]

Form analysis of high heel kickers like Bekele give content creators something to talk about but it's worth remembering that the height of your heel kick is function of your pace, not the other way around. More to the point, not all elite runners have high heel kicks. Two examples of world class marathoners with extraordinarily low heel kicks are Alberto Salazar and Albert Korir, the latter the reigning New York City marathon champion. The following slow-motion videos should dispel the notion that there is *a* correct running form for running fast, let alone that emulating the high kicking elites will cause some of their magic to rub off onto us punters. Salazar winning Boston: kzbin.info/www/bejne/joXFoGaBoMmrjMU and Korir winning New York City: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5TEeHxvrtd4q7s .

[@runningschoolofhannover3386]

Very well explained the technique of the champs. There are some other tricks like jump and stretch quality together with core turns which relaxe your body during running for a short time and give the runner more capacity to release the max energy for running. more cross muscles of the body core will be activated. Much more things come together to improve your breath quality. running is a wonderful and magic art of movement.

[@osasumweneweka2183]

Terrific, sweet James hi fives Sasu, James running technique

[@akshaymadavi8833]

Very very important information sir

[@georgebugarin1078]

Gosh I start running like this and try to adjust to a manageable pace; it gets tiring after a while to kick that knee up and the leg forward

[@notapro968]

Great video as always

[@arenamediya7323]

Very well explained. I tried heel lift at 9 mph and it looked I was faking it. I would rather stay with my current form which is ok I guess.

[@cyclonmaster]

Interesting. Very informative.

[@zacharythatcher7328]

In my personal experience, the most obvious and immediate injuries caused by low leg swings at too high of a pace are knee injuries. It overstrains the tendons around the kneecap to try and stabilize the entire leg while it swings fully extended. The reason I end up swinging my legs fully extended is because I am trying to keep a really high cadence and keep everything other than my glutes completely relaxed. I can definitely feel sometimes that this requires lifting compensation at distance paces, and this video confirmed my suspicion. Thanks!

[@kessilrun6754]

Very good information. Yes not good to overstride. So many runners end up heel striking, without knowledge, as they try to reach out there. It's not about the reach, as you should be landing/ striking almost under your hips. It's about the propulsion. Want to cover more ground? Launch harder and further out. As you get stronger it becomes easier to launch (the idea being). Easier said that done, however. You still have to take your time to get there and follow your heart rate (effort level). Train in zones. In doing so you simultaneously condition your tendons and bones for the added impact and strength. Try and get there too soon? Overuse.

[@ProjectAnubisUSA]

It’s also probably to maintain cadence since at a high your leg needs to get in front of your body faster and your body knows how to compensate for the timing. The closer your leg is to your body the faster and easier you can swing it forward to re-extend. Keep in mind this is an observation base on mechanical engineering, human mechanics and motorized gearing, I know nothing about running. 😂

[@jamiedavid8023]

You got me at Hello... THE HEEL LIFT... ladies and gents listen to this advice

[@JamesDunne]

Thanks, Jamie! Glad you enjoyed the video 😃

[@Raucherbeinknacker]

Right now I remember when I was a kid I was running for something and when I got exhausted after about 100m I kinda relaxed and not stopping at once but let my body speed out as it was running by itself. I remember now that my heels almost or indeed kicked my butt! The flying heels is not arbitrary but it's a result of body mechanics, Frederick Zillen explains very well why. One method to find out the right body mechanics is to do things very relaxed and sometimes maybe even with closed eyes. If for a kick you gonna swing your leg with brute force you will waste a lot of energy, but If you feel your body your knee will lead and your pelvis will follow and your stand will pivot. And if you kick aimless in the air, your body will teach you the right angle. If you learn that you will generate speed and force in a mere relaxed but precise and much more powerful way. First you look how other advanced people apply kicks, but you don't catch crucial details and you fail and maybe your groin is paining because you didn't pivot or something like that. You analyse again and sometimes you feel the mistake only listening to your body. It's an interplay of intuition and reason and tension and relaxation of sensation and actuation. The great barrier is the unawareness. Sometimes you have to stop trying and practicing and start another day with a clear mind.

[@its_raksh]

It really helped ,thanks alot...from india

[@scottmiller1729]

James your videos are great. Very informative. I feel like I am running when I lift my heels. I am older so this type of running will take some time to develop. Plus I will need to develop alot of aerobic capacity to run this way without hr going to high.

[@lucaswhite-wd8ro]

I think this helps because your quads fatigue a lot on longer runs and even faster ones but hamstrings don’t really fatigue the same way so it stretches the muscle more allowing it to feel better throughout the run

[@dualranger]

Another fantastic video James

[@zibbennova]

elite runner did it because their bodies tends to leaning forward from the ankle (not the hip), this really changes the overall angle of their running form that makes them kicking their feet so high in our perspective

[@annpes3143]

Thanks a lot, great video

[@britishstandardsinspection1084]

Great vid - Anna O

[@nikkieasley6204]

I run xc and have always struggled with my short stride length and barely lifting my legs

[@agentone8511]

When I lift it too high I start to get cramps on my hamstrings

[@CSRunner7]

Would you recommend strides and other quick feet drills to help with this?

[@JamesDunne]

I’m a big fan of strides. They’ll definitely help!

[@alexisvasquez2061]

@@JamesDunne quick questions, would you recommend doing strides the same day of strenght training or only after easy runs

[@talentlesscommenter1329]

@@alexisvasquez2061 I do them after easy runs because its a lot easier to focus on form when your legs aren’t tired.

[@randyjude3750]

I'm a runner. This guy explained it very well.

[@disgustangy4901]

Thank you runner

[@jeffrieizzudin7939]

I try to run like this but it give me strong impact on my knees and heel...cause I'm overweight...

[@TheMaddBlackMann]

Im addicted to running. And your helping me kick my habit! 👀😳

[@walidmakki]

Very good information

[@jkfloray]

This is just a second video of yours that I have seen. Your explaination is very good and point explained well. I do wish you take help of some animation. The pushing back by the foot actually startes when the leading foot is flat on ground. The heel starts lifting and the toe starts pushing the ground to get the leg to recoil up.

[@seancullen99]

Is it not as much about the posterior chain activating properly rather than the hip flexor or quad per se (which is obviously also important)? I feel like proper engagement of the posterior chain will enable you to get a strong push off on a stride and have your trailing leg extend back to the fullest extent. When this happens there is a natural recoil forwards as the knee moves back under the body to continue the stride forward. So if you need to concentrate on anything then it should be to engage the posterior chain and concentrate on a full extension out the back and feel like you are extending out through your calves and even the heel of your shoe on the stride (like you're trying to throw some dirt off the heel of your shoe or something). If you can do that then the front part of the stride should be much easier to get right as you are less pulling your leg forward than pushing it forward from behind. Your quad and hip flexors will have less work to do and you are taking maximum advantage of the strongest muscle in your body, your glutes. Thoughts?

[@oliw3664]

Cheers James, great stuff.

[@thomasr.6249]

I used to get dirty up to the hair on my back at all cross country runs. I had also a longer stride than my college, which was nearly as fast as I (1,70m vs. he > 1,90m). The key is to have a long stride at the back. The angle between leg and surface has to be smaller when you push off. Because of this you have to pull your leg more quickly and explosive to the front (the foot has to travel a longer way). Than you do this, your heel will swing automatically more to your butt. But this only works if you go faster. Longer strides without going faster is inefficient.

[@playerone1431]

Thanks you! Real trick

[@far06c]

Great video

[@jlprescott7243]

The elites running method is pulling each leg through on the ground to propel forward. This creates force going back and with centripetal force cause their foot to automatically flick up to towards the butt. No active lifting is required. Cheers!

[@enduraman1]

I agree that people are stronger than they think.

[@RobertGuilman]

I just lean my body forward and i automatically did everything you said

[@darrellborder8555]

That's funny! Same here!

[@JamesBrown-hr5qs]

Me too. Running is all reflex. If someone triggers the right reflex all this stuff happens naturally and you don't have to think about that much. It just happens.

[@sandeepshetty1589]

Perfect running form: Eliud Kipchoge Perfect sprinting form: Asafa Powell

[@CoachKonstantinosFoundas]

Nice video💯💯❤❤

[@JamesDunne]

Thank you, Coach 🤗

[@darrellborder8555]

Guess if I drop about 100 lbs I be flying like him. Think body types need some consideration. All the same, thanks for the information. I'll test it out tomorrow and re-edit my post to how it goes.

[@K4R3N]

So Mo is running with his tendons and ligaments and us mere mortals are running with our muscles

[@aviboomboom]

Hey james, I hope you are well, I really enjoy your videos and they helped me wonders. hope you will get the chance to look into my question. I am going through preselection to special forces and try to work on my runs, requirement: 7:30/mile is passing. The thing is when I open the hip, lift my knee up and lifting the back leg higher im getting better pace but lower back cramps as well. Your videos helped me fixed it (I am prawn to lower back pains during runs due to weak glutes relative to my weight) Can you share from your knowledge? If I open the hip and lift the knee what can stop the power back pains? And again, love your work! Very (VERY) on point with every video, amazing really

[@grungeface]

Just discovered that these glute activation exercises go hand in hand with lifting my ankle towards my butt during my runs, regardless of speed. Can’t wait to build on this

[@ivanmanzur1197]

Thanks for your videos! Could you make a video talking about sport hernia? Thanks

[@TheSiameseDreamer]

The extreme high heel lift is a product of years of track running. many elite road runners who were never track runners don't lift high at all.

[@fluorophoremusic3679]

The thing is…most people questioning why their form looks different from pro runners…are running way slower. It simply changes the biomechanics, it changes the momentum, it changes how much ground reaction, it changes stride length… they are running blazingly fast. If you went out running 5min miles for your runs, you’d all be kicking your feet like you see the pros do. This is something that seems to get lost in translation with most KZbin run coaches (this video however DOES cover this)…they discuss appropriate run form and don’t fully acknowledge that form is mostly applicable to running faster than the majority of their viewers. How do you expect to run like this during your 9-10min/miles ? There’s no reason to….I’d argue it would be a greater waste of energy to try to recapitulate the running mechanics scene in the pros when you’re going that slow.

[@bentravels390]

Bec they established a solid lean forward with gravity. What is remarkable about them is they never seem to be overstriding, even at very high speeds. A beginner would easily overstride if you tell him/her to go faster.

[@ariesred777]

Agree with gravity and aerodynamic position comes naturally with speed.

[@karenrogers9985]

The board in the background blurs the visual information of you showing your leg movements. In front of the white wall would gave improved the visuals.

[@rpaulisan]

I remember hearing or reading this thing somewhere on line. You're supposed to be light on your feet. It seems to me like any form will do as long as you are smooth and light on your feet.

[@6681096]

I think some people are misinterpreting what he's saying as he's not encouraging you to have such a high heel kickback if you're going out of slower pace. But, If you are over striding and heel striking then you may want to try more heel kickback.