Marathon Running Posture

Running Posture

Your body angle depends on the method you develop for your foot fall or foot strike. If you run with a heel first foot strike style then an erect posture is generally more efficient. This is because the muscles would have to strain otherwise to keep you balanced. However, if you use the ball of the foot method, you should have a slightly leaning forward posture which allows for a more fluid motion of the legs.

Avoid rolling your head around, try and keep it straight and erect. Your body has a tendency to follow the head in whatever direction. If you run while looking at your feet you will have a tendency to fall forward. Always look ahead and your head will help keep you erect.

Keep your hips relaxed, keep them forward and up. At the same time, try pulling in your buttocks by moving your pelvis forward slightly. This moves your centre of gravity forward which aids forward motion.

You need to relax your shoulders but don’t let them roll. They should be curved forward slightly in a relaxed manner. Don’t lean forward too much otherwise your hips will move backward to compensate which will badly affect your centre of gravity and your posture. As a result your stride length will suffer and you will be using more energy.

The arms are, perhaps, the biggest problem. They are like two pendulums hanging from your shoulders. To swing a pendulum requires energy. The longer the pendulum the more energy it requires to swing it so shorten it. Bend your arm at the elbow and use it like a piston not a pendulum. If you carry your arms too high though, it will cause fatigue. Don’t swing them excessively but don’t carry them rigidly either. Inhibiting a natural swing uses just as much energy as inducing an unnatural one. In general your hands shouldn’t go any higher than your chest or any lower than the waist. When your arm completes the backward swing then the hand should just graze the seam of your shorts.

Bouncing is probably where most energy is wasted so you should try to eliminate as much of it as possible. All the energy used to bounce needs to be used to move you forward. While running, try focusing on an object in the distance. If the object seems to be bouncing up and down excessively then you are bouncing too much and you should try and adapt your style or rhythm accordingly.

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