The "Critique my Run Form Video" thread

Tim Sullivan

Please critique my running form.  In the video I am running at my TRP (8:41). I have been working on removing the heel strike but I still see it in the video.  I also see that I should probably have some forward lean. I think I need better knee drive as well.  Any advice appreciated.

https://youtu.be/YXGFyDCfftg

Tim Sullivan

OK. Instagram didn't work but YouTube did

Tim Sullivan

See above 

Paul Hough

Nothing there, and even if it was I think you need an Instagram account to view it.

Tim Sullivan

OK @Paul Hough. Uploaded through YouTube 

Paul Hough

Yes, you need more knee drive with a corresponding higher heel kick and slightly more forward lean.  Foot plant looks good but pronation is obvious.  I wouldn't worry about the pronation if it doesn't bother you else get a shoe with a beefier heel counter.

Scott Giljum

Tim, I'm no expert on how to correct and the like, but the one thing that jumps out to me is that your foot lands ahead of your body, looking like a heel strike. With more forward lean (from the hips, not the shoulders), you should get your legs to land more under your body and create a mid to front foot strike. 

Paul Curtin

Hi Tim -- overall your stride seems to be very efficient.  Looks to me though that you're slightly out of balance. Your right foot swings a bit more inward than your left foot; and the left elbow is held farther away from your hip than the right elbow.  You may have the same thing I've got: a leg-length discrepancy caused by a hip imbalance; regular chiropractic adjustments work well for me.  Would also like to see your arms moving directly forward and backward; try to think about keeping the elbows closer to the hips and don't let the hands cross over the belly-button-line

Peter Greagg

Tim
I was wondering about your cadence? (as in, a higher cadence often moves a runner towards more of a mid foot strike).

Tim Sullivan

Thanks @Paul Hough - The knee drive and forward lean is going to be something I really concentrate on.  From the videos I have seen, it seems like that will really help with getting more of a mid foot strike.  Believe it or not, the beginning of last year I was much worse about landing on my heels. I worked on my cadence which helped that out, but still have work to do.  For the pronation, it hasn't bothered me. That could be do to the fact that I don't run very often in those shoes I ran in when I took the video.  I wanted to make sure for the video, I saw what was really happening when I ran. I run in Hokas that have inserts in them that I think help a lot. 

Thanks @Scott Giljum I am definitely going to work on more forward lean. Previously it was something that I would occasionally think about.

Thanks @Paul Curtin - that's interesting.  I have noticed sometimes running that the right foot moves more awkwardly than my left foot. I really noticed it in the video.  I will definitely go to the chiropractor to check out that imbalance. I wonder if that is worse because I am not driving my need as much as I should and instead swinging my foot which makes it worse.  I will keep on eye on the elbows lining up with the hips.  That's a good visual.

Thanks @Peter Greagg - I have been working on cadence this last year. I went back and looked at my cadence for my runs and I think I am fairly close to what I should be.  It looks like I average about 175 during a normal run. That should probably be a tad higher from what I've read. I think I also need to work on maintaining a more consistent cadence at different paces as my cadence will go from 160 for slow paces >10 to about 190-200 for paces around 7.

Coach Patrick

@Tim Sullivan - thanks for posting. You run like you should run at mile 23 of an Ironman...which is normal then but not in general.

• Your gait is very short...from where your foot lands to lifts off is just, short. I think your hips are likely very tight...not sure how you feel in a lunch stretch, but my guess is that your hip flexors are pretty tight. Flexibility will help a bit. 
• If you want to run faster, you have to lift your knees higher. I think of running like a right triangle on its side. 

Point A is the knee maximal height, and Point B is where the foot drops down to. Then it's in contact through Point C through full extension and glue activation. In your case, your hip ROM is like 15 degrees...the knee has barely moved (90 degrees would be thigh parallel to the ground). 

A great treadmill drill for this is turning the belt on to like 7 mph and stand on one side, on your outside foot. Inside foot picks up, thigh parallel...then you drop the foot down to hit the belt and let it go back to use your glute. You pull at the hip to get the leg to come back forward / knee up, then drop it down again. This will show you full ROM and could help you get things going. 

Also consider the 7 Way Hips warm up pre run. Methinks your glutes need some serious activation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdenOdoz-MI

All of this in addition to what the others have said. You have potential young man!!

~ Coach P

Tim Sullivan

Thanks @Coach Patrick. Mission accomplished I smile because I obviously overcompensated on my quest to become a more "efficient" runner. I "thought" it would be better to minimize my moving parts which resulted in not using my glutes and keeping my knee low. It also resulted in me pulling my foot through rather than driving my knee.  I also shortened my stride during this period in an attempt to reduce landing on my heels (which used to be worse). I grew up sprinting, and disliked anything longer than a 400 meter sprint, so I never developed any running form for longer distances. Long distance running seems much more complicated compared to sprints  

My hips are fairly flexible (hamstrings not) and my glutes are strong, so now I just need to start using them more!  I will definitely use that treadmill drill. That should help me get the correct feeling of what my knee and foot should be doing. I will also do that warm up drill.  For curiosity sake, I am going to film my form at a fast pace just to see what that looks like. I would guess that it looks better as that was my more natural running style when I was younger. 

The good news is that my MAF pace has dropped about 3 min/mile this last year. Now, I can work on correcting my form and seeing how that corresponds to my longer runs.

Tim Sullivan

Update Here is a short video I recorded today

https://youtu.be/catVBD0rCHc

This is after 700+ day run streak and a good running year. I think much better but still happy to receive any input. Thanks everyone!

Sheila Leard

@Tim Sullivan finally got a chance to look at both videos. Since I just had a gait analysis done by my Physical Therapist I knew what to look for, such as hip extension, keeping foot landing under hips and drive off the big toe. It's an area I'm working on. Your second video looks like you really improved on your extension. Too bad your arms are not in the video. My arm swing is compensating for a weak right side. The PT said I need to do more strides to lock in a more efficient gait. Running too slow is not good for efficiency! How about that? :-) Run faster!!

What shoes are you wearing?

Stephen Cogger

I'm no expert, but that looks like a huge improvement! as someone who has gotten progressively slower over the years this is a great thread. Your pronation looks much better in the new shoes. You are not rocking side as much, and your knee drive looks great. "700+" days straight running... Animal!

Eric DePoto

@Tim Sullivan wow what a difference. You definately have made some great improvements. Not sure what all you do in your warm ups, but I find that doing lots of drills (including high knees and butt kicks) with lots of dynamic stretching and various glute and quad activation can help. You strike looks better as well and I bet your body feels better after your runs. Keep it up!

Tim Sullivan

Thanks @Sheila Leard, @stephen, and @Eric DePoto!

@Sheila Leard those are Hoka Speedgoat trail shoes. I like them but I run in a bunch of different shoes. My arm swing I think is good. Daily running helped me tremendously as I had time everyday to see and feel my run. I still do a bunch of slow running but I do mix in fast runs as well.

@Stephen Cogger the pronation has definitely been reduced but not because of the shoes. My foot path is better now and I'm landing less on my heel which helps. My foot path used to not be as direct.

@Eric DePoto I should do more warmup exercises. I do start slowly and do drills occasionally. The daily running and improved form have gotten rid of those little annoyances I used to get.