Good form is the key to efficient running and preventing injuries

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

When most people take up running for general fitness or to train for a marathon, they don’t think twice about how to do it. They buy a pair of running shoes, lace ‘em up and start running.

While that simplicity is one of the things that makes running so desirable, if you start running without learning proper form, you could wind up being woefully inefficient, and, worse yet, set yourself up for a variety of debilitating injuries.

To run efficiently, you have to understand your body and how it naturally moves across a surface with as little muscular force as possible. Along those lines, the tenants of good running form include running with short strides and a quick cadence, landing lightly on the midfoot/forefoot area (the ball of the foot, but not the toes), and quickly lifting your foot off the ground instead of pushing off with excessive muscle force. A slight forward lean and a relaxed arm swing are also key components. To view an example of good running form in action click on the “Run Right” video here.

To illustrate what Newton Running calls the “Land-Lever-Lift” technique, take the simple test of running barefoot across a smooth floor. More than likely, you’re naturally going to land lightly at your midfoot/forefoot and quickly pick up your foot to start a new stride. Your body doesn’t allow you to land on your heels because it isn’t engineered to accommodate the blunt force trauma of repeated heel striking.

Two of the biggest mistakes distance runners can fall prey to are 1) excessive heel striking that causes abrupt braking of forward momentum, and then pushing off too hard with the toes to start the forward motion again; or 2) using only propulsive muscles,(the calf group, hamstrings and Achilles tendon) by running too far up on their toes like a sprinter and not using the body’s natural cushioning system. Each of those form flaws puts too much vertical movement into every stride, and that leads to inefficiency and considerably more impact, muscle and tendon stress on the body.

If you’re landing hard on your heels and excessively braking and then pushing off, you’re going to strain the muscles used for braking (especially the quadriceps group and the anterior tibialis along the front of your lower leg) and propulsion (calf and hamstring muscles), as well as the connective tissue in the lower leg, ankle and foot (plantar fascia and Achilles tendon), and that can lead to a variety of injuries. And if you’re too far forward in a sprint position, you’re overusing your calf and hamstring muscles and putting a lot of strain on your Achilles tendon.

You wouldn’t enter into any other sport without learning proper form, so why do it in running? For example, if you bought a brand new pair of golf clubs and went out and hit 100 balls at the driving range without any instruction or idea about proper swing technique, you’d probably have inconsistent form and very mixed results, plus you’d wind up tired and very sore the next day.

It’s important to run with good form because it leads to efficiency, which equals less impact and that equals injury prevention. The key is running relaxed and having the awareness to just touch the ground and lift quickly on every stride.

Danny Abshire is the co-founder of Newton Running, a Boulder, Colo.-based company that makes shoes that promote an efficient midfoot running gait. He has been making advanced footwear solutions for runners and triathletes for more than 20 years.
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Another testimonial from the inbox:

Hi,

My name is Kira Matukaitis, and I was notified on Monday that I have been accepted for a second time to run the Badwater 135 ultramarathon this summer in Death Valley.

I have been training in Newtons since last March, and wanted to let you know that I think you have a brilliant product that has completely changed my running comfort and performance. I had learned about Newtons after attending a POSE running clinic in Newport Beach, CA. The forefoot running made such sense to me, and I then purchased the Newtons. Just wanted to let you know that you have a fan, and I’ve recommended them to a lot of ultrarunning friends. Especially because I have the bright pink ones, and they attract plenty of attention

With kind regards,

Kira Matukaitis

Science and innovation are cornerstones of our business at Newton Running. Over ten years ago, when Newton Running co-founder Danny Abshire first started testing radically different running shoe prototypes, he recognized  the importance of a quantitative, scientific results to prove Newton technology designs worked. However, Danny soon learned that current lab testing is  antiquated and frustrating ’science’ at best. For years now, the standardized running shoe lab test has consisted of a piston that hammers down on the heel of a shoe to test cushioning. There are numerous problems with this testing method, but first and most obviously, it only evaluates the heel – not very useful for Newton shoes, which focus technology in the forefoot of the shoe.

Enter: MIT graduate students.

For their 200 level engineering class, a team of MIT engineering students spent the last semester developing a new running shoe lab test. Here’s the abstract from their presentation:

“Current ASTM tests on running shoes are insufficient because they do not reliably capture the loads and displacements applied to shoes during running. This team will discuss a 3-axis machine that can be used to test running shoes that mimic’s natural running more accurately than conventional tests. The design is comprised of a phantom foot that replicates the passive properties of a human foot and an actuated base that can impose the relevant kinematics to the running shoe. The shoe is mounted on motor to give a rotational degree of freedom. The shoe and the base are instrumented to measure force and displacement dynamically during the running cycle. The machine can be calibrated to emulate different types of runners by adjusting the trajectories of the base. As a proof of concept we have collected force, displacement and energy data from the machine.”

Click here to watch a presentation of the innovative testing machine the students designed. We’re thoroughly impressed with the results that the test has yielded so far. The design is patent pending and we’re excited about the possibilities to use a machine like this for our future testing.

Another nice testimonial from the Newton Running inbox…

Hi!

After getting a pair of Distance S’s about a year ago I was thrilled how good my hips and calves felt during my first run in them, plus my gait looked the way it should without putting any effort into it. A couple months later I decided I needed a pair of Motions for my longer runs. They worked really well, too. I then ran a 50k ultra in the Distance S and ran my fastest time in years. Finally I got a pair of the AW’s last Saturday and ran a 52k race in them just two days later. I absolutely loved it. No rubbing in the toe area, like I get with most other shoes. Newtons are just shaped perfectly for my feet. And my feet stayed totally dry on the snowy path. During the race two other people started talking to me about their Newtons and how much they loved them, too.
I really hope there will be a trail model with good grip some day soon.

Have a great day!
Kirsten M.

I think most people assume Puerto Rico is a pretty flat island, but the runners at the famous San Blas Half Marathon would beg to differ. Check out the elevation gain in this course profile!

We just received this great race recap from Rafael who PR’ed in PR. Nice work!

Hello Newton…

Just to keep in touch. I recently run for the first time in my career as a runner in a half marathon. It is by far the most difficult half marathon of all in my little island of Puerto Rico and some people tells me that it is even more difficult than running the complete New York Marathon. All this because of its elevation profile, the constant turns and the hot temperature of the Caribbean Islands.

I finished it in 1:51:00, a PR in my first Half Marathon! I was surprised by my own performance. My intentions was to make it in about 2 hours but, when I finished the up hill, I was so confident and fresh that I unleash everything that was left in my legs. I haven’t feel any pains science using the Newtons and in the start line every one was looking to my Newtons. I was wearing all the clothing items that you send to me and I think that I get some attention to the brand.

I send to you and attachment of the route elevation profile so you can see how difficult was this half marathon. And a photo of my self before the race whit my Newton gear.

Thanks a lot…

From Puerto Rico:
Rafael Maldonado Rivera.

Coming soon: World Best 10K. I’m planning to make a PR of under 40 minutes!!!

If you haven’t noticed already, Newton Running has a slick, new, redesigned website. It’s wicked cool, if I do say so myself.

Check out some of sweet new features:

• A complete section on running form and technique called Run Better. I especially like the in-depth discussion of LAND-LEVER-LIFT. Also, look for a growing library of running technique articles and resources to be added here soon.
• A description of Newton’s unique Universal Posting System, available in the Newton Motion AW.
• An in-depth discussion on choosing the right shoe model.
• A glimpse of the people behind the shoes, the Newton Team (ed. note – where’s Sir Isaac?!)
• Our new affiliate program and a full list (growing daily) of our worldwide retailers.
• A complete list of Newton’s green features and the social causes we support.

Also, check out our current promotion: a free pair of sleek, black Newton socks with the purchase of a pair of Motion AW’s as well as free shipping. Nice!

Newton Running continues to be a supporter and huge fan of Winter Vinecki, the 10-old-year triathlete who last year raised over $100,000 for Athletes for a Cure in honor of her dad who was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Last week, Winter and her family were on Rachel Ray! Check out the below video where Winter is showing off her hot pink Newtons. Awesome!

Winter Vinecki on the Rachael Ray Show from Athletes for a Cure on Vimeo.

220 Triathlon Magazine is the UK’s number one resource for multi-sport athletes. The February issue features an interesting and comprehensive article on forefoot running with a focus on Newton Running shoe technology. It’s well-written and well-worth a read. Click the image to download a pdf of the article.

In related news, 220 Magazine just named Newton the “Innovative Product of the Year” at its annual, star-studded awards ceremony. Read more here.

According to our terrific distributors in the UK, Triathlon Consultants, the Brits love their Newtons (fig and running shoe variety)!

Team Newton pro Craig “Crowie” Alexander kicked off the 2009 racing season in perfect form, winning last weekend’s Snap Ironman 70.3 race in Geelong, Austrailia. It was apparently a tight race in brutally hot temperatures until T2, when Crowie tied on his Newtons and quickly dropped rival pros like David Dellow, Luke Bell, Cameron Watt and Jimmy Johnsen, to eventually win by over three minutes. Kiwi Samantha Warriner won her 70.3 debut on the women’s side.

Read more here and here.