4 Running Tips You Need To Know
Long distance running, cross country and marathons have always been a popular sport. It looks easy enough to just… run I guess. But without the right techniques, running can cause quite a lot of wear and tear on your body. Today let’s talk about a few important tips about long distance running. These tips should help you last for many more miles!
1. Landing
Try to land with the whole foot instead of landing with heels or on your toes. By landing with your whole foot, you allow the shock to be absorbed more evenly throughout the foot. This actually allows you to land on your foot with a slightly bent knee for better transfer of your running momentum, making your running pattern much more efficient and minimising the shock on your knees, hips and low back vertebrae’s.
2. Natural Arm Swings
It is surprising how many runners we see, that run with a very rigid back and shoulder, the arms just stay rigid next to their body! This habit will result in overstraining of the shoulder girdle muscles and increase tension on its attachment site, the neck, and skull. Over a long period, it may reduce the blood supply going into the head and excessive muscle tension on your neck and head will lead to headache, neck pain and even hypoxic symptoms.
3. Breathing
Breathing is essential as it paces you during long distance runs and is vital to last you the distance! It is important to keep your shoulders relaxed as mentioned above and remember, to pace your running steps with your breaths.
By having natural arm swings, it allows your body to not hold the upper body as rigid which makes using the diaphragm to breathe a lot more effective. By relaxing the shoulders and having a natural arm swing, your trunk is not as rigid, when running, the shock absorbed from the ground can be better transferred and be used as forward momentum when you run.
4. Shoes
Having a pair of good running shoes is very important for a few reasons. It allows your feet and lower limbs as well as low back to run with minimal strain. It also helps to enhance the ability of your foot arch to generate forward propulsion force! When picking the right running shoes, make sure:
a. the heel cup is cushioned and firm so it does not collapse when you squeeze it.
b. There is enough padding at the foot arch region on the sole.
c. Always tighten up your shoe laces firmly to minimise your foot slipping inside running shoes.
