Good Form Running

Learning to Run All Over Again

The unique partnership between New Balance and Good Form Running is borne of a simple insight. This insight is no complex, technical concept rooted in the complicated worlds of product design or biomechanics, but rather an unassuming fact that most runners — be they occasional joggers or elite athletes — were never taught how to run.

As a company dedicated to helping more people make running an ongoing part of their lives, New Balance recognized that a significant cause of running-related injuries was that, when it comes to form, most runners have been left to their own devices, resulting in gaits that may resist forward momentum and create unnecessary strain.

Good Form Running shares our modest roots. What began as improvised sessions in the crowded aisles of a Michigan running store named Playmakers (they still do these in-store classes, in the same aisles, today) has evolved into a program that can be taught in any venue to any type of runner. We share a common approach, as well. The staff of Playmakers, like New Balance, recognized that an informed runner who is able to stay injury-free and on the road will become a runner for life.

It is this shared ethos that drives our partnership, which we together hope to bring to road races, running stores, tracks and clubs across the country with the goal of helping people run more efficiently and with less pain, thus making something that New Balance and Good Form Running are both passionate about a permanent part of more people’s lives.

Meet Grant Robison

Grant’s Achievements

Major achievements

• 5x State Champ in the 1500m/3000m
• Lived in Durban, South Africa for 2 years
  (1998-2000) on a mission trip.
• Graduated Class of ’04 from Stanford University, Stanford, CA
• 10x All American
• Part of 2 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
  Championships teams
• 1500m NCAA Champ, 2003
• 1500m Bronze Medalist – 2003 Pan-Am Games
• 1500m Olympic Semi-finalist, 2004

Personal Bests

• 800m – 1:47.9
• 1500m – 3:35.7
• Mile – 3:58.9
• 5000m – 13:40.3
• 10K (XC) – 29:19.2

A competitive runner at all levels – from McMinnville (Oregon) High School to Stanford to the 2004 US Olympic Team – Grant Robison brings to Good Form Running experiences and expertise gleaned both on and off of the track. The 2003 NCAA Champion in the 1500m, Grant competed professionally following his college graduation, with a goal of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Following a series of injuries, having been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, Grant relocated to Michigan to train. It was in East Lansing that Grant first began to question his running mechanics – and connect them to his injuries. Grant’s experiences in adjusting his own form – in combination with the hands-on training developed over the course of several years at Okemos, Michigan running mecca, Playmakers – helped shape what we today know as Good Form Running.

posture

Proper posture is the critical first step toward improved running form – one that sets the stage for more-efficient movement. By keeping your upper body aligned, steady and relaxed, energy is conserved and refocused to where you need it in the lower half. Keeping your head upright and your gaze forward will, in combination with the proper lean, help to propel your body forward.

How to Find It: Posture

• 1
  Stand with knees slightly bent.
• 2
  Reach your arms toward the sky, elongating your body.
• 3
  Bring your arms down while keeping everything else in place.
• 4
  As you run, keep your head up and gaze forward.

  Your arms should swing easily from the shoulders with elbows at about 90 degrees.

  midfoot

  Landing on the midfoot, rather than the ankle, not only reduces impact on the knee – a common source of pain and injury – but also works with the other principles to encourage forward momentum for the body. A forward-reaching step lands on the heel – acting as a brake and resisting forward movement, actually slowing you down. Landing on the midfoot (neither heel nor ball) helps to avoid injury caused by impact.

  How to Find It: Midfoot

  • 1
    March in place with each step landing flat directly under your hip — this is where your foot should strike for each step.
  • 2
    During your run, avoid reaching your foot forward for each stride.
  • 3
    Focus on keeping your steps beneath you.
    
    
  • 

    For some runners – particularly those with a long history of heel-striking – the midfoot strike can be the most difficult element to master. A shoe designed specifically for midfoot striking, with a neutral foot position like NB Minimus, will naturally encourage and ease this transition for many people seeking improved form.

    cadence

    For many people making the transition, aiming for a cadence of 180 steps per minute (or 3 per second) is the element which requires the most work. A higher cadence works with the other principles to conserve energy by reducing the temptation to over-stride. Keeping this tempo encourages you to run lighter, resulting in a more efficient form that helps to prevent injury.

    How to Find It: Cadence

    • 1
      Count your right foot strikes for 30 seconds, then multiply by 4.
    • 2
      Try using this tempo track to set your pace on your next run.

    lean

    Rather than over-striding or reaching with the feet, Good Form Running utilizes a forward lean to propel the body forward. When you lean, gravity causes your body to fall and your foot instinctively steps in the direction of your movement. By reacting to gravity rather than pushing off from the toes, there is less muscle strain in the legs and more automatic forward momentum.

    How to Find It: Lean

    • 1
      Stand up straight.
    • 2
      Slowly lean forward at the ankles, keeping the waist still.
    • 3
      At a certain angle your foot will react by stepping forward — this is the most efficient lean for good form.