The Monday Shakeout: What is The Best Running Form?
By Matthew Klein
This week we discuss the biomechanics behind what optimal running form really looks like. While many people think it looks a certain way, the evidence and experience suggest that having a variety of ways to move is better than limiting it to one.
I began running when the minimalist phase hit the running industry. Prior to this, the common thought was that each person picked a technique that was optimal to them. There were also certain people who thought that heel striking (landing with a heel first contact) was the most efficient running form. When the minimalist phase hit, this transitioned to a push that landing with a forefoot or midfoot first contact was the most optimal way for injury-free and high-performance running. Running has a notoriously high injury rate thanks to the high forces associated with impact. These injury rates have not changed regardless of the popular footstrikes, footwear types or even training styles. While most people have focused only on foot impact, the majority of research has shown no difference in injury rates, only injury types. This is one of the keys behind running form. There is no perfect one, but different changes in positions can move stresses and forces around. These can be used to move workloads into areas where certain people are better at dealing with. In this Monday Shakeout, we'll focus on some none foot areas to focus on that is proven to help with running form.
Lean With It
One of the easier things to change about running form is trunk lean. This refers to how upright or forward your trunk is. A slight forward trunk lean (10 degrees) can reduce load on the anterior knee joint (Braun et al., 2025). This increases the workload on the back muscles, posterior hip muscles, hamstrings and potentially calf muscles. An upright trunk reduces the workload on the above and increases it at the anterior knee joint, anterior shin muscles, anterior hip muscles and if you lean backwards, the abdominals. Going too far in either direction may place excessive stress in those areas as the lean will come from the spine instead of the hips (Bramah et al., 2018; Warrener et al., 2021). Leaning excessively from the spine is not optimal, as it may impact breathing mechanics, trunk control and core stability (Bramah et al., 2018). Instead, any degree of trunk lean should from the hips or even the ankles. This is the most efficient gait and is a common sight to see among elite athletes (while their foot strike varies all over the place). An easy way to practice this is standing in front of a wall, keeping your body straight, leaning forward from the ankles and catching yourself with the wall. Another great drill to emphasize hip motion (instead of excessive spine motion), are exercises like the Romanian Deadlift. These can be done with heavier weights and lower reps or low weight and high reps for movement.
Hips Don't Lie
Hip Motion is another relatively easy area to change. Most people are familiar with running drills like the A-Skip. This drill, when done incorrectly (like most people done) seems to emphasize hip flexion. A basic understanding of running biomechanics and gait will help you understand that the majority of the "hip flexion" motion you see during the swing phase of gait is passive. True hip flexor activity peaks in the greatest degrees of hip extension and majority of motion of the leg returning to the front comes from momentum. Therefore, for proper running form and mechanics, hip extension, or the leg trailing behind you, should be emphasized. However, just like the hip flexors, the majority of hip extensor work and propulsion actually occurs at the opposite end of their range of motion. Therefore, if a focus is to be made on emphasizing hip motion, most of the work should be during the first half of stance phase (ie, when your foot hits the ground to when it is under your body). After that, hip extension is mostly passive, a result of momentum and active tolerance of the hip flexors to stretch. So A-Skips can be a good drill, if the downward motion is emphasized, not the upward motion.
Put Your Knees Into It
Finally, we return to the knee and ankle. Knee motion is fairly simple. Some rotation is okay as long as you have it under control. Keeping the knee joint more in a neutral position (no excessive inward or outward motion) is best. But a little rotation is fine. The foot and ankle are hotly debated despite the evidence suggesting that elite athletes actually use a variety of foot strike types through races and that injury rates are not different, just types (Burke et al., 2021; Larson et al., 2011). Where you land on your foot will change what muscles or structures are dealing with impact. A rearfoot strike is more energy efficient over longer efforts and increases stress through the anterior shin, knee and hips. A forefoot strike is better for shorter faster efforts and increases stress through the Achilles tendon and calf muscles. One is not better than the other. In fact, the best running form is one that can switch between them depending on the terrain, fatigue level and speed which you are going. However, the extremes of each motion tend to be problematic, either an excessive heel strike with a large inclination angle (foot pointed upward at impact) or an excessive forefoot strike. One may cause excessive overstriding, where the foot lands too far in front of the body and causes excessive breaking forces (heel strike), while the other may shorten the stride too much that you don't go through adequate range of motion or cause compensatory hyperextension at the knee (forefoot strike). So either somewhere in the middle or being able to vary them is the best.
Having a variety of ways to move and movement variation is far better than only one way to move. This allows the stresses of running to be spread out throughout various tissue, rather than encompassing them into one. So while a slight forward trunk lean from the hips/ankles, a more controlled and neutral pelvis/knees, not overstriding too much and being able to use a variety of footstrike types depending on your terrain, speed and strengths can be optimal, these things will vary a little depending on your unique biomechanics and the demands of your specific training. Focusing on being able to move in different ways and having control over those motions is better than trying to only move in a certain way.
REFERENCES
Bramah, C., Preece, S. J., Gill, N., & Herrington, L. (2018). Is there a pathological gait associated with common soft tissue running injuries?. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 46(12), 302
Braun, L., Mai, P., Hipper, M., Denis, Y., Helwig, J., Anedda, B., ... & Willwacher, S. (2025). Managing lower extremity loading in distance running by altering sagittal plane trunk leaning. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 14, 100985.
Burke, A., Dillon, S., O’Connor, S., Whyte, E. F., Gore, S., & Moran, K. A. (2021). Risk factors for injuries in runners: a systematic review of foot strike technique and its classification at impact. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 9(9), 23259671211020283.
Larson, P., Higgins, E., Kaminski, J., Decker, T., Preble, J., Lyons, D., ... & Normile, A. (2011). Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29(15), 1665-1673.
Warrener, A., Tamai, R., & Lieberman, D. E. (2021). The effect of trunk flexion angle on lower limb mechanics during running. Human Movement Science, 78, 102817.
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