Despite what you’d think, running isn’t something everyone naturally does well, and overstriding is probably the most common issue we see in beginners and even our more seasoned runners.
Simply put, overstriding is when your foot stretches out and contacts the ground too far in front of your body when you take a step.
This effectively causes a stopping, breaking action which can also be quite jarring on the body. It tends to make running feel heavy and hard, and is often the culprit of pain in the shins, knees, hips and back during running.
It also means there is extra time needed for your body to get into the right position to then push off for the next stride, which slows the whole process down even more and wastes precious running energy!
See the video below for an example:
3 tips to improve overstriding.
Stride faster, not longer.
A more efficient way to run faster is by taking quicker steps that land close to the body, avoiding the stopping action, and allowing you to be in a better position to push back to propel yourself forwards in the next step.
See the video below for our same client a few months after practising!
To do this you can try focus on these three things next time you run:
Take shorter, quicker steps, rather than striding out
Often we’ll see people striding out to try to pick up their pace, which may sound correct, but usually results in more overstriding.
Aim to land close to your body, more towards the middle of the foot.
While the research tells us that there is nothing wrong with a heel strike, in practice with our clients we find that cues to pull your foot back to land more in the middle to front of the foot can help to achieve this better.
Think about “staying tall” & leaning forward.
Imagine a string pulling you ‘up towards the sky’ as you run, this will keep you extended and stable in your hips and core.
Lean forward slightly with the whole body, as opposed to just bending at the hips. It should feel like you would fall over if you didn’t put your foot out to stop yourself.The faster you go the further forward you should lean (up to a point!)
Staying too upright, especially as you try to pick up the pace, will cause you to reach out too far in front of you again.
If you are having trouble getting your head around these tips, or for advice that is specific to you, book an appointment with us or come along to one of our running technique workshops.