A movement checklist will help you look the part, even when you don’t feel it. When your legs are screaming to stop, focus on holding the ship together. Run through this run form checklist at regular intervals and especially when you’re feeling fatigued.
1. MIDFOOT STRIKE. Avoid reaching. Stay focused on landing on a bent knee, maximizing the free energy from your muscles. If you feel shaky, stay focused on a bent knee strike and avoid reaching with your front leg.
2. DRIVE THE KNEE. Continue to focus on driving your knee forward and not up. Be diligent and focused here, sustaining your knee drive will help you maintain speed and avoid the dreaded Marathon Shuffle. I know it’s tough, but you’re a runner… you’re tougher.
3. LEAN WITH IT. Sitting back is fairly typical in the presence of fatigue. Settling into the low back will do nothing other than ease your comfort and slow your speed. The low back is not meant for you to jam on irresponsibly. Keep yourself pitched forward from the hip and sustain it. This is particularly important on a downhill. Lean from the hip and harness gravity for FREE SPEED!
4. ROTATE. Fatigue will cause you to drop your hands and/or shrug your shoulders. Find your balance of staying relaxed, while not letting your movement slip. Sneaking trunk rotation into your racing and training checklist can help you churn the legs, particularly on an uphill.
