How to Keep Good Running Form for Long Distance

Long distance running seems to be a world away from sprinting. But if we look at the essence of running, they are one and the same. Running is running. While different distances do require different training plans, the running technique used is the same. Your body’s mechanics and the work of gravity do not change based on the distance you are running.

So what are the major points of maintaining good running form for long distances?

Maintain Focus

Similarly to middle distance and short distance, first and foremost, maintain focus. Great running, after all, like excellence in golf, gymnastics, or ballet, is really a physical manifestation of extremely strong mental ability.

Remain completely and entirely focused. That is a practice area of its own and should be included in your regular training regimen. Do not allow your mind to wander. Many use long distances to “escape” from daily burdens and stress, but the only way to maintain good form is to stay focused on your technique, especially when you’re just starting out.

Once you get deeper into technique work, and after you have drilled and practiced for a while, your body will begin to memorize the required pattern of movement. But in order to not stray at any point, maintaining focus on what you are doing will still be necessary, especially when running a long distance event, and doubly so when running an ultra.

If you want a simple place to start, the Running Course walks you through the basic elements of Pose Method running technique step by step.

Focus on the Pull

When running long distance, the longer the distance, the more opportunities there will be for your technique to fall apart. In running, from the Pose Method point of view, there is only one actionable element that is entirely under your control: pulling the foot up. That is where your main focus should be. Using the mental command to pull will help you maintain necessary cadence and will help you keep moving.

If pain starts to show up during the run, you will also be able to check your technique and adjust on the go. A knee that starts hurting often means the foot is landing too far ahead and staying on support too long. A hip that starts hurting often means the leg is being lifted with the hip flexor instead of the foot being pulled with the hamstring. Once you know what to look for, the correction can be immediate and the pain can disappear just as quickly.

One of the most difficult obstacles will unquestionably be fatigue. As it sets in, it will affect your senses and your perception. Maintaining focus on one action only, pulling, will be much simpler, easier, and more effective than anything else you could attempt to do.

Pulling on time, and pulling to maintain cadence, will also help you maintain short time on support, or reduced ground contact time. Fatigue leads runners to longer time on support, which leads to increased load on the entire body. The knees will most likely feel it first. The action of pulling the foot up to change support starts with the hamstrings, and the hamstrings must remain the primary muscles doing the work. That becomes your ticket to the finish line. No need to overload smaller muscle groups. This is where the importance of strength training gets highlighted again.

Stay Relaxed

The other important thing is to stay relaxed. Not “I’m on vacation” relaxed, but not tense, not agitated, not stressed. Everything is connected, so maintaining focus on technique will keep your thoughts directed at one target and help you stay together instead of scattered.

The effect of staying relaxed will reverberate through your entire body. Your muscles won’t tense and spasm, your mind won’t go into distress mode, and all of that becomes necessary when the finish line is miles and miles away.

Staying focused and relaxed will help you handle the psychological and physical stresses associated with long distance.