Running with Style: My Obsession with Running Form

Like a great training plan is periodized in 3 week increments, so is my obsession with pieces of run coaching.  For a while I was really into learning about cadence, and focusing on my own; how many steps am I taking each minute?  Then it was on electrolytes; Nuun vs. Baltic Sea Salts.  Currently, I'm obsessed with Running Form.  I'm into trying to make my own form better.  You know, in case you didn't catch that, on my last blog entry.

But recently my interest in running form has taken a sort of stalkerish turn.  I'm doing a whole lot of WATCHING runners.  I watch runners at run club.  "Did you see his form?  Ugh, it's HIDEOUS!" or "You have the most beautiful form I've ever seen, can I take a picture of it?"

I watch runners crossing the street as I sit at the stop light, "Oh my, please stop using your legs as brakes."  Don't worry, I say that to Isla, I haven't (yet) rolled down my window and yelled it out. 

YouTube is a great place for me to turn this obsession, as there's lots of video there of runners, who have beautiful form and we can learn from them.


One of my runners battles with her upper body form, and it's become a sort of ongoing joke for us.  She loves to find her finish line photos and compare how funky her hand looks in the various races we do.  Today we were discussing her form, and I suggested that she really focus on her arm movement, pulling back instead of pushing forward, to help stop her from doing the T-Rex arms. 
To carry my obsession a little further, I tried finding some graphics of T-Rex Runners, when, I discovered this little gem.  See...even Eric is guilty of T-Rex Arms when he runs. 

Hey, Alexander Skarsgard...if you need help fixing that hideous form...give me a call.  I'll coach you any time.