The same question runs through all of our minds when we watch elite runners perform: \u2018How on earth do they make it look so easy?\u2019 While you might feel like you\u2019re flopping about all over the place trying to maintain a pace that\u2019s not even close to what the professionals are clocking, said pros are gliding along with apparent ease to major medals and world records. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s beautiful to behold, but also baffling. How do the elites do it? And why do the rest of us struggle? The answer lies in mechanics.<\/p>\n
As science has shown, the fastest runners move differently to slower runners and even subtle disparities in running form<\/a> can be significant when it comes to performance outcomes. The main disparity is that elite runners have fine-tuned their form to maximise efficiency and minimise wasted motion \u2013 and while you might not be chasing Olympic qualifying times, you can train your body to move more like the professionals. <\/p>\n Here are four things to work on to achieve smoother, faster and more economical runs \u2013 and maybe even a new PB.<\/p>\n 1. Strength your calves<\/p>\n According to Scott Delp<\/a>, professor of bioengineering, mechanical engineering and orthopaedic surgery at Stanford University and director of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, \u2018the biggest contributors to upward and forward propulsive force are the gastrocnemius and the soleus\u2019 \u2013 that is, the calf muscles. The calf muscles<\/a> play a crucial role in plantar flexion, which is the part of the gait cycle where you push your foot down and off the ground.<\/p>\n And now for the proof. According to a 2023 study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living<\/a>, which compared trained collegiate runners to recreational runners, researchers found that the trained collegiate runners generated more of their power from their ankles compared to the recreational runners \u2013 and this contributed to their faster speeds.<\/p>\n In slower or less experienced runners, the knee joint does more of the work, which means that the quads take on a bigger load during push-off. \u2018When you generate ground reaction forces with your quads, it generates the vertical force that you need to bounce off the ground,\u2019 says Delp. \u2018But you also get a horizontal force that\u2019s directed backward, which causes deceleration \u2013 and you don\u2019t want to be putting the brakes on an accelerator.\u2019<\/p>\n Shifting more of the work from your quads to your calves can help you to run faster<\/a> and more efficiently. \u2018Together, these muscles are responsible for a little more than half of the vertical and much of the forward propulsive forces in running \u2013 and I think that\u2019s not appreciated enough,\u2019 says Delp.<\/p>\n To become less quad-dominant, spend more time in the gym specifically developing your gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Adding simple calf raises<\/a> \u2013 and variations of the move \u2013 can help you to get there.<\/p>\n 2. Quicken your cadence<\/p>\n We\u2019ve learnt that the ankle is the powerhouse for upward and forward propulsion and the calves are the key muscles for generating force. So, according to Mike Hahn<\/a>, professor of human physiology and director of the Bowerman Sports Science Center, \u2018to run faster, people need to be able to exert force [against the ground] more quickly\u2019.<\/p>\n As noted by a 2022 study published in Bioengineering<\/a>, elite and experienced runners tend to spend less time with their foot on the ground (a lower \u2018duty factor\u2019). Even older research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology<\/a> says that faster runners can apply 1.26 times greater average force than slower runners, while spending less time on the ground.<\/p>\n \u2018The main issue with most runners is that we run with a deep knee bend and a deep ankle dorsiflexion, which is the motion where you pull your toes up toward your shin,\u2019 explains Hahn. \u2018This happens to everyone, including even elite runners \u2013 but it happens more in a softer, spongier running form.\u2019 The more time that you spend on the ground, the more your leg has to work to stabilise the rest of your body \u2013 and that\u2019s wasted energy.<\/p>\n One of the easiest ways to prevent yourself from sinking into your stride, says Hahn, is to shorten your stride length<\/a> and increase your cadence<\/a>. \u2018Landing with your foot more directly under you rather than throwing it out in front of you forces you to get off that foot more quickly, as if you\u2019re jumping up and down on a pogo stick. 3. Build springiness with plyometrics<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to continue with the pogo analogy for a moment. When you run, your muscles and tendons work like springs. As your foot hits the ground, your body stores energy \u2013 then, as you push off from the ground, that energy is released to help propel you forward. Elite runners demonstrate more of a \u2018springier\u2019 running style than amateur runners, according to a 2023 study published in Frontiers in Physiology<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s partly due to ankle stiffness, which means that your ankle stays stable and strong when you land so that you can pop right back off the ground. Without that ankle stiffness, the ankle acts more like a shock absorber than a spring, so you get less energy return to propel you forward.<\/p>\n A stiffer spring can handle a higher load without deforming. \u2018If your ankle is floppy and you\u2019re using your quads to try to push against the ground, you\u2019ll just dorsiflex your ankle,\u2019 says Delp. This means that you\u2019re slowing down the transition to push-off and relying more on your quads than the elastic recoil of stored energy. \u2018Your ankle needs to be stiff to generate high forces with great efficiency, so you can fly forward through the air,\u2019 adds Delp.<\/p>\n Plyometrics<\/a> \u2013 which are explosive exercises that train your calves and ankles to store and release energy quickly \u2013 have been scientifically proven<\/a> to be an effective tool for increasing tendon stiffness. To get your dose of plyometrics, add moves like pogo jumps to your strength workouts or your pre-run warm-ups.<\/p>\n 4. Spend more time in the air<\/p>\n
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