The G Method

I had a great time talking reccently to a group of runners at The Water Street Gym, my home turf where I practice physical therapy. After giving talks throughout the DC area in 2009, I was happy to show people the gym. The location is great, being in the heart of Georgetown right by the capital crescent trail. Thanks to all for coming to support my efforts to educate the DC running community.
For those of you who could not make it, I will make an effort to recap the finer points, less the coffee and bagels. So, to start, I think it is important to consider the fact that most of us don't really think about running, we just do it. I will admit that runners DO think about where they are going to run, how far they are going, what they are going to wear, the weather, and who they will be running with. Unfortunately, most runners DON'T think about how they are running: their posture, their cadence, their foot placement, or minimizing their ground reaction forces, or how hard their foot is hitting the ground. Being mindful about these core elements of running is the essence of what I have affectionately dubbed 'the G method'. There are many styles of running- Chi, POSE, and Evolution to name a few. These styles overlap one another in many ways. The 'G method' is different because it adds to the mix my experience as a physical therapist. I have seen countless injured runners in the clinic with a variety form faluts. This includes the fast and the slow, the elite and the weekend warrior, the sub 2:20 and the sub five hour marathoners. Although there a range of injuries, and a range of form faults, I do see some consistent patterns which would be helpful to review.

1) Overall Posture: To start, we have to consider the overall posture of running. It is important to stay relaxed, but engaged and focused. By 'relaxed' I do not mean floppy relaxed but rather avoiding unnecessary tension while running which tends to be counterproductive as far as efficiency goes. Instead of clinching fists and keeping elbows flexed up like a boxer waiting to strike, keep a light contact between the thumb and forefinger and the elbows should be flexed to 90 degrees as the arm swings forward and back. Avoid the hands crossing midline of the body. Remember that the arms drive the turnover of the legs which is key to maintaining a high cadence. A high cadence is what has been found to be most efficient. The same forward and back pattern exist for the knees. Make sure the knees are not hitting each time the leg advances forward. Seems pretty simple, but you would be surprised by the number of people who bang their knees together and clank their ankles each time they swing their leg forward.

When talking about posture with runners, I encourage them to run "tall". Think about a string attached to the top of the head which is pulling you upward. Liken the feeling to when you catch yourself slouched in front of your laptop and you reset yourself to an upright position. You might find when you do this the breastbone elevates, shoulders come back, and you feel the abdominal muscles spontaneously kick in. In fact, I ask runners to add to the concept of running 'tall' a low level bracing of the core muscles. Ideally you are just keeping the core muscles awake. You are not holding your breath with some huge contraction, but rather activating them. The purpose behind this is to create a stable base. Without activating the core muscles, the legs do not have a solid foundation to push off of. A stable base from an active core is a key part of the postural component of running. Starting with a stable base gives a runner the greatest potential for efficiency.

2) Foot Placement- Another consistent fault I see with runners is overstriding. Overstriding occurs when the runner's initial contact with the ground is in front of the center of gravity versus below it. In other words, the runner's heel strikes the ground in front of their body versus beneath it. Conceptually, think about this as 'braking' because the runner's forward momentum is being impeded by the ground reaction forces of the heel striking the ground in front of them ( think about Fred Flintstone slowly down his car).

Really what we are talking about is plain physics. The runner is moving in one direction with a goal, typically, of moving swiftly. Thus, we do not want a running form , like overstriding, which is going to slow down the forward momentum. Believe it or not, this actually happens, quite often. The runner strikes the ground with their heel, with their knee nearly straight. The vector of the ground reaction force goes opposite to their forward momentum. Contrast this style of the foot hitting the ground in front of the runner with the knee straight, to the runner who hits the ground below their pelvis with the knee flexed. The second runner is allowing themselves to move forward without disruption of their momentum. Do you want to take a guess about who is going to get there with less energy expended? You got it, the "understrider"!

3) Cadence- Another issue I suggest runners think about is their cadence, or the number of times they are striking the ground per minute. The standard measure is counting the number of heel strikes on one side per minute. The most efficient runners strike the ground at close to 90 strikes per side per minute. Now before you go running off the side of your favorite trail because you are looking at your watch and counting steps, let me give you a tip: start by using a treadmill. Count your steps on one side for 15 seconds and mulitple by 4. You might be surprised by your result. I commonly see people in the mid 70's versus 90 heel strikes per minute. The reason this is important is because we want the foot in contact with the ground for the least amount of time possible. A slow cadence means more time on the ground, more force coming up the leg, and ultimately greater injury potential. Ouch.

It is important to recognize that the cadence of 90 is not specific to a certain speed. Your turn over should remain high regardless of you running slow or fast. What changes from a 9 minute mile pace to a 5 minute pace is that my stride length is changing. The faster I get, the more ground I am covering with each stride. Ideally, my cadence is consistent. Think about your cadence when you are just starting your run. You will really have to work on keeping your cadence up. As your pace begins to quicken focus on letting your leg extend back as your stride increases. When you are running outside, I think the easiest way to keep track of cadence is a digital watch. Glance down at your watch and begin counting when you hit the double zeros. Count heel strikes on one side until you get to 22. Look back at your watch and hopefully you are seeing 15. I doubt you will see a number less than this unless you are the looney tunes roadrunner. Chances are that when you get to 22 strikes on one side you are above the 15 second threshold. Your goal then becomes to try to inch down the time it takes you to get to 22 strikes per side. Think less about chopping your stride short versus just picking up your turn-over. Consciously think about a being quick on your feet, and quick off.

4) Run Softly- Thanks to Irene davis for putting in some great research on running injuries. Irene is a physical therapist at the University of Delaware. One notable study she spearheaded was on stress fractures in runners. What she found with respect to ground reaction forces was that running shoes can decrease the amount of the force by 10%. More importantly, she found that when a runner is asked to consciously tries to decrease the ground reaction force by running 'softly' the forces were lessened by 50%! http://www.udel.edu/PR/Messenger/06/03/Rrunning.html

To me this study is huge. It clearly shows the value of being mindful of your run form, especially how you run. Thinks about being light on your feet. Try to land as softly as possible. I encourage runners to really listen to how they are striking the ground. Does the impact of one foot make a louder noise than the other? If so, can you balance it out? Also, when you are running on a trail like the C and O towpath, can you run so softly that you are sneaking up on your fellow runners bacause you are so quiet. You can apply these principles to your cross training too. Try being quiet and soft when you are jumping rope, for example.

CONCLUSION: For most of us, we learned to run as kids when we were chasing a soccer ball, or fleeing from a friend or sibling. The reality is that as we grow older we need to be mindful of how we are actually moving when we run. This will help to enhance efficiency and decrease the risk of injury which is inherent to running. There are many key components of running form which are typically best addressed with a run coach, or physical therapist, who can determine what you individually need to work on. Listed above are common faults which, when properly applied, can lead to meaningful changes in run economy. When this happens, the runner typically sees a bump in performance. Good luck and if interested in a running evaluation, including video analysis, be in touch!

robertgillanders@yahoo.com