Blog 2: Everything Running
Part 2: Running Form & Biomechanics — Small Tweaks, Big Results
Welcome back to Everything Running. In Part 1 we broke down why runners get injured and how to build a prevention foundation. Now it's time to zoom in on how you're actually moving — because form and biomechanics are where small changes create the biggest returns, both in performance and injury prevention.
Here's the thing about running form: most runners don't think about it at all until something starts hurting.
But how you move is one of the most powerful levers you have for staying healthy and running faster. You don't need a complete overhaul — you need to understand what actually matters.
What Running Biomechanics Actually Means
Biomechanics is simply how your body moves through space — the angles, forces, timing, and coordination that make up your running gait. Every runner has a unique pattern shaped by their anatomy, strength, mobility, and history. There is no single "perfect" form. But there are well-researched movement patterns that reduce injury risk and improve efficiency, and there are compensations that quietly load structures beyond what they can handle.
The Most Common Form Faults — And What They Actually Cost You
These are the movement patterns I see most consistently in runners who end up in my clinic:
1. Overstriding:
Landing with your foot significantly ahead of your centre of mass. This acts as a braking force with every step, increasing impact load through the knee and hip and slowing you down at the same time. It's one of the most common and correctable faults in recreational runners.
2. Excessive Forward Trunk Lean:
Often a symptom of tight hip flexors or weak glutes. When the trunk collapses forward, the pelvis tilts anteriorly, compressing the lumbar spine and reducing glute activation. Your biggest engine is now offline.
3. Hip Drop (Trendelenburg gait):
When the pelvis dips on the non-stance side with every step. This is a classic sign of weak hip abductors and places excessive stress on the IT band, knee, and lower back.
4. Low Cadence:
Running at fewer than 160-165 steps per minute typically correlates with longer ground contact time, greater vertical oscillation, and higher impact loading. Increasing cadence by even 5-10% can meaningfully reduce stress on the knee.
5. Arms Crossing the Midline:
When arm swing crosses the centre of the body it creates rotational forces the core has to resist with every step, increasing fatigue and reducing efficiency.
The Form Cues That Actually Make a Difference
Before we discuss cues, I want to make it clear that from a gait analysis my intention is to spot any weaknesses and tightness through the body. The most important part of optimizing your gait comes from STRENGTH!
Rather than trying to overhaul everything at once — which is a recipe for injury and frustration — start with these high-value cues:
Run tall. Imagine a string pulling the crown of your head toward the sky. This simple cue improves trunk position, reduces anterior pelvic tilt, and activates the glutes more effectively than any complex instruction.
Land under your hips, not in front of them. Your foot should strike beneath or slightly behind your centre of mass. If you can hear your footstrike loudly from the front, your foot is probably landing too far forward.
Keep arms relaxed and forward-facing. Elbows at roughly 90 degrees, hands loose, swing forward and back rather than across the body. Tense arms mean a tense body — and a tense body is an inefficient one.
Work on single-leg stability off the road. Many form faults are strength deficits in disguise. Hip drops and trunk collapse rarely fix themselves with cues alone — they need glute and hip strengthening to create lasting change.
The Footstrike Debate — Let's Settle This
Heel striking vs. midfoot vs. forefoot — this debate fills entire Reddit threads and sells a lot of shoes. Here's the honest clinical answer: footstrike pattern matters less than where your foot lands relative to your centre of mass. A heel striker landing under their hips with a high cadence is biomechanically better positioned than a midfoot striker overstriding. Focus on landing position before worrying about strike pattern.
That said, research does support a gradual transition toward a midfoot or forefoot strike in runners who have persistent knee pain — but this transition needs to be slow (over months, not weeks) and supported by calf and Achilles loading work to handle the increased demand. And, as I said above, working on strength and releasing tension is what will allow your body to handle forces better and therefore improve your gait.
When to Get a Proper Gait Assessment
There's a lot you can't see about your own running gait — especially under fatigue, when compensations tend to emerge. A clinical gait assessment goes beyond what a treadmill desk at a running store can offer. It looks at:
How your movement changes between fresh and fatigued
Which compensations are strength-based vs. mobility-based vs. structural
How your gait relates to any current or recurring injury patterns
What to prioritize in your training to address the root cause, not just the symptom
These are guidelines — and a great starting point. But every runner's body is different, and the best results come from a personalized assessment that connects your movement patterns to your history, goals, and structure. That's where a tailored plan makes all the difference.
Up Next: The Mental Side of Running
You've built your injury prevention foundation and dialled in your movement mechanics. In Part 3 of Everything Running, we're going somewhere a little different — inside your head. The mental side of running is one of the most underrated performance variables there is, and it connects directly to our broader Mental Performance series. If you've ever blown up mid-race, bonked on a long run, or talked yourself out of a workout you were fully capable of completing — Part 3 is for you. See you there.
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Curious what your gait is actually doing? Dr. Keirstyn offers running-specific movement assessments for endurance athletes at all levels. Reach out to book yours and get a plan built around how your body actually moves.
📍 Endurance Therapeutics | Oakville, Ontario
📞 905-288-7161