To learn forefoot running, stand tall, let your entire body fall forward being sure to land lightly on the balls of the foot.
As shown above, let the torso fall forward, keep both knees slightly bent and pick up your feet behind you. The more you bend your knees, the softer the ground will feel beneath your feet.
Focus Only on Relaxing the Legs, Knees and Feet
A relaxed muscle will never get hurt, or fatigued. The key to forefoot running, and avoiding injury, is to relax your legs. Not only that, relax your entire body. Picture yourself looking as relaxed and flowing smoothly as Tirunesh Dibaba, or Kenenisa Bekele.
Repeat to yourself as you run: RELAX. No movement should be forced, just flow in a way that feels natural to you. The more you relax, the less likely you will be sore afterwards.
=Below, shows Tirunesh Dibaba running. You want to have relaxed legs and feet like her. Never lift the toes before the foot strikes the ground! Let the foot fall to the ground like Dibaba. Also notice how Dibaba stands tall with her chest puffed out as she runs -this is great for maximal oxygen intake and helps with pushing the body forward:
Forget About the Other Things
Don’t focus too much on arm swing, or is my back-kick high enough, or am I standing tall enough, or am I leaning forward enough?? See how these thoughts can become aggravating, especially when you are trying to run.
As long as you keep your knees soft and bent, relax your entire body, the only thing you should focus on is relaxing your legs as best you can and making sure your landings are soft.
Always release any tension that creeps up in your body, and remember, running is a natural movement of the human form just like walking is. Nobody told our ancestors how to run, they just ran. So just run, don’t listen to the nah-sayer heel strikers, and relax.
- How to Avoid Running on Your Heels
- More on Heel Strike and Forefoot Strike Biomechanics
- Strengthening Exercises for Forefoot Running
- Warm-ups Before Running Prevent Injury Better Than Stretching
Bretta Riches
BSc Neurobiology; MSc Biomechanics candidate, ultra minimalist runner & founder of RunForefoot. I was a heel striker, always injured. I was inspired by the great Tirunesh Dibaba to try forefoot running. Now, I'm injury free. This is why I launched Run Forefoot, to advocate the health & performance benefits of forefoot running and to raise awareness on the dangers of heel striking, because the world needs to know.
Latest posts by Bretta Riches (see all)
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