Introduction

There is an old saying about long course triathlon:

You can lose the race in the swim, but the race is won in the run.

The key to a good run is a correctly paced bike segment. Go too hard on the bike and all that run training you did will be for nothing -- you will end up walking.

Form and technique

Triathletes are not runners. Unless you came to triathlon from a strong running background you must ignore most of what you see written or on videos aimed at runners. DO NOT go out and do every cool looking workout you see published in Runner's World. You will just be wasting you time, and worse.

You might think that swimming is dangerous, because you might drown or be bitten by a shark. You might think that cycling is dangerous, because you might crash on a fast decent or get hit by a car. You might think that of the three activities that make up triathlon, running would be the safest. And you would be wrong. Running is far more likely to cause injuries that interrupt your training. 

What is the cause of these injuries? Stepping in a gopher hole? Tripping on a curb? Stepping on a banana peel? Nope. Too much running. After that comes technique, but it is a distant second place. To be sure, proper form matters, but experience has taught us that implementing a significant change in form can easily lead to a greater risk of overuse injury, simply because the body is asked to move in ways it is unaccustomed to.  Bobby MaGee in particular warns against too much form correction. Being a triathlete gives you an advantage over pure runners. Much of the fitness you will build on the bike carries over to the run.  The goal is to run just enough. If you are training for Ironman, which entails running a marathon, do not train like a pure runner trying to qualify for Boston. 

With that in mind, let's consider some desirable form qualities we can aspire to.  And, before we jump into that, it must be pointed out that there is no one universally agreed upon solution for any of these factors. 

A midfoot strike

There are three recognized types of foot strikers, named for the part of the foot that makes initial contact with the ground; forefoot, midfoot, and heel. It is impossible to say that any one of these is wrong; there are excellent runners represented in each group. In general, however, a forefoot strike is considered ideal for short distance runners, while bad for endurance runners because it places too much strain on the Achilles tendon and calf muscles. A heel strike can work, but unless it is performed with great care it can cause a loss of efficiency and an increased risk of injury. A midfoot strike is widely considered the best choice for long distance runners.

In his book Natural Running Danny Abshire has a lot of good information about running form. In chapter four he discusses three types of gait, similar to foot strike but looked at from the point of view of pace and body motion. His three gaits are walking, running, and sprinting. It should come as no surprise that endurance athletes should use a running gait. He makes the point that many amateur runners run with a walking gait. The recovering leg comes too far in front and the heel strikes the ground first. 

A proud stance

I cannot think of a better word cue than proud to represent what is the ideal spine - hip - leg alignment. It is all about balance. A great starting point is the yoga mountain pose. Think of your feet, legs, torso and head made of separate blocks of smooth, rounded, polished marble. In order to stack them in position the legs must be precisely balanced on the feet, torso must be precisely balanced on the legs, and the head must be balanced on the torso. If any part shifts out of alignment the whole thing topples.

When our body is out of alignment we don't collapse into a pile of bones. Why? Because our muscles hold us together. Reminding ourselves to relax while running is a nice cue, but in fact we need a bunch of muscles working hard to kept out floppy spine and head under control. Out goal, then, should be to minimize the effort required to hold us erect. Starting from a properly balanced tadasana is an excellent way to start. Focus on relaxing as many muscles as you can, shifting the job of holding your body in alignment from muscles to balance. Add these additional cues: feet straight, chest out in front, shoulders back, chin down. Do not add these my flexing muscles. Find a way to get there through alignment and balance.

Forward bend from the ankles

Once you have achieved a proper tadasana you transition to running by leaning forward. Not from the hips! From the ankles. As soon as you start to lean forward your mind will signal alarm -- you are about to fall on your face. How does your body respond? By shifting one foot out in front. Try it, and see which foot moves. Probably the same side as you are "handed." 

The key to running efficiency, at least in the mechanical sense, is the effective use the spring-like action of our tendons. When we walk we move by swinging one leg out in front, then pulling our hips forward. Sort of like rowing a boat. A proper running gait begins with the toe off happening much sooner than when walking, the recovering knee bends as the thigh lifts while the shin and foot hang down relaxed. The knee drops in time to land the foot ever so slightly in front of our center of gravity, shin at right angles with the ground when viewed from the side, with the forefoot making first contact with the ground. As the foot muscles fire the foot continues to fall, spreading the load across the entire foot, beginning along the outside edge and rolling slightly inward. During this stance phase the leg muscles are firing, not to pull us forward but to keep us from falling. We are balancing on one leg. Meanwhile the tendons are loading and stretching. As the body moves forward while the foot remains in one place on the ground our center of gravity moves ahead of our foot. The stored energy in our tendons is released, propelling our body in line with our head and spine alignment -- recall the tadasana position.  To be clear, the recoil force is mostly upward and a little forward, working through a diagonal line passing from our stance foot through our head. 

Upper arms down, forearms up - the glass tutu

I love this visual cue from Bobby McGee. Imagine you are wearing a ballet tutu. It sits at your waist and sticks straight out. Only it is made of glass. While running you must keep your arms up so that they do not hit your glass tutu. Relax your shoulders, allow your upper arms to fall easily to your sides. As you run your upper arms swing back and forth, front to back, like the pendulum of an old grandfather clock. Flex your elbows to hold your forearms parallel to the ground. Your hands can come in just a bit, but you must not stick your elbows out.

Head balanced on torso

Recall the mountain pose -- tadasana. As you run your entire body is rotated forward from your ankles -- this can be hard to feel because your legs are constantly out of line. You body is always bouncing up and down, except up is really up and forward, and down is really down and forward. Your head must be balanced on your torso, otherwise the force that is propelling you will cause your head to fall, forward or backward. Since you are leaning forward, your gaze must be a bit lower than when you are standing still in tadasana. The challenge is that we have highly developed neck muscles conditioned to manage our heads. Those muscles burn precious fuel, so we want to work them as little as possible. It is all about balance.