interesting blog on "what's wrong with American running"

[Paul Petersen]

Picked this post up from letsrun.com. I can't say I agree with 100% of it (maybe 50%), but I can say that it's interesting.

http://eugenept.blogspot.com/2010/01/cart-horse-and-racing-spoiler-on-ford.html

Discuss.

I should also note that it appears to be written by a physical therapist, so there's some inherent bias. It's like asking me if a race should have a good course map, or asking Sasha if everyone should be using Linux.

[Cheryl Keith]

Very interesting article, and I have to say I agree closer to 100%.  When I worked with someone last year who understood running form and mechanics, I was able to PR at the St. George marathon on my 11th try at the ripe old age of 52 (with less training that I had for several previous marathons).  I could have run hill sprints and tempo runs until I died, and nothing would have helped me as much as just making some basic changes in my form.  So I think this guy has hit on something that is really true.  We think we don't need instruction in runnning because it just all comes natural, but I don't think that is true at all.  Thanks for posting this article, Paul, it will make for interesting discussion.

[Paul Petersen]

Good input Cheryl, thanks.

[Josse]

I agree, I had someone years ago work on my form.  And it did help a great deal.  The funny thing is you have to constantly work on it or you go back to the same old habits of your old style.  But working on form in a race is a good distraction.

[Steve P]

Part of my opinion is that we are all built differently and should not deviate too much from how we run naturally. At the same time, I think there's some value in working on your mechanics.

But to suggest that this is the reason Americans aren't reaching their running potential is extremely simple minded. I don't care how good your form is, if you haven't put in effective training to condition yourself, you aren't going to be very good. Whereas, I think the opposite can be true. One example is Paula Radcliffe whose form is very different from the supposed textbook form (she has a high arm swing, bobbing head) but who owns one of the most dominant world records in running. Maybe Paula could run even faster with "better" form, but probably not (IMHO).

If you want some really insightful discussion on this topic, I recommend the Sports Scientists blog. http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/01/running-technique.html They also have a great book that covers this and other topics.

[Sasha Pachev]

He is right that we often send the natural distance guys with high Quality X to sprint and thus end up with mediocre sprinters instead of world-class distance runners. As far as teaching the form, nobody teaches East Africans the form except the need to run to school and back, get there in time, and do so off one meal a day. Mr. Hunger will teach you good form! I am suspecting a good number of our young runners ruin their structure by running on the track and/or sitting too much.

Once the structure has been messed up, it is not easy to fix. I've been trying to do it for the last 10 years without a whole lot of success. Any performance improvements I got came through improved endurance. This is not to say that one should not try. But one should be fixing the structure before he tries to fix the form. Once the structure has been fixed, invite Mr. Hunger and Mr. Anaerobic Bear to teach you good form.

[Kory Wheatley]

Interesting article.  I believe form can be improved and which goes along with stride rate.  We need to teach the sprinter's endurance and the endurance guys speed that's the  only way to get better distance runner's here in the US.  It's sad to classify a runner as a certain type because there can be improvement.

[Scott Ensign]

Isn't it just economics 100? Marathoning is not a glamour sport with high payouts and endorsements, because it is just not that exciting to watch; the general public could care less. There are no college scholarships for marathoning, but universities are willing to bleed red ink for money-losing football programs since alumni and donors demand it.  To be a world class marathoner takes a huge commitment, probably sacrificing career, education and family. The field is now dominated by gifted foreign athletes from less affluent countries for whom the monetary awards provide the necessary incentives to train and win. The prize money in the sport probably is mostly subsidized by the registration fees paid by the recreational runners.  So, with so much inherent risk, and so little chance of significant monetary gain, what is the incentive for a good distance runner to sacrifice career and education to try to break into this scene? Better to go to school, get an education, and focus on a career.  And just run for fun.

[Steve P]

I think it's actually Barney the Dinosaur's fault. This morning my daughter was watching it. One of the little girls on the show said she was a fast runner, and Barney said, "Maybe you should learn to play soccer!"

[Dave Holt]

I always though Barney was a Socialist!