Good running form examples

Many of you have independently asked me about running form, stride length, cadence, etc in the last few weeks or days. I went out to try and find some good screen shots of what makes up good form vs bad.... specifically around stride length since that's been hot lately.

Good example: Scott Molina photo at Gordo's Blog
What's good:

• Body lean... his center of gravity is practically ahead of his front foot
• Front knee bend... lower leg is almost parallel to the ground
• Knee height... look how high he gets his knee up. Increasing the height increases stride length

Gordo Byrn (blog author) happens to be a world class triathlete himself... his blog is lengthy but has many valuable tidbits. Scott Molina is one of the triathlon greats. I like the quote "True running technique is what you are left with when you're wrecked. "

Not so good example: sadly the runner on our homepage
What's not good:

• Body lean: very little
  
• Overstride: huge stride... such a stride should be accompanied by a high lean
• Front knee bend... by the time that front leg hits the ground, it will create a large angle with the perpendicular, thus acting as a "brake"
  
• Back leg position: it shoots backwards whereas it should be tucked under her body more

Admittedly this runner could be going for a finishing sprint in the 100m where form takes less importance... but it seems unlikely from the context.

Maybe we should offer a Sports Bistro prize (like store credit) for anyone who can get a photo of someone with awesome running form wearing a Sports Bistro team kit.