How to Use Video Analysis to Catch Common Running Problems

All you needs is a track and a camera

Can you recruit a teammate or running partner to do you a favor? If she has any type of camera that can keep a moving body in focus, offer her the position as your interim head coach. When she asks about the salary range of this important title, tell her that it's reciprocity – you'll pay back the favor in kind. I promise that you'll both become, if not Hollywood hot shots, then faster, more efficient runners.

The minimalist movement has brought renewed attention to good running mechanics. With the ubiquity of video, it's now easy to do a quick, simple shoot that will help you learn how efficient your running form is. From the shoot you can learn the answer to these important questions: Are you using the least possible amount of energy at your given training and racing paces? Or, like a car with the wheels out of alignment, might you be straining to keep your motion moving forward in a straight line? Also, are you unconsciously riding the brake pedal by overstriding?

TWO VIEWS

You'll be posing for two views that will be easy to analyze: excessive upper body rotation and overstriding. You'll need to film from two positions at three speeds on a perfectly level surface like a running track where you can run back and forth over 40 to 50 yards.

Warm up with an easy, slow mile so you won't look stiff or tight when the camera starts rolling. Begin by filming your arm swing. For this view, position your videographer about 40 to 50 yards down the track while you're directly facing the camera. Ideally, the camera will have a zoom feature so your assistant can start the film rolling with you in a close-up view from the waist up. As you jog straight at the camera, the videographer should back off the zoom to avoid filming just your face by the time you stop directly in front of the camera. Now, with the camera on close-up, turn around and jog back to the starting point while your partner steadily uses more zoom to keep your upper body in the picture. Do this same drill toward and away from the camera two more times: once at 5K race pace and another at your end-of-the-race-kick pace.

Before taping the second view, check the results in case your videographer needs a do-over. Future Martin Scorseses often need a bit of practice to get the hang of holding the camera steady and smooth as they follow the action. It's OK to do several retakes.

Next, place the camera holder in position to film a side view. This should be at the midpoint, about 20 to 25 yards between the start and finish. Then move to a perpendicular spot from that point, about 10 to 20 yards from the side of the running route. Do a couple of practice takes so the videographer can be sure to keep you fully in the picture. You especially need good shots of your footstrike and arm motion. (If the camera lops off your head, no big deal.)

Take pictures at the same three paces as before so you can check for any differences brought about by the increasing speeds. First, jog from start to finish, do an about-face and jog back. Then, run 5K pace back and forth. Finally, one take of you kicking it in. You don't need to go at 100 percent sprint pace, but it needs to be fast.

Review the film again to be sure you have some steady, smooth film to analyze before you head to the editing room.

LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE

When it's time to review your form, there are three things that you want to observe.

1) See how much your shoulders and upper body are twisting. This will tell you if you're rotating your upper body too much.

2) See how far in front of your center of gravity your foot strikes the ground. This will tell you if you're overstriding.

3) See the angle at your elbow of your lower and upper arms. This relates to one type of overstriding, explained below.

If the first item, excessive upper-body motion, shows you moving back and forth like a washing machine agitator, check for two faults:

From the front view when you ran at the camera, were your forearms swinging across the front of your body, crossing over the midline and pushing that shoulder forward while the other side twists backward?

From the back view when you ran away from the camera, were your forearms swinging out away from your side, with your wrist outside your elbows pulling that shoulder backward?

In either case, you can eliminate that wasted rotary motion with the following drill.

Facing a mirror with your arms hanging loosely at your side, bring your forearms up into a "quick draw" position with your index finger pointing at the gunslinger in front of you and your thumbs raised like the gun's hammer. Now rotate your forearms so your right thumb points to a 10:00 position and your left points to a 2:00 position. Now gently swing your arms diagonally back and forth under your ribs, brushing the backs of your wrists against your shirt. Notice that your hands will always stay closer to your side than your elbows and that it looks like you're swinging your elbows back and out. It might look like you're trying to jab on his ribs another runner who wants to pass you.

Your arms should swing in a diagonal motion back and forth. You don't want a straightforward swing, with your elbows close to your side and your arms pumping up and down, like a sprinter's. Rotating your wrists and forearms into those 10:00 and 2:00 positions is the secret.

If the second form fault, overstriding, appears to be your problem, check for two things. Look closely for these tip-offs as you went faster, because overstriding is much more common and apparent at fast speeds.

How far back on your heel are you landing? Are there 4 to 6 inches of daylight between the front of your shoe and the ground?

How close to full extension is your lower leg? Is your leg straight with your knee locked?

Overstriding is caused when your foot strikes the ground more than 10 to 12 inches in front of your center of gravity. It doesn't matter whether you land heel first, flat-footed or on the ball of your foot, the impact forces are the same. If your lower leg is extended too far in front of your body mass, you're putting on the brakes. At footstrike, your knee should bend, with your foot landing beneath the knee and as close to your center of mass as possible.

You can eliminate overstriding with the following drills:

If you're a heel striker, jog in place to see how it feels to land on the balls of your feet.

If you're already landing on the balls of your feet, but with your leg straight or nearly so, and your footstrike too far in front of your center of gravity, then you need to shorten your stride.

For the first problem, practice a forefoot footstrike by running some strides two or three times a week. Start by jogging in place to get up on your toes, then slowly lean into a fast but controlled 50-yard strider. Don't go so fast that you lose concentration on landing on the balls of your feet. Landing in this position raises your heel and keeps it from striking the ground first. With the heel raised, your lower leg has more time to be pulled by the hamstrings back under your bent knee, closer to your center of gravity.

This drill can be a little dangerous, like suddenly going minimalist. Your forefoot muscles and bones won't be strong enough to handle many strides, so start with a few and work up to several with a walk-back recovery.

If the video analysis shows that you're an overstriding forefoot striker, experiment with a shorter stride by tightening the angle of your lower and upper arms at the elbow. Your arm is a pendulum with its own center of mass. If you close the angle at elbow of your upper and lower arms, you'll raise the center of mass. This will cause your arms to swing through a shorter arc at a faster rate; your legs will automatically follow suit, turning over faster by shortening your stride length.

Changing your form always feels awkward at first. And it takes lots of concentration before it becomes natural. The improvement in your efficiency, however, is worth it. You'll run at the same paces with less effort. With the same effort, you'll go faster. Improved efficiency leads to better economy of oxygen and fuel usage.

Getting better mileage is always a good goal. Beating someone to the finish line ain't bad, either.

'WHO'S THAT PLAYING ME?!'

If you've never seen yourself running, a word of warning: Be prepared for the same that-can't-be-me shock you had when you first heard a recording of your voice. Even with my history of being taped, I still get that feeling. The last time I was taped using the protocol in this article, I couldn't believe that anyone running "so fast" could look so tight and weak. I was running 100m repeats at close to 20 seconds per rep, or about 5:20 mile pace, and yet I looked painfully slow with a short, mincing little stride. While my form was biomechanically acceptable, my videographer summed things up with, "Well, it wasn't pretty, but you were slow." Acting can be hard on the ego. But trust me, this is still worth it.