Is your stride long or short? Fast or slow?
Do you shuffle, pound, or glide over the ground?
Improving your stride can increase your speed and reduce your risk of injury. Any energy that doesn't go into moving you forward is wasted. The goal is to minimize those flaws. Here are few tips and drills you can do to make some quick improvements.

Leg Lift
A high knee lift is more efficient than a shuffle. While that may sound strange, it makes sense when you think in terms of physics1. Swing a weight at the end of a rope or piece of string. The shorter the string, the easier it is to swing the weight. The same goes with your legs. The closer the weight (i.e., your foot) is to the pivot point (i.e., your hips), the less energy it takes to drive forward.

Leg lift should come from your hips, not from your push off. Lift your knees from your hips, while you drive forward with your calves, quads and hamstrings. Watch hurdlers run in the Olympics this summer. They are actually stepping, not jumping, over the hurdles. Their power is driving them forward, not up.

Here are a few drills:

Hip swing: Stand with one hand on a wall, tree, or fence to the side. Lift your outside leg. Standing on a block or edge of a curb makes this easier. With your knee slightly bent, swing your leg forwards and backwards. Try to create a smooth swing. Initiate the swing from your hip, not your quads. Focus on your muscles and keep your quads relaxed. Place your hand on the hip joint. This will help you feel if your hip is swinging or if the swing is coming from your quads. It can also help to watch yourself while you stand in front of a mirror. I often do hip swings before the start of my runs.

High knees: Take 20-30 strides lifting your knees as high as they can go, like the leader of a marching band. Repeat this drill 3-4 times. Focus on lifting from your hips rather than leaping with your calf muscles. To make sure your calves are propelling you forward as much as possible rather than up, add the butt kicker drill below.

Butt kickers: Take 20-30 strides literally kicking your butt with your heals. Repeat this drill 3-4 times. This simulates an efficient push off. I always do this after high knees to make sure I am striding forward rather than up.

Running Stairs: First, find a set of stairs, like at a stadium, office building or park. If you can't find a good set of stairs, find a moderately steep hill with good footing. Practice stepping, rather than leaping up each stair. Keep your stride short and quick. Try only doing one stair at a time, even if you can easily do more. If you are doing this on a hill, keep your stride very short and quick. Do several repeats of 30-60 seconds. You can do more or less, depending on your fitness. The goal is to work on your form, so don't make the climb too hard.

Hurdles: Place a set of objects on the ground. You can use concrete blocks, 4x4s, bricks, or rocks. They don't need to be as high as track hurdles. Set them a couple of steps apart. Practice on one side at a time, lifting your leg over the object as you stride. Do this several times on each leg. You can increase the height as you get better.

Turnover
There are two ways to run faster: take longer strides or take faster strides. Increasing length requires increased strength and flexibility, which takes time. Increasing leg speed is a learned skill, but it's something that can be improved quickly and without big increases in fitness. Leg speed is especially important at the end of races, when you are tired and don't have the strength to lengthen your stride. You can find that finishing kick by increasing your leg turnover. Watch the middle distance (1500m - 10km) track racers at the Olympic Trials and Games this summer and you'll find that their leg turnover significantly picks up in the last lap.

Count your strides: The easiest way to increase your leg speed is to count your strides. Count the number of strides you take in a minute. This is more easily done on flat ground, but you should also do this on hills and trails if that's where you race and train. Make note of it in your training log. Simply counting your strides will make you more aware of your turnover. Thinking about your turnover will get you to start stepping quicker.

Quick step: Step a little faster than is comfortable. Imagine running on hot coals so that you don't want your feet on the ground too long. Push off as soon as your feet hit the ground. It may help to think about shortening your stride when you first start doing this. As your stride becomes more efficient, your stride length should naturally lengthen with your turnover. I usually do this drill before my speed workouts. I'll sprint the straights, then jog the curves. The goal is to see how quickly I can step, not how fast I can get to the other end of the track. I also try to do something similar as part of at least one other non-track run each week.

Stairs: The stair drill (above) is another good way to increase your leg speed. Focus on keeping your stride short and quick.

Lean
Where you are looking and your lean affects your foot strike. If you are looking down, you will tend to shuffle and hunch over. This requires you to push your body weight in front of your muscles. It closes off your hip joint, shortens your stride, and compresses your lungs. If you look up and lean back, you will tend to pound. This requires you to drag your body weight behind you.

It is much more efficient to carry your weight in alignment. With a slight forward lean, your hips, chest and head should all be in line with your ankles. Look forward and slightly down. If you are running uphill, look up the trail. This will help drive your hips up, rather than into the hill. If you need to watch your feet, it's better to lower your chest rather than your head. It's OK to occasionally look down and around. You do need to keep your neck relaxed.

Wall: Stand about two feet away from a wall and fall forward. Initiate the forward lean with your hips; your chest should follow. Just before you hit the wall, bring your hands up to catch the wall just in front of your chest. Look down at your body. If it's done right, your body should be in a line and you shouldn't see a bend at your waist.

Falling forward: Stand straight, then gradually lean forward. Bend at your ankles, bringing your hips and chest forward together. Initiate the forward movement from your hips. As you begin to fall, stride forward. When it's done right, it should feel a bit like you are falling forward as you run.

Listen to the Rhythm
The next time you go out running, listen to your foot strike and to those around you. This works best on a dirt path. You'll hear the dirt grinding with the shufflers and thudding with the pounders. An efficient stride will sound soft and smooth. If you shuffle, focus on the leg lift drills above. Lift your head and look ahead rather than at your feet. If you pound, you should also work on leg lift, focusing on lifting from the hip and stepping over the hurdles rather than bounding over them. Also spend time with the quick step drill, especially thinking about the hot coals and being quick and light on your feet. The goal is to step lightly and spend very little time on the ground. Continue to use the rhythm of your stride as feedback. As you incorporate the above techniques, you should begin to notice a change in the sound of your stride.

Working on your stride can increase your running speed and enjoyment. There are many elements to good running form. These are just a few techniques and drills you can start to do quickly.

Adam is a trail, ultra, snowshoe, and adventure racer. He is a coach and race director in the Denver area. He encourages your feedback at www.runuphillracing.com, info@runuphillracing.com, or 303-282-3921.

1. Dreyer, Danny. Physical Running, Running Times. May, 2001.