“Form follows function’. Since first hearing this phrase back in 2012, I must have encountered it a few hundred times in books, publications, videos and general discussion related to the topic of running technique, running form and how to avoid injury. Over-used phrases tend to lose value in the repetition but as I sat…
In part 1 and 2 of this series we looked at two phases of the running stride – initial contact and mid-stance – and their influence on Achilles injury for our Case Study – GAA footballer Myles Conway. Today we will be looking at a part of the running stride called ‘terminal stance’ consisting of…
Yesterday’s article began taking a look at a running analysis on Myles Conway, a GAA footballer and Achilles pain sufferer. We looked at the part of the running stride commonly called ‘Initial Contact’. Today we will progress to talk about ‘Mid Stance’. This position occurs shortly after ‘Initial Contact’ and stops when the full weight…
Myles Conway is a former Wicklow County footballer and he kindly allowed me to share his story so far and the results of our first biomechanical assessment a few weeks back. Myles related a familiar story to me of having tried pretty much every intervention and therapy under the sun from the mainstream to the…
Today I’d like to divert a bit from the long-standing discussion on whether it’s useful or not to assess someone’s running technique and instead look at why it can be so difficult and why consistent results from analysing running can be hard to come by. Let’s take a minute to refamiliarise ourselves with the key terms: Technique:…
We love our jobs as running technique specialists, we know what the ideal characteristics of a runner with good technique looks like…but the real skill is moulding the runners we work with into that ideal. Coaching Cues We achieve this through coaching cues. Each cue has it’s own individual and personal meaning to the student.…
We’re big into our wild and wacky Fartleks in ChampionsEverywhere – these workouts are a staple part of every athlete we trains weekly training during the general practice and conditioning period. First engineered by Swedish coach Gösta Holmér, Fartlek means ‘speedplay’ and is a way to shake yourself out of that metronomic trance that can…
Earlier today a runner wrote me an email: “René, congratulations on you contribution to coaching. I am following Lydiard’s philosophy – 2 years now. I read an article by (ed: Peter) Snell on the long run – he said you need to run the 20 milers at 7 min pace to recruit the 2II fibres after glycogen…
Experience what a difference a day makes at the ‘Masters of Running’ workshops. Working with all levels of people who want to learn how to run with great technique, ranging from the chronically injured who were told to quit the sport they love, to beginners and elites. What a difference a day…
Strides are generally 10-25 second (50-150m for most runners) controlled sprints. Where aerobic runs focus on the cardiovascular system and anaerobic runs the metabolic system, strides improve neuromuscular coordination (the brain’s ability to fire motor units in muscles quickly and efficiently). Strides can be employed with benefits throughout all phases of your training programme. The…
