Technique: How High to Pull Your Foot Up When Running?

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How high should you pull your foot up when running and with how much effort? To know the answer to this question, one has to understand the purpose of the action of pulling your foot up when running. This is where the importance of understanding the ‘why’ is highlighted again. Reading the theory and understanding it through and through is not about complicating what most of us wish was such a natural form of locomotion – running. Contrary to that common assumption and in my opinion, gaining full understanding of the subject is actually about gaining freedom. Freedom to effortlessly do what needs to be done because you know exactly what is happening, you know the rules and you can work with them at any speed on any terrain.

Required Height

To put it simply, the necessary height of the pull will sort itself out. You do not need to think about it, all you need to do is make a slight effort to pull your foot up high enough to clear the ground and so it allows for change of support because running is nothing but ‘change of support’ while falling forward. In the Pose Method of Running, the pull is the last element of the technique that allows for the most efficient transition from one foot to the other. All you need is to execute the action of pulling correctly – everything else will be done for you. Trust the natural forces.

Minimal Effort

Effortless running is achieved through biomechanically proper technique because such technique works with and uses the natural forces such as gravity. By its very definition, effortless running requires or should take less effort. So, if all we need to do is change support in order to run, then the ultimate goal is to do that action with the least possible effort. Narrowing down all required action to a single action of pulling in the Pose Method of Running gets us closer to running with less effort, and actively working just one group of muscles – the hamstrings – fits the purpose and serves it well.

You will notice that putting less intentional effort into pulling your feet up by utilizing the hamstrings only, will help you do it correctly. You will also notice that such an important thing as high cadence is easier to achieve, if you don’t strain to pull your feet all the way up.

Putting less intentional effort into pulling your feet up by utilizing the hamstrings only, will help you do it correctly.

The general rule is – you’re better off pulling your foot up less than more. If you pull too high and/or too hard you will waste energy and will tire your hamstrings and might get injured. Think about the typical injury for sprinters – pulled hamstrings. Keep in mind, that the exaggerated motion of the pull, demonstrated in the running drills, is strictly for learning purposes, to help your body learn better patterns of movement required for running.

What about other muscles? Leave them alone. All you need is to do one action – pulling your feet up with your hamstrings – to set everything in the right motion with minimal effort.

RUNNING FORUM POSETV

Various Speeds

When you run faster, your foot will end up higher. I say ‘end up’ because you are not supposed to be putting any effort into pulling it higher or leaving it lower. That’s too much to think about especially in sprinting where everything happens way before you can think about it. If you’re thinking about it, you are already too late.

When you run faster, your foot will end up higher.

(This is happening on its own and due to the forces already in play, Bolt is NOT PUTTING EFFORT INTO PULLING his foot up this high.)

There is no need to put any effort into forcing your foot so high. The entire trajectory of your foot will determine itself based on your speed. All you have to do is focus on maintaining your running pose.

At a slower speed your feet will be noticeably and naturally lower. When jogging, your running might resemble shuffling. Your feet will be at their lowest height of the pull.

 

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The Role and Importance of a ‘Standard’

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We use the word ‘standard’ on daily basis, we’re all very familiar with its meaning. Here’s a quick sample of the meaning given in a dictionary just so we’re on the same page:

standard |ˈstandərd|
noun
1 a level of quality or attainment
2 an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations: the wages are low by today’s standards | the system had become an industry standard.
• (standards) principles of conduct informed by notions of honor and decency: a decline in moral standards.
• a form of language that is widely accepted as the correct form.
• the prescribed weight of fine metal in gold or silver coins: the sterling standard for silver.
• a system by which the value of a currency is defined in terms of gold or silver or both.

 

 

 

Standard Exists Everywhere

A ‘standard’ is, basically, an approved and generally accepted model of something, a rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment, an average or normal requirement, quality, quantity, level, grade, etc. When Apple develops their gadgets – they have a standard they follow. When car makers build their creations – they follow standards in car manufacturing.

There are standards being taught and displayed in all sports. Not all are necessarily correct, according to my understanding of movement and in my humble opinion, but there are standards nonetheless. In running, however, we are all suddenly unique and all have different techniques and styles. Does that not sound a bit strange? It does. And it is. Of course we are all unique individuals, but let’s not confuse our personalities and styles with technical standard in movement.

Benefits of Having a Standard

What does having a ‘standard’ offer us when it comes to human movement in sports, and in general?

  • Precise model to learn. With a standard model to learn, a student avoids the potential pitfalls of a wandering mind. Experimenting on top of a learned standard is quite different from experimenting without the basic foundation. While the first is full of advantageous discoveries, the latter is full of confusion and easily avoidable mistakes.
  • Precise model to teach. If there was no standard, all teachings or attempts to teach would be disorganized, scattered, unfocused, etc. There would be no way to determine what’s a mistake and what is not. There would be no way to offer clarity of the subject to a student. Teaching would be an impossible task.
  • Ability to identify and correct errors. This is probably one of the most important attributes of any model of any ‘standard’. When there is a clearly identified and put forth model for a standard, any deviation from that standard is easily seen. That is precisely the definition of an ‘error’. In order for something to be labeled an error there has to be a clear standard according to which something is classified as an error. One does not exist without the other.

The claim that there is no correct running technique or any other correct sports technique is unfounded and is not supported by science. Moreover it does not make any sense. Unless we figure out how to defy gravity or it suddenly changes the way it works – we will abide by its current standard of operation that has not changed since our planet came into being.

The laws of operation of all natural forces with gravity at the helm consequently lead to a particular set of rules in movement of a human body. This standard branches out into standards in human movement when participating in various athletic activities or simply moving around. Movement related misuse injuries and pain are our signals that we’re deviating from the already existing standard of movement. Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, won’t change this standard. Plain and simple.

 

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