Hello and welcome to the Run to the Run to the Top podcast. This is Coach Claire Bartholic and today I am reading Introduction to Running Biomechanics, written by Matt Phillips.

Biomechanics, noun, the study of the mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms. If the above has turned you off slightly, I totally understand.

It's hard to go for a run these days without worrying about where our foot is landing, what shoe we are wearing, or optimal

stride frequency. Surely running can't be so complicated. The good news is it doesn't have to be.

The first thing you can do is discount anybody out there who tells you that

their way is the only way.

If that were the case, all elite world-class runners would have the same running style, and quite simply, they don't.

Running, like any sport, is a skill for which improvement will depend on suitable conditioning and active

development, but it's about building on your individual running style, as

opposed to basing your training regime on what happens to work well for somebody else.

Having a basic understanding of the biomechanics of running can help you appreciate your own running form

and see where you may be able to make improvements.

It can also help you make more sense of what you read and hear

with regards to running styles, training programs, conditioning exercises, footwear, etc.

Although running most definitely depends on whole body interaction,

dividing the running stride up into individual components or phases

can help us understand how slight changes can help improve performance and reduce susceptibility to injury.

Getting started, the gate cycle.

Our introduction to running biomechanics

can begin by looking at what we call the gate cycle.

This cycle starts when one foot makes contact with the ground

and ends when the same foot makes contact with the ground again.

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