Runner's World: Three Little Tips for a Better Run

Find the Full Article at Runner's World.

Training for your first half-marathon? You're definitely not alone if you are feeling confused and overwhelmed. In fact, if you Google "running form," you'll find thousands of videos, blogs, and more on how to run properly. The key is to focus on the fundamentals first and build into the specifics. When you keep it simple, it all begins to make more sense.

When I took up golf earlier in my life, I took a lesson from a pro. Okay, it wasn't exactly a pro, it was my father, who at that time in my life, I thought was the best golfer in the world.

He didn't start with learning the power of my backswing, getting distance on my drive, or even hip rotation. He started me off with learning how to hold the club in my hands and make contact with the ball. Period.

Once I was able to hit the ball, he taught me the basic shots for putting, chipping, and driving. After graduating from there, I played my first nine holes, which eventually turned into 18, and then I got my first set of hand-me-down golf clubs with Mickey Mouse club covers.

I never would have been able to get through nine holes without knowing the fundamentals first. These primary skills allowed me to learn how to fine-tune my shots for distance and accuracy (which I'm still learning today).

My point is...running form develops in time, like your golf game, or a fine glass of wine. If you focus on the basics first, you'll improve without being completely overwhelmed. When we try to focus on everything before it is time, confusion wins out and a lack of progress follows.

1: Focus on the Basics

• Perform a Head-to-Toe Inventory one or two times per run. Like learning how to hold the club and making contact with the ball, tuning into what your body is doing by performing an inventory, head to toe, will allow you to learn how your body is moving forward and bring awareness to your running style. Perform this inventory a few times during your run and let this simmer for several weeks.
• Your head should be over your shoulders, eyes looking forward.
• Neck and shoulders should be relaxed—tightness here is a huge energy suck.
• Arms bent (don't worry about the exact degree just yet) and swinging like a pendulum from your shoulder. Still confused?  Stand with your feet hip width apart and arms long and start swinging them. You'll notice they follow a natural arc from your hip to your center line. Now bend your arms and keep swinging with relaxed shoulders—this is it!
• Relax your hands—you're not getting ready for a fight! If it helps, think of something delicate in your palm (bird, chip...)
• Hips should be under the shoulders. Think of natural alignment from head to toes. Watch other runners for this one and you'll see what I mean. If they are bent or slouched forward, they are out of alignment.
• Your feet should land with short, quick strides under your hips.

2: Next—Focus on your feet. Once you learn how to run in alignment and with less tension with the head-to-toe inventory, the next step is to dial in your cadence, or the number of strides per minute. During the heart of your run, count the number of strides (or steps) your right foot takes in one minute. According to Coach Jack Daniels, the general rule of thumb for efficient running is 90 strides per minute for one foot, or 180 for both, but there is variance based on leg length. The key is in knowing what your cadence is, and if you're in the 70s to low-80s, you're likely trying to cover too much ground with each step—a common newbie mistake. If this is the case, practice running with shorter, quicker steps. One fun way is to run to a fast-paced song (e.g. "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley at 177 beats per minute [bpm], "Dancing with Myself" by Billy Idol at 177 bpm) or a zen-like 175-180 bpm mix from PodRunner.com. You can also learn via gadgets like PEAR Sports, Garmin, and others that offer cadence sensors that mount to your shoe. Like proper alignment, dialing in your cadence will have a profound effect on your energy management and efficiency down the road, but it will take time to learn.

3: Warm Up and Build Your Running Game Slowly. This may not seem like a form tip, but it certainly is, especially if you sit during the day and head out for your run post-work with your hips and hamstrings so tight you could play a tune on them. Invest at least three to five minutes in walking briskly and with purpose. Sprinkle in backwards walking to open your hips (be careful) and foam rolling if you are particularly tight in areas (hips, ITB, calves). A warmup is the gateway to better form, as it prepares your body to run optimally—like a practice swing before the go-to shot. [Read more on how to warm up for various races here.] Avoid going for 18 holes if you still need to learn how to run or you're fresh into the running scene. Like all sports, investing the time in building the mechanics, fitness, and stamina will allow you to run stronger more quickly than jumping ahead. In many cases, form issues stem from a lack of foundation of miles and mechanics and can be easily resolved by a solid training plan and following steps one and two above.
Happy Trails.

Learn more tips and tricks for running your best life here -> CoachJenny.com

The Running Life

Guest Article by Dr. John Franson, MD

"Everyone is an athlete.  The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not."  George Sheehan


In the deepest part of winter, when the wind searches my bedroom window, I sometimes try to think of excuses to stay in bed.  Especially when the moon is remote, or hidden, or thinly slivered.  But soon the willing dogs stir, and we slip out to run the empty roads.  The morning ritual.  I'm not too fast, but I decided a long time ago in doctoring as well as running that a failure of will was not okay.

With registration just opening for the fall half marathon--the Soda Screamer Thirteener--I thought about running and life.  Cold black mornings aren't always easy.  Other times, though, the moon is out, the snow crunchy underfoot, and the sky full of shooting stars (nine on one dark run).  Another morning the first bluebird is back.  Sometimes there's a croaking raven, a moose ambling through the brush, or a coyote floating away.  Always there's stress release, patience, sensory awareness, persistence, and time to think.

About 150 lifetimes ago everyone was a hunter-gatherer, which pretty much amounted to a planet of long distance runners.  With the advent of agriculture running mostly stopped.  Crops don't try to escape like wild animals, especially when they're grown in the same convenient place each year.  And now we're at the tail end of another dramatic change, where the farmlands are more populated by machines than people and each person is fed by something like 0.5% of a farmer.  Most of the physical demands of our lives are gone, leaving us to shuffle behind grocery carts past the latest hundred types of breakfast cereals.  Inside, stairs are harder to find than elevators.  We work and get around not with our God-given engines but with the internal combustion kind.  Overfed and underworked, we deal with low back pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, hemorrhoids, obesity, heart disease, and a host of other modern ailments.   And today's youngsters are expected to be the first in modern history with shorter lifespans than their parents.

Sports Illustrated once published an article by then president-elect John F. Kennedy, in which he expressed concern about the declining physical condition of American youth.  He also addressed connections between mental and physical activity when he wrote  "the knowledge that the physical well-being of the citizen is an important foundation for the vigor and vitality of all the activities of the nation is as old as Western civilization itself.  But it is a knowledge which today, in America, we are in danger of forgetting."  That was 1960.

In a world that is increasingly obsessed with technology, winning, and expensive gear, running can be refreshingly simple.  In high school I thought everything had to be measured and recorded.  For example, on this day in 1985 I ran 3 miles in 21:48.  And the temperature was 71 degrees.  But over time the regimentation died and disappeared.  Now I go to a fork in the road, or the top of a hill, or the end of a loop, with only a rough idea of the distance.  My time is however long it takes, and the pace is whatever my legs will give me that day.  Once a week I run for an hour or two.  The rest of the time it's about a half hour.  I treat myself to a new pair of shoes once a year, but my black Polartec winter shirt is older than Kayla.  This is, I suspect, more like running should be for most of us, at least a lot of the time. 

Later this summer there are 5K runs in Bancroft, Grace, and Soda, and in October the half marathon comes around.  Completing one or all of these runs is well within reach of many.  There's nothing wrong with walking either.  Think about it.  The more the merrier.  And goals are good as they bring focus and clarity to life.

In addition to his full-time medical practice, John Franson enjoys spending his spare time with his family.  He cycles to work, and loves to run, garden, ski, and has an ever-growing hobby farm.  He is a regular contributor to the Caribou County Sun, with his popular and insightful column "The Doctor's Corner."

How The Soda Screamer Came To Be

{By MaTisha H, founder and director of our favorite half-marathon}

After having my 4^th child, I had high blood pressure and was 100 pounds overweight.  One day a friend of mine said she wanted to run a half- marathon, and without hesitation I said I wanted to join her.  I had never run before in my life, but was so excited to take on this new adventure.  It didn’t take long to become completely hooked!  In just a few short months, I had dropped the extra 100 pounds and my blood pressure was amazing.  I looked forward to running every day!  In January of 2008 I ran my first half-marathon (Carlsbad, California) and loved every minute of it.  I found that I really loved traveling and competing and did so every chance I could get. 

Another friend of mine kept me company on my training runs.  We had discussed how much fun it would be to do a race together, but because of time and money it was impossible for her.  It started me thinking…thinking about how I could make this happen for her and for all the people along this journey that wished they could do it to, but felt they couldn’t.  My heart reached out to them.  I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to see that if you put your mind to it…All things are possible!  I wanted to bring our community together by helping them be more healthy, strong & happy.  This is how the “SCREAMER” came to be. 

A Halloween themed half-marathon was chosen so everyone could dress up and be whoever they want to be.  To come and laugh, relieve stress and most of all….HAVE FUN! 

On October 30, 2009 the trial run of The Soda “SCREAMER”Thirteener took place.  It was a lot of fun and very successful!  The next couple years to follow have been very rewarding as I have watched this event grow and transform right before my eyes.  It has been so much fun to hear and read participants talk about how much they enjoy this race, and it has been very humbling to see all of the very generous people in this community volunteer their time and services to help.  Because of this I have met some wonderful friends.  They all mean so much to me.

Preparing an event like this takes a lot of time and preparation.  Something that has been very challenging when trying to be a wife, mother, train and tackle all the other duties in life.  I feel life has been stretched a little too thin and it is time to make a change.  I am excited to say that Lorraine Myers will be taking my place!  I have enjoyed working with her as my trusty sidekick and love my newfound friendship with her.  She has been my right hand man and is an amazing lady.  She has been a great help in making each year successful.  I know she is just what this race needs and will do a wonderful job.  It has been great to see the fun changes that have been made already.    

These last few years have helped me grow in more ways than I could ever have imagined.  It has given me confidence to try new things and in August 2011 I achieved the goal of finishing my first triathlon.  I am now training for a second one which will take place this summer, and already I am saying, “What can I accomplish next!?”  It is amazing to me what our bodies are capable of.  


You can do anything!  You just have to WANT IT! 

I would like to thank everyone for their support.  This event has been successful because of YOU!  Thank you all for being a part of this event . . . if 2012 is your first year to try the Screamer, you won't regret it!

2012 Registration OPEN!

Are you ready for the 2012 Soda Screamer Thirteener?  You've got seven months to train for the running event of the year!  Registration is now open, and the price is set at $50 per person until June, when it goes up $5 every month until the end of September.

This half marathon gets more fun every year, and this year is no exception!  Since the 13.1-mile race is held a few weeks before Halloween (Saturday, October 13th) runners and volunteers are all encouraged to wear costumes.  This year the theme is superheroes!  So grab your mask, lace up your action boots, and fasten your cape: you'll love flying through our fabulous course in Idaho's running town!