Tread lightly

f you’re looking for a simple mantra to improve your running form, there’s new evidence that “run quietly” might be worth a try. It might seem vague compared to personalized advice like “hold your arms a bit higher” or “bend your knees more.” But scientists who study motor learning have found that focusing internally on the movements of your body tends to backfire compared to focusing externally on the results of your movements. For example, basketball players hit more shots when they focus on the rim than when they focus on their wrist motion.

More importantly, it’s not even clear that anyone can accurately judge what specific changes you should make to your running form. In a study published last fall in the European Journal of Sport Science, researchers from Tennessee State University sent video clips of five runners to 121 coaches ranging from high-school to international

Ilevel. The coaches were asked to rank the runners in order of efficiency – but when their responses were compared to laboratorymeasured values of running economy, there was no relationship between the rankings, regardless of the coach’s level of experience. It’s very difficult to eyeball the finer points of good running form, much less to suggest improvements.

Enter the idea of “running quietly,” which coaches and biomechanists have been experimenting wit h for years. It g ives you something external to focus on – the sound of your feet slapping against the ground – and leaves it up to your body to minimize the sound through trial and error. Several studies have found that deliberately attempting to run quietly results in lower impact forces when your feet hit the ground, which in turn might reduce your risk of injury.