If you’ve just started pounding the pavement, you probably had this thought cross your mind soon after lacing up: What does proper running form look like? Am I running “wrong”?!
Since you probably weren’t ever officially “taught” to run, like you would if you picked up another sport like, say, golf or skiing, you might be wondering if your natural gait is the correct one—and, if not, if the way you run might actually be setting you up for injury (or at the least, hampering your performance).
Surprisingly, though, there isn’t one “right” way to run. When researchers analyzed factors like stride length, how your foot hits the ground, and how long you stay off the ground, among other metrics, they still weren’t able to reach any firm conclusions about what makes for “good” running form, according to a 2024 review published in Sports Medicine. In fact, in most cases, it’s not something you should worry about dissecting or changing.
“If people are just getting out there to run and enjoy themselves, and they don’t have any issues, there’s no reason to look at your form,” physical therapist and run coach Kimberly Melvan, DPT, CSCS, tells SELF.
Still, there are some form tips to keep in mind that could help make things feel a little easier on the run. These can be especially helpful for folks who spend a lot of their day sedentary, sitting and hunching over their phones, physical therapist Emmi Aguillard, DPT, who treats and trains runners, tells SELF. Over time, that kind of posture can mess with your biomechanics and change the way you run, she says. And if you’re dealing with a nagging chronic injury, experts may recommend you try a few tweaks too.
While gait analysts’ recommendations are specific to each individual runner’s unique movement patterns, we asked the experts for some of the most common form cues that can help nearly anyone out there racking up the miles.
Gaze ahead.
Rather than looking down at the ground directly in front of you, or letting your head arch back, gaze straight ahead, physical therapist, run coach and running gait analyst Lisa Mitro, DPT tells SELF. Think about your chin just leading your chest, but not poking out so far that there’s a crease in your neck, she adds. This will help give you a more efficient posture (and avoid unwelcome neck pain). It’s the same reasoning behind the cue to “keep your neck neutral” when you’re performing strength training moves, like a row or a deadlift.
Keep your feet on their own tracks.
If you’ve got some weakness in your hips—particularly in that gluteus medius on the side of your butt—your feet might veer in toward your midline, cross over, or even hit each other with each stride. (If you’ve ever ended a run with scrapes or bruises along your inner ankle, this may be why.)
