My last VLM training pack from Leukaemia CARE contained an interesting flyer. ‘Free biometrical analysis on your running’ intrigued, I booked my appointment with The Running School and turned up at my allotted time.

I was reserving judgement. But looking forward to seeing what these guys had to say.

I was welcomed into the facility and shown to the changing room. Once in my running kit and after filling out a med form, I was soon guided into the main area. It was set up with some video equipment, several treadmills and various other apparatus. Teri was my ‘coach’. She got me straight on one of the treadmills and set it to a brisk walk, to warm me up. During this time she asked about my current training regime, history and goals. Once she had a picture of me and my running she explained she would get me doing a couple of runs while videoing me. This footage was to be used for the analysis. In total I did a 5 min warm up and 3 x 30 second runs with increasing speed and incline.

I was then given a bottle of water, (nice touch!) while I got my breath back and Teri downloaded the footage.

We sat down and watched the video several times. Teri used different playback speeds, pausing and using on-screen markers to illustrate her analysis. She clearly explained my style of running and technique.

So what did she say about me?

From behind...

As I watched the video playback I saw it... OMG - I waddle! Teri didn’t call it that. She said I was a ‘shuffle’ runner. I don’t lift my heals up enough when I run. I have a half cycle motion. That wasn’t my biggest problem though. The reason I ‘waddle’ is lack of control in my hips. Without stability from the muscles my hips twist. My glutes and hamstrings weren’t being used fully. This effected my left side more. Basically I had a lazy left buttock! I could see my hips twisting to the right as I ran. This motion means that my legs slightly cross as they land. The result is additional motion on the left leg and a visible ‘flick’ in the foot - she didn’t need to spell out that all this was a strong contributor to past injuries. Moving up my body and onto my arms. What I thought was a good rhythmic movement was nothing more than additional twisting. Whether this was countering and/or excentuating my lower bodies twists, it was wasted energy as it was not forward propulsion. Teri was doing a good job of highlighting problem areas without being patronising or negative - this was eye opening, constructive criticism in all it’s glory!

From the side it looked better. Or so I thought. I over stride. Another likely reason I have had problems with my shins. Striking the ground at an angle puts extra force on the legs. You could really see this impact and imagine the additional force it would create. I had never thought of it before, but this also is a 'breaking' action. Absorbing that force is taking momentum away from the run. It makes sense really... Most people over stride as they think longer steps mean less effort, (that was my logic too!) but when you visualise it, and see your legs doing it you can’t help but see the error in action.

The good news is I’m not abnormal. My bad habits are common and correctible. The main reason for my wiggle and shuffle running, is poor use of my glutes and hamstrings. Especially on the left hand side. Strength training should help improve these. Of course additional training in technique would help. The Running School can provide this and for me. And while I don’t think I can commit right now to 6 x weekly visits to their centre - it’s defiantly something I’d like to do later on.

I learnt enough in that session to be aware of my areas for improvement, and how I can start to correct them.

Excellent work Teri and the team at The Running School! I look forward to seeing you again... After all - how can I let anyone run behind me knowing I’ve got such a wiggle!

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