Alignment is a key element for running form efficiency and injury prevention. When you are aligned a higher level of relaxation is possible. These are the two primary concepts in ChiRunning® - Alignment and Relaxation and the balance between them. The more you are aligned, the less you need your muscles. The less you use your muscles, the easier it is to stay aligned. But too much alignment without relaxation and you may be too stiff to move. Or too much relaxation without alignment and you may be too loose to maintain your position.

Here are 4 Components of Running Form (more…)

It is an exciting time for distance running! Running form, once barely considered by running coaches, is now the main topic of discussion amongst distance running enthusiasts. The old school heel-toe running form has yielded to the midfoot strike. Even the fastest runners in America are tweaking their running form. Danny has been saying for years that Chi Running is paradigm shift. I’m feeling now, more than ever, that the paradigm has shifted. (more…)

As a distance runner and student of running technique, I have had to learn to love running slower.  Last year, when I first started to experiment with running to heart rate, I found that I had to run a lot slower than I was used to in order to keep my heart rate down.  I didn’t enjoy it for a while but the truth is it was a golden opportunity to work on my Chi Running technique.  If I was going to stick with it and enjoy it, I simply had to do more work on my form.  I cannot pretend I found it easy and it took me a few months to start to enjoy it. (more…)

I don’t seem to be able to give it up. Every year, on the second Sunday of June I’m full of excitement and trepidation, ready to start running the Dipsea.  It’s been 30 years since I started this affair and there’s no end in sight. The Dipsea race itself just celebrated its 100th running  — the race actually began in 1905 and is the oldest trail running event and second oldest footrace in the United States. It starts in Mill Valley, a picturesque town north of San Francisco and ends at Stinson Beach. It is beautiful and it is brutal. (more…)

“Pizza and Beer, Pizza and Beer”. Not exactly what I expected but these three words were what one of my students came up with when I asked my Eugene Marathon ChiRunning/ChiWalking training group to give me an example of a Positive Affirmation. Well, I suppose for him, it was a positive and playful thought that might help in his distance running challenge. The more common responses, however,  were such clear affirmations as “I can and I will” or “I run with ease and speed”, self-messages that encourage the individual and remind him or her of some feature or form that is positive for them. All of the affirmations have in common that they draw upon one’s  mental side to assist the physical side in performance and they are consistent with psychological theory drawn from the field of Sport Psychology. (more…)

Last fall I signed up for a 60K trail run in Oregon, planning to train through the winter, but my running was affected as I spent more time taking care of our dying family pet. By March, I switched to the 30K option (which was really 20.5 miles). Our cat passed on, and we took a last minute vacation two weeks before the race. I didn’t get the volume I needed, but every run was quality, focusing on form and efficiency.  It paid off. (more…)

Running in these tough economic times has taught me a lot, especially in regards to efficiency and management of resources. I have learned to view my body as a company and apply common business techniques to my running. Here is a short list of my employees and their job descriptions: (more…)

The heat was on this past weekend. The running club that I belong to (Tamalpa Runners) held its monthly club race on my home course on Sunday.  I had no excuse not to enter. The starting line wasn’t even half a mile from my house, I had no other plans for the morning, the course is part of my running route at least twice a week, the entry fee was just $3, and last but not least — it was the annual breakfast event. So you know what people say in such a situation?  “Hey, it’s your home turf, you should do well.” That’s what friends were saying and it started running through my mind like a nagging inner voice that wouldn’t stop. Talk about pressure. (more…)

As part of a recent trip to Florida to visit family and friends, my lady friend and I had scheduled in a Half Marathon run in Melbourne,  just south of Cape Canaveral.  Coming from winter weather in Oregon, we looked forward to a nice change from rainy skies and cool temperatures - running a Half in the sun would be a real treat.  But we had overlooked one thing  in our race strategy planning - the wind.

So, there we were, starting out at daybreak among a couple of thousand others at the second running of the Melbourne and Beaches Marathon and Half Marathon. As is my usual practice, I went through my looseners, scanned myself for tense or needy areas, thought through some of the form focuses I would be using during the run - and then I noticed the wind. People around me were discussing the likely impact of the wind on certain parts of this one loop Half Marathon course with its two long, elevated bridges where the wind would definitely come into play.  What should, and could, I do about it? (more…)

As those of you who have been reading my blog will know, I had hoped to run my first marathon in April this year.  I have been following the ChiRunning Beginner Marathon Program which I was really enjoying but I simply wasn’t able to get in the required long runs due to circumstances beyond my control.  I could probably still run it but I would not be as well prepared as I would like to be and I really want to be in the best place physically and mentally before I take it on. (more…)