Should You Fix Your Running Form to Run More Efficiently?

Footstrike, cadence, ground contact time. Your watch gives you a dozen form numbers after every run.

So which ones actually matter for running efficiently?

The study

A 2024 review and meta-analysis in Sports Medicine pooled 51 studies with 1,115 healthy runners and active adults.

The researchers looked at how running form lines up with running economy, which is how much energy it costs you to run at a given speed.

What lined up with better running economy

Three things showed a link:

• A slightly higher cadence. A small link.
• Less up and down bounce. A moderate link.
• A springier, stiffer leg. A small to moderate link.

What did not

No clear link for:

• Ground contact time
• Stride length
• Footstrike
• Knee, hip and ankle angles
• Peak impact force
• Muscle activation patterns

The real limits

• It shows a link, not cause and effect.
• Most of the runners were men. Only 2 of the 51 studies looked at women alone.
• Testing was on flat ground at steady, easy speeds, on fresh legs. Tired running was left out.
• It measured running economy, not race times or injuries.

The ANC take

Form matters, but it's a small slice. On its own, each form measure explained only about 4 to 12% of the difference in running economy between runners.

The authors also point out that studies changing footstrike have not made runners more economical. One study they cite found beginners became 8% more economical over 10 weeks of plain running, with no form coaching at all.

Your body tends to find its own efficient stride as you keep running. So we don't rebuild a stride that already works.

How we coach it

We watch form where it costs you most: when you're tired.

• Late in a long run or a race, we check cadence, posture and a calm stride.
• When form breaks down late, that's usually a fatigue, fueling or durability story, not just a technique problem.

This is how we coach every runner in running coaching.

That's why we build easy volume in Zone 1, set from your Critical Speed, with short strides mixed in during base.

Fewer form fixes. More durable running.

Training for a marathon? See how I coach it as your online marathon coach.

Study citation

Van Hooren B, Jukic I, Cox M, Frenken KG, Bautista I, Moore IS. The Relationship Between Running Biomechanics and Running Economy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Sports Medicine, 2024. doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-01997-3