This site uses cookies. We use essential cookies to remember your theme preference. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies, and we do not share your data with third parties.
Learn more
Coach Rak's complete guide to natural running form — from foot strike to arm swing.
Use this as a reference between Monday track sessions.
What we teach at UR
Natural running uses a midfoot or forefoot strike — landing beneath or slightly behind your centre of mass, not out in front of you. This reduces braking forces, protects knees and hips, and uses the foot's natural spring mechanism.
A heel strike isn't automatically wrong — elite marathoners often heel-strike. But landing with the foot far in front of the body is the problem. That braking force travels up the chain and loads the knee, hip, and lower back.
The natural landing zone
Think of landing under your hips, not in front of them. The foot should make contact with the ground directly beneath your centre of gravity. In minimalist shoes and sandals, the thin sole gives you instant feedback — a heavy heel strike feels like landing on concrete because you're landing on concrete.
Test yourself: Run barefoot on grass for 50m. Your foot will naturally find the right landing position.
Common mistakes
Overstriding — foot too far in front of hips
Landing on toes only — causes calf overload
Stiff ankle on contact — no natural dorsiflexion
Scuffing the ground — insufficient hip flexion
✅ Do
Land softly under your hips
Let the foot strike feel light and quiet
Keep ankle relaxed on contact
Think of "placing" the foot, not "striking" it
❌ Don't
Reach out with your foot in front of your body
Land heavily on the heel
Slam the forefoot down after heel contact
Lock the ankle stiff on landing
Coach Rak says: "Don't obsess over heel vs forefoot. Focus on landing under your hips and keeping your cadence high. Everything else follows from those two things."
Why cadence matters
Cadence is the number of steps you take per minute. Most recreational runners run at 150–160 BPM. Elite runners typically run at 180 BPM or above, regardless of speed. A higher cadence means shorter strides, less time on the ground, and less impact force on each landing.
Research shows that increasing cadence by just 5–10% significantly reduces loading on the knee and tibial stress — the two most common injury sites.
How to improve it
Use the UR Metronome tool during your runs. Start by finding your natural cadence, then increase it by 5% and run with the metronome for 20 minutes per session. Within 4–6 weeks, the new cadence becomes natural.
Don't force a faster cadence at the expense of everything else. Let the shorter stride happen naturally — don't shuffle. Think light, quick steps, not long bounding strides.
UR Cadence targets
150 BPM — Beginner, long slow runs
160 BPM — Easy running, recovery
170 BPM — Steady training runs
180 BPM — Optimal — race and tempo pace
190+ BPM — Fast — intervals and sprints
Coach Rak says: "180 BPM is the magic number. It's not arbitrary — it's what Lydiard, Daniels, and every biomechanics study points to. If you can only change one thing about your running this year, make it this."
Think of a straight line from ankle through hip to shoulder to ear. This is your running frame. Maintain it at all speeds. Lean comes from the ankles, not the waist — the whole frame tilts forward slightly. Bending at the waist collapses your hip flexors and kills your running economy.
Head and gaze
Look 10–20 metres ahead of you on the ground, not at your feet or at the horizon. Keep your chin level — not tucked or raised. Relax your jaw. Tension in the jaw travels up into the neck and shoulders and wastes energy.
Hips
Hips should be tall and open — not tucked under (posterior pelvic tilt) or pushed forward. A slight forward tilt of the pelvis is natural and helps hip extension. Weak glutes often cause the hips to drop on each step — fix this with glute work, not just running more.
✅ Do
Stand tall — imagine a string pulling your crown upward
Lean from the ankles, not the waist
Keep hips open and level
Relax the jaw and face
❌ Don't
Hunch forward at the shoulders
Bend at the waist to lean forward
Look at your feet
Let the hips drop side to side
Why arms matter
Arms counterbalance your legs and help drive your pace. A strong, efficient arm swing can add measurable speed without additional leg effort. Arms and legs are linked through the core — when your arm drives back, the opposite leg drives forward.
Key principle: Drive the elbows back, not the hands forward. The forward swing follows naturally.
Elbow angle
Keep elbows at approximately 90 degrees. As you fatigue, elbows tend to drop and arms start crossing the body — this wastes energy and causes rotation. Check your elbows in the second half of every race.
Hands should be relaxed — imagine holding a crisp between your thumb and index finger without crushing it.
What to avoid
Arms crossing the midline of the body
Hands swinging too high (above chest)
Clenched fists — tension travels to shoulders
Arms swinging side to side rather than front to back
Elbows flaring out wide
Coach Rak says: "Arms crossing the centreline means your hips have to counter-rotate to compensate — that's energy wasted. Keep your thumbs pointing up and drive your elbows straight back. It feels exaggerated at first but it's right."
Rhythmic breathing
Breathe in a rhythm that matches your stride. The 2:2 pattern (inhale 2 steps, exhale 2 steps) is the most natural at easy to moderate paces. At higher intensities, switch to a 2:1 or 1:1 pattern.
Breathing rhythmically also means alternating which foot strikes on the exhale — this distributes impact stress more evenly and reduces injury risk.
Belly breathing
Most people breathe into their chest. Belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) fills more of the lung, delivers more oxygen, and reduces the energy cost of breathing itself.
Practice: lie on your back, place a hand on your stomach. Breathe in so that your stomach rises first, then your chest. Do this for 5 minutes before sleep each night.
Side stitch
A side stitch is caused by the diaphragm cramping. If you get one mid-run:
Exhale forcefully when the foot opposite the stitch strikes
Press fingers into the stitch and breathe deeply
Slow down briefly — it usually resolves within 2 minutes
These are the drills Coach Rak uses at Monday track. Do them as part of your warm-up before any quality session. Each drill isolates one element of good running form.
High knees
Drive each knee up to hip height in quick succession. Arms drive in opposition. Keep tall posture, don't lean back.
"Quick feet, tall body, pump the arms"
Butt kicks
Flick the heel up toward the glute on each step. Focuses on the hamstring pull-through phase of the gait cycle.
"Heel to glute — not heel to the side"
A-skip
Exaggerated march with a skip — drive the knee up, skip on the planted foot. Rhythmic and controlled. Classic sprint drill.
"Hip up, foot down directly under hips"
B-skip
Like the A-skip but extend the raised leg forward before bringing it down. Teaches the pawing action of the foot.
"Claw the ground back under you"
Carioca
Sideways running, alternating crossing one foot in front then behind the other. Improves hip mobility and coordination.
"Stay on the balls of your feet, rotate the hips"
Strides
80m controlled acceleration from easy jog to about 90% effort, then decelerate. Not a sprint — focus on relaxed, fast form.
"Tall, relaxed, fast — not tense"
Ankle bounces
Two feet together, small quick bounces using only the ankle and calf. Minimal knee bend. Builds elastic stiffness in the ankle.
"Stiff spring — not a squat jump"
Single leg hop
Small hops on one leg, landing softly and immediately rebounding. Develops single-leg stiffness and proprioception.
"Soft landing, quick rebound"
Falling starts
Stand tall, let your body lean forward until you have to step. That first step should feel like catching a fall — this is the correct forward lean.
"Let gravity do the work"
Run a mental scan from head to toe during your run. Tick each item below as a reminder — reset every time fatigue creeps in.
Coach Rak says: "Run the scan from head to toe, fix what's broken, and run the scan again. Do it every 10 minutes on any run over 30 minutes. Form is the first thing to fall apart when you get tired — and it's the thing that matters most."