Running Posture Guide | Urban Runner — Barefoot & Minimalist Running Group

Good running posture isn't just about your feet. Every part of the body from head to heel is connected — and a problem at the top of the chain shows up at the bottom.

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Head & Gaze

Look 10–15 metres ahead on the road or track

Keep your chin level — neither tucked down nor raised

Relax your jaw and face muscles — tension travels downward

Don't look at your feet — it drops your head and rounds the upper back

Don't crane your neck forward — it's a sign of sitting back on your hips

The tell: If your head bobs forwards and backwards as you run, you're likely heel striking and your body is rocking over the impact. A smooth gaze at a fixed point should feel stable when technique is good.

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Shoulders & Upper Back

Keep shoulders low and relaxed — not hunched toward your ears

Allow a small natural rotation in the upper back with each stride

Keep the chest open — not collapsed inward

Don't tense or raise the shoulders — a common response to effort that wastes energy

Don't allow excessive trunk rotation — a little is natural, a lot is compensating for something

The check: At the end of a hard effort, notice where you hold tension. Most runners clench their shoulders. Consciously drop and relax them every few minutes on a long run.

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Arms & Hands

Bend elbows at roughly 90° and keep arms close to your sides

Swing arms forward and back — not across the body

Keep hands relaxed — imagine holding a crisp without breaking it

Don't swing arms across the centre of your body — it creates lateral rotation that wastes energy

Don't clench fists — tension in the hands travels up the arms and into the shoulders

OYF principle: Arm swing that crosses the midline is almost always a sign of a rotational compensation for something happening lower down — usually in the hips or at landing. Fix the landing and arm crossing often resolves itself.

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Core & Spine

Maintain a neutral spine — neither arched nor rounded

Run tall — imagine a thread pulling the top of your head upward

Allow the natural S-curve of the spine — don't artificially straighten it

Don't let the lower back arch excessively — a sign of weak glutes and hip flexors

Don't collapse forward at the waist — this is sitting back, not leaning forward

The lean: A forward lean in OYF running comes from the ankles, not the waist. The whole body tilts as a unit — like a ski jumper in flight — not by folding at the hips.

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Hips & Glutes

Keep hips level — no excessive dropping on each stride

Allow the glutes to drive the stride — you should feel them working on hills and faster efforts

Keep hip flexors relaxed — tight flexors from sitting pull the pelvis forward and arch the back

Don't let one hip drop lower than the other — a sign of weak glute medius and a risk factor for IT band problems

Don't tuck the pelvis under — a flat back prevents the glutes from firing properly

The test: If you feel your glutes burning during track sessions, that's exactly right — they should be working. Many runners who have spent years in cushioned shoes find their glutes completely inactive until they change technique. Heidi's strengthening exercises rebuild this.

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Foot Strike & Landing

Land with the foot beneath your centre of mass — under your hips

Aim for a whole-foot landing that feels like a midfoot strike

Keep ground contact time short — think of touching a hot surface

Don't reach the foot forward — this is overstriding, the most common cause of injury and inefficiency

Don't deliberately land on the forefoot only — this overloads the calf and Achilles

OYF core principle: The foot strike is the result of everything above it. Fix the head, shoulders, hips, and lean — and the foot landing often corrects itself. The starting off routine establishes the correct landing pattern from the very first step of every run.

RUNNING POSTURE