You may have heard that it’s best to ‘run tall’, but few of us know what it means. “You can force it, but you’ll probably stick your chest out,” says Andrew Shields, coauthor of Master the Art of Running. “A trained Alexander Technique teacher can help you find the position that frees up your legs and arms.”

Frederick Alexander was an Australian performer who specialised in monologues, but he suffered from hoarseness. He noticed that he tensed up when performing, and set about letting go of the habits that were affecting his voice. The result, now known as Alexander Technique (AT), is used to help everyone from musicians to sportspeople.

AT teacher and sportsman Malcolm Balk has applied it to running, working with Shields to describe an approach to the sport that uses elements of the Pose and Chi running methods but centres on the principles of AT. “Key components are the relationship between the head, neck and spine,” says Shields.

You’ll need patience and hands-on guidance to follow this approach so should forget about times while you’re learning. “One of the main principles of Alexander Technique is avoiding ‘end-gaining’, which is very negative,” says Shields. “Runners think, ‘I’m going to run 20 minutes for 5K and if I don’t I’ll feel terrible.’ For new runners, we’re against that, because they’re setting themselves up for failure.”

It worked for me Julia Leventon, 26, now based In Italy

When I was a child I had major surgery on my leg. When I learned to walk again I was doing things wrong, causing problems with my knee. By my late teens, I couldn’t run any more. I knew the muscles weren’t working properly, so I found an AT teacher. At first I just learned how to stand properly. It wasn’t a miracle painkiller but I saw a difference immediately. I’ve gone from not being able to run to running twice a day. It’s not a quick fix but it definitely helps.

The Art of running Workshop

Bad running techniques are picked up over years, so you might wonder how much you can learn about running well in three hours. The answer is: a lot. I’ve been running for nine years but snatch PBs between bouts of injury. I spend my day slouched over a desk and carry my bad habits with me on every run, so I was interested to find out what Malcolm Balk and Liz Dodgson, both AT experts, would make of my gait.

Video analysis showed that I (and the rest of the group) used an up-and-down, heel-striking gait. Balk explained the problems with this: striking in front of the body causes braking, while the exaggerated push off the ground wastes energy. For some, tense or misaligned upper bodies also hamper movement.

The rest of the workshop was aimed at re-learning how to run, beginning with some AT basics: Balk and Dodgson helped us find a comfortable, aligned position lying down. Moving outside, we paired up to support each other’s necks, to give an awareness of walking with a long spine and balanced head. We ran through some drills designed to encourage a more efficient running action: swinging each leg to engage the hamstrings and glutes in our stride; lightly pawing the ground to learn the ‘wheel-like’ action of the correct gait; and lightly bouncing then jogging on the spot on the midfoot. Then it was time to put this together into a new, momentum-aided run.

Few of us got it right first time. Physically, it was easier than I expected but mentally it felt very, very strange. “If it doesn’t feel weird, something’s wrong,” said Balk. “That would mean you’re slipping back into your old habits.”

So, no-one came away with a set, super-efficient stride, but a second video analysis showed marked improvements. Balk himself admitted he still has to think about running well every time he goes out. What the workshop gave me was the tools to give my own running that consideration, instead of pounding out step after injury-inducing step. Elizabeth Hufton

Find out more at www.theartofrunning.com

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