Running drills

Our best practice guide to getting the most out of this fundamental part of any athletes training schedule

Introduction

Team GB Olympian marathon runner, Sonia Samuels and Pro Ironman and Olympic triathlete, Will Clarke introduce running drills. They take a look at why every athlete should introduce them into their own routine, how they benefit performance and how often you should ideally look to practice.

A-Skip drills

One of the most fundamental running drills, the A-Skip. This drill is so transferable to the natural running stride and rhythm, it’s very important to get this right. Key technique points to focus on:

Stand upright and tall
Knee coming up to horizontal
Foot plant directly underneath your centre of gravity
Establish a nice rhythm once progressing to the skip phase

B-Skip drills

The B-Skip is a natural evolution from the A-Skip bringing the hamstrings into action. Our key tips to maintain good form:

Stand nice and tall
Knee coming up to horizontal
Extend and reach out with your lower leg
Foot plant under your centre of gravity, pulling backwards underneath you
Establish a nice rhythm

Lateral drills

These running drills focus on activation of the gluteal and stabilising muscles. We introduce three main drills in this section; side-step, step-overs and carioca (not to be confused with Japanese post dinner party entertainment). Key tips:

Good overall torso posture
Knee up to horizontal
Hips as high and straight as possible
Increase the speed only once you’ve perfected the movement pattern

“B” drills – fast steps

Fast step “B” drills progressing from ankle height to calf and then, to knee. Perfect for practicing quick, powerful ground reaction.

Begin at ankle height and ensure the movement is as quick and reactive as possible
Light touch ground contact
Focus on maintaining the speed and rhythm as you progress the range of motion
Keep torso tall and good posture
Focus on speed of legs, but move forward slowly.

Straight leg scissors

The straight leg scissor “B” drill again focuses on quick, powerful ground contact time as well as replicating a full runners stride length by activating the glutes

Quick ground contact
Powerful rebound, propelling you forward
Keep legs straight and nice tall posture
Drive arms backwards to increase power
Once technique has been mastered, slowly transition the movement into a sprint

Straight leg scissor with alternate A-skip

This drill combines the benefits of earlier drills whilst also testing your neuro-muscular coordination to the max

Begin with the standard straight-leg scissor bound movement from above
Once in a rhythm, add in alternate A-skips
Stay nice and tall with correct posture
Quick and responsive ground contact
Powerful glutes