Learning and practicing proper run form and developing run economy will serve all endurance athletes well. Beginner to professional—this is one of the best ways to run stronger and longer while reducing the risk of injury.
Most athletes new to the endurance arena, namely runners and triathletes, overlook or discount the importance of learning the fundamentals of running. I suspect this may be the case for several reasons, but quite simply, humans are land animals. When we want to run, we run. Unlike swimming, where proper form has a major impact on forward movement and successfully swimming, you can easily fudge running for at least a mile or two.
While running a couple miles is great for most people, if endurance events (10K, half marathon, triathlon, etc.) are what you're interested in, the first couple miles are usually just the warm-up. As athletes train to run longer and/or faster, form and economy play an increasingly important role.
And remember, run-related injuries affect 60 to 65 percent of runners each year and are by far the most common among endurance athletes.
Let's go through the basics of proper run form as well as touch on three vital components of improving your run economy.