It's important when discussing running form to remember that there's no "perfect" form that we should all aspire to. And, adds Pfitzinger, "No one can look at you and say whether your running economy is good or bad. We would all try to 'fix' Paula Radcliffe if classic running technique was synonymous with good running economy." In one experiment, Daniels tested a group's running economy, then showed footage of the runners to coaches and had them rank who, based on running form, had the best running economy. The coaches' answers were no more accurate than if they had guessed randomly.
重要的是在讨论跑姿时应该记住，不存在任何一种“完美”跑姿是我们所有人应该共同追求的。Pfitzinger继续说，“没有任何人能够一看就知道，您的跑步能耗是好是坏。如果经典跑步技术是优质跑步能耗的同义词，我们都应该去“修理”Paula Radcliffe。”在一次实验中，Daniels测试了一个小组的跑步能耗，然后，请教练们观看跑步者的镜头，要求他们根据跑姿判断谁的跑步能耗最低。这些教练的答案并不比让他们随机猜测的结果精确多少。
So how to know if you should bother? And again, why do elites spend time on it?
因此，如何才能知道您是否应该注意跑姿？再问一次，为什么跑步精英还要在跑姿上花费时间？
University of Illinois coach Jeremy Rasmussen puts it this way: "I bet that if I went out and said we're going to do functional testing on a sample of people, you're going to find weaknesses in every single one of them. The body has adapted to who you are, but has the body adapted to the best possible thing you can offer it? No, because you have inefficiencies somewhere, so if you can change those inefficiencies and make them strengths, then your body will start to change naturally for the better." Rasmussen works with all of his runners on form, including three-time NCAA champion Angela Bizzarri, who won those championships and overcame a history of injury only after she and Rasmussen worked to improve how she covers the ground.
Illinois大学的教练，Jeremy Rasmussen是这样说的：“我认为，如果我走出去，说我们要针对几个人进行功能测试，你们必须找出这些人的缺点。身体已经适应了您是谁，但是您的身体是否适应了您能够提供给它的尽可能最好的东西呢？否，因为您总是存在某个方面的不足，因此，如果您可以把这些缺点改变为您的优点，那么，您的身体将开始自然地改变为更好。”Rasmussen真正地对待他所有运动员的跑姿，包括3次荣获NCAA冠军的Angela Bizzarri，在和Rasmussen一起改善了她的步态之后，她才获得这些荣誉，并远离受伤之苦。
Magill agrees, especially for the many masters he works with. "I assume that any runner who's been away from youthful activities like basketball, Frisbee, football, tennis--been away from a wide variety of activities that actually work on muscle balance--I assume that they haven't been trained for a full range of motion and that they've developed muscle imbalances."
Magill表示同意，特别是对许多和他在一起高手。“我假定跑步者已经远离年轻人的运动，比如篮球，飞盘，足球，网球---远离能够保证肌肉平衡的全身性运动---我假定他们没有训练过全幅度动作，他们的肌肉没有获得平衡发展。”
And while there is no perfect form, there are basic elements of good form, including landing over your center of gravity, a light, rapid cadence, minimal lateral rotation and, easier to spot than quantify, relaxed body position. What deviations from this basic model do experts most often see?
虽然不存在任何完美跑姿，却存在好跑姿的基本要素，包括着地于您重心之下，步伐轻而快，侧向旋转最小，还有容易看出，但是很难量化的全身放松。专家们最常见的基本要素差异是什么？
Daniels says that in young and old runners alike he's worked with, "The most common form problem was stride rate --bounding over the ground too slowly, with long strides. Runners are often told to work on a long stride, but that is more a function of getting fitter rather than just doing it. I never had a runner perform worse when I felt they needed a faster rhythm and they actually did learn to use a faster cadence."
Daniels说，在年轻和年长的跑步者中，像和他在一起的人一样，最主要的跑姿问题是步频---跳跃太慢，步幅过大。经常，有人告诉跑步者要练习大步幅，但是，那是体能提高的结果，而不是做出来的。当我感到他们需要加快节奏时，他们实际上学会了使用更快的步频，从来没有一个跑步者成绩下降。
Benson and Pfitzinger also see more overstriding than they would like. Says Pfitzinger, "My observation of runners in road races is that hardly any of the elite runners overstride, but up to 20 percent of the runners slower than 40:00 for 10K overstride. It is very likely that if these runners would increase their stride rate and not reach out in front of their center of gravity that they would be more economical. It is a subtle change but increasing stride rate by a few percent and decreasing stride length by a few percent can improve running economy in most overstriders."
Benson和Pfitzinger也看到多于他们想象的步幅过大。Pfitzinger说，“根据我对路跑比赛的观察，跑步精英几乎没有步幅过大现象，而在10K慢于40:00的跑步者中，步幅过大占20%。极有可能的是，如果这些跑步者提高步频，着地点不在他们的重心之前，可以降低他们的能耗。提高几个百分点的步频，减小几个百分点的步幅，即可改善大多数步幅过大者的能耗，这是一个微妙的变化。”
Pfitzinger says other common form problems worth fixing include:
Pfitzinger说，对于其它常见跑姿问题，值得纠正的包括：
Leaning forward at the waist, which causes the quads to work harder to keep you from falling forward.
在腰部以上前倾，股四头肌必须更加使劲，您才不会向前倒下。
Holding the shoulders up or holding the arms tensely or holding the arms out to the side.
双肩高耸，或双臂紧张，或双臂外张。
Obviously not using the glute muscles. Says Pfitzinger, "It looks like the runner is running just with the quads and hamstrings. Often the calves also don't do much because they are the last push at the back of the stride. There is very little push behind the body and the stride is relatively short. When the glutes aren't working the leg typically does not straighten behind the body so the stride is more in front and under the body than behind the body."
明显地未使用臀肌。Pfitzinger说，“好似，跑步者仅靠股四头肌和腿筋。小腿的肌肉，因为仅用于跨步之后的最后一推，也不经常使用。几乎没有身后推力，步幅相对太小。当不用臀肌时，通常，腿在身后无法伸直，整个步子在身体下方比较偏前，而不是偏后。”
Holding the head forward of the center of gravity, which makes the neck and upper back muscles fire to hold the head from falling forward.
头的位置在人体重心之前，头颈和肩背部肌肉必须使劲，头部才不会向前倒下。
Magill says that, for longtime runners, "I assume you're not getting the same knee lift you used to get. Even for people who do tempo runs and reps, they rarely run faster than the race pace they're expecting to go. Let's say your shortest distance is 5K and you almost never regularly run faster than 5K race pace. Well, if that's 100 percent of what you're training your body to do, then it's a 100 percent effort for your body to lift your knees to the level you have to at 5K race pace. Your body's going to find it's easier to hit 90 percent of that max effort, and you're not going to get the knee lift you need to run as fast as you want, and that's just going to compound over time."
Magill说，对于长时间跑步者，“我假定，您的抬膝动作已经不同往常。甚至是那些跑乳酸门槛跑或重复跑的人，也很少会去跑比期望配速更快的配速。假设，您的最短距离是5K，通常，您几乎从来不会超过5K比赛配速。那好，如果您的训练100%如此，那么，您的5K比赛配速抬膝高度就是您的100%抬膝高度。您的身体将发现达到90%最大范围更加轻松，长此以往，您的抬膝再也达不到您想跑的速度所需的高度。”
（待续）

There are three key approaches to improving running form. First is to deal with specific issues that might be inhibiting your progress. See "Help in Filling Out Your Form" for exercises that can address some common problems.
改善跑姿，有3个主要的方法。第1个针对可能影响您提高的具体问题。参见"Help in Filling Out Your Form"，通过练习，可以解决一些常见问题。
Second is to simply become an overall better athlete through drills, regular running at faster than race pace, core strengthening, short hill sprints and other work that might not look impressive in your log book but should be considered an integral part of any ambitious runner's program. Says Magill, "If you can strengthen your muscles so that you can move strongly through a fuller range of motion, you can take the fitness you already have and run faster." Benson agrees, saying, "As you get general strength, you get better form."
第2个是通过训练，使自己成为各方面更好的运动员，包括定期以超比赛配速进行快跑，躯干力量，短坡道冲刺跑，和其它在您的跑步记录中不怎么样，确是跑步高人应有的技能。Magill说，“如果能够增强您有力地全范围动作所需的肌肉力量，通过充分地利用已经具备的体能，您可以跑得更快。”Benson同意，说，“随着力量的提高，您的跑姿也会更好。”
If you're thinking, "That's all well and good for college runners and pros, who have all day for their running, but I have only an hour a day total for my running, so I'm better off spending that time just getting in the miles," Magill has an answer for you.
如果您正在想，“这样的训练适用于高校跑步者和专业人士，他们可以整天跑步，而每天只有一小时跑步时间的我，最好把时间花在跑里程上。”Magill可以给您一个答案。
"That would be a great argument," he says, "if it were true. But if you have only an hour a day to devote to your running, the first thing you've got to do is learn to run. If you bring bad form into your running all you're going to be doing for that hour a day is reinforcing bad form. If you spent even one of those days per week, or just a bit of time in those sessions, now you would be spending time actually training with good form, so instead of throwing away that hour every day you would actually be using it to train with the form that's going to apply to your race speed and to your efficiency when running.
“这是否正确，”他说，“争议很大。”如果您每天只有一小时的跑步时间，您必须做到第一件事是学习跑步。如果您使用坏跑姿跑步，则强化坏跑姿就是您在每天一小时跑步时间之内所做的一切。如果可以利用每周数天的一天，或每次训练的一小会儿，您就可以进行好跑姿训练，与其每天浪费时间，不如用来训练更有利于您的比赛速度和跑步能耗的跑姿。
"A lot of people waste far more time being injured from running with muscle imbalances and poorly developed form than they do spending time doing drills or exercises or short hills or setting aside a short period each week to work on form itself."
“许多人由于跑步肌肉失衡和坏跑姿导致受伤而浪费的时间，多于他们花费在训练，或运动，或短距离坡道跑，或每周少量跑姿训练所花费的时间。”
Third, you can work on improving specific parts of your form while running. Rasmussen does much of his formimprovement work by giving runners cues ("fast feet," "shoulders low," etc.) while they do strides of 60-100 meters. In addition, he says, "When you go out for your run, for part of your run, pick a light pole that's about 100 meters out. Focus on that one particular thing for that period of time, and then go back to just running, and then a few minutes later find another light pole and do it again, and bring it into your normal runs that way. Over time you can feel the difference."
第3个，您可以在跑步时逐个改善您的跑姿问题。在跑步者进行60-100米轻快跑时，Rasmussen利用提示（“提高步频”，“放松双肩”，等等）做了许多纠正跑姿的工作。另外，他说，“当您出去跑步时，作为您跑步的一部分，选择一根距您约100米的电线杆。集中注意力一小会，然后，直奔电线杆而去；几分钟之后，选择另外一根电线杆，再来一遍，并以此作为一种常规训练。经过一段时间之后，您可以感觉到差别。”
Finally, when this all starts to seem too much to worry about for what's a basic human motion, relax. Literally. Says Daniels, "While running, go over your body from head to toe and ask yourself: 'Am I relaxed in the eyes? Am I relaxed in the jaw? Am I relaxed in the neck and shoulders? Am I relaxed in the arms and hands? Am I relaxed in the hips, in the knees, in the ankles, in the feet?' You may find some tight areas that may lead to better economy if fixed."
最后，当您开始认为这一切近乎成为自然，无需太在意时，请放松。Daniels如是说，“当跑步时，从头到脚，审视自己一遍，并向您自己提问：‘我的眼睛放松了吗？我的下巴放松了吗？我的颈部和双肩放松了吗？我的双臂和双手放松了吗？我的髋部，膝关节，和我的双脚放松了吗？’您可能还有一些紧张部位，一旦纠正，即可提高您的能耗。”
And then go out again tomorrow and see if you can be just a little better of a runner than the day before.
当明天出去跑的时候，看一看您是否跑得比前一天好一些。
Are You Overstriding?---您的步幅过大了吗？
There's a difference between overstriding and having a long stride. Overstriding means that your feet land significantly in front of your center of gravity. When this happens, you're unable to make full use of your fitness, because you're braking with every step. And you might soon be breaking with every step, in that overstriding amplifies the already-strong impact forces of running and therefore can contribute to more strain on your bones, muscles and ligaments.
步幅过大和步幅大是有区别的。步幅过大是指脚着地位置在人体重心之前太多了。步幅过大使您无法充分地利用您的体能，因为每一步都在阻止你向前进。您可能也会受到每一步的阻止，因为步幅过大可以放大已经很大的冲击力，使您的骨骼，肌肉和筋腱承受更大的应力。
Coach Roy Benson suggests these two methods of determining if you're overstriding.
Roy Benson教练是用以下二种方法，确定您是否属于步幅过大。
1. Have a friend with a video camera stand 20 yards back from the side of a level surface. Run past your friend for 30-40 yards at an easy pace. Then run past at around 10K race pace. Finally, run past at a near sprint. Says Benson, "When you watch yourself, even though you might not be able to stop action and analyze it at that level, just by seeing your form you can recognize whether you're overstriding. As long as your knee is bent and your foot is coming down back underneath you or close to you there's probably not much inefficiency and not much risk."
请朋友拍一段录影，站在20码之外的平整路面一侧。在您朋友前面，以轻松配速，跑30-40码距离。然后，以约10K比赛配速，再跑一遍。最后，以接近冲刺的配速，再跑一遍。Benson说，“当您仔细观察您自己时，尽管您可能无法暂停画面进行动作分析，一旦看到您的姿势，您就可以知道您是否步幅过度。只要您的膝关节有弯曲，脚着地的位置是在或接近您的下方，您的耗能不会太大，您的风险也不会太大。”
（待续）

2. Have a friend stand in front of you while you run toward her at the three effort levels in the above exercise. Says Benson, "The friend looks to see how much of the sole of your shoe is showing on impact. If there's 4, 5, 6 inches of daylight between your toe and the ground when your heel hits, you're overstriding."
让一个朋友站在您的前方，您以上面提到的3种不同速度向她跑去。Benson说，“您的朋友负责观察您鞋底的着地情况。如果您脚跟触地时，脚尖和地面之间露出4, 5, 6英寸（译注：10，12.5，15公分）亮光，您的步幅过大了。”
The three effort levels are important, Benson explains, because many runners, especially those without a background in scholastic running, become overstriders only when they try to go faster.
这3种强度非常重要，Benson解释道，因为许多跑步者，特别是那些没有专业跑步背景的，只有当想跑得更快时，他们才步幅过大。
To improve a tendency to overstride, practice running fast while landing over your center of gravity. This is often best done by going to a field or other safe, soft surface and shedding your shoes. Says Benson, "At first, jog in place. You'll be landing on the ball of your foot. That's what it feels like to be a midfoot striker. Now stay up there and jog in place and lean over and slowly accelerate over the next 50 yards or so and don't go so fast that you forget to stay up there and land on the ball of your foot. When you do them right, strides like these are fast enough to be a good way to teach midfoot strike." Then stay conscious of what that footstrike feels like when you do track workouts and other faster sessions.
为了改善步幅过大的趋势，练习快跑，而且，着地于您的重心之下。最好是跑场地，或其它安全柔软表面，和脱了您的鞋。Benson说，“首先，原地慢跑，您必须前掌着地。这就是脚中部着地跑步者的感觉。现在，保持姿势，原地慢跑，前倾并缓慢加速，跑50码（译注：约45米）左右，别跑太快，记住保持姿势和前掌着地。当您能够准确地完成时，这样的轻快跑，对于学习前掌着地，已经足够快了。”然后，当您在场地跑和其它快跑训练时，注意脚中部着地的感觉。
Modern Life and Running Form---现代生活和跑步姿势
With age, many of us become increasingly removed from regularly moving through all planes of motion, as children tend to do while playing and participating in a wide variety of games and sports. At the same time, we tend to spend more and more time sitting, either in a car or at a desk. In the latter case, we're often slumped in front of a computer, perhaps with our head bent down and/or thrust forward.
随着年龄的增长，我们许多人逐渐远离孩子们参加各种球类或运动时常作的各种移动动作。同时，我们坐在小车里或书桌旁的时间越来越多。在后者的情况下，我们经常躬身于电脑前面，低着头和/或头颈前倾。
None of this is good for our running form. Former Olympic marathoner and current office worker Pete Pfitzinger says that sitting all day at a desk means "the hamstrings become short and weak and the core muscles do not have to work as you lean back in your chair." Pete Magill says, "It plays murder on our hips, and can also cause iliotibial band syndrome. Anything we do for a long time strains certain muscles, and they're going to go into spasm." Roy Benson adds, "As we spend less time being active and more time being passive, like sitting at a computer, even though we run, the less control we have of our skeleton by our muscular system, and that is a big problem."
这些都不利于我们的跑姿。曾经的奥林匹克马拉松人，现在的办公室人员，Pete Pfitzinger说，整天坐在办公桌旁意味着“腿筋变短变弱，当背靠您的椅子时，躯体肌肉不用做功。”Pete Magill说，“屁股坐着可以杀人，还可以导致髂胫束综合症。任何一个我们长时间做的动作都会拉伤某些肌肉，导致它们抽筋。”Roy Benson插嘴说，“由于我们花更少的时间运动，花更多的时间不动，比如，坐在电脑前，即使我们跑步，我们的肌肉系统降低了控制我们骨骼的能力，这是一个大问题。”
There are two modes of attack here--address the problems and prevent the problems. Addressing them includes strengthening key postural muscles and improving flexibility in posterior muscles and the front-of-the-leg hip flexors. In addition, if you run after work, undo some of the day's damage with a dynamic warm-up that will help you start the run with better form instead of the slumped-over shuffle.
这里有二种方法---解决问题和避免问题。解决问题包括加强关键姿势的肌肉，提高后部肌肉和腿前髋屈肌的柔韧性。另外，如果您在下班后跑，利用动态热身，恢复一下元气，有助于您开跑时跑姿更加优美，而不是弓着腰，拖着腿。
In addition to regular core work, much of prevention comes down to day-to-day habits. Set up your monitor or other work station so that it's at eye level. Move your monitor close enough so that you're not straining to see it (and therefore thrusting your head forward). Sit with your center of gravity over your hips and your feet flat on the floor. (As much as possible, try to achieve the same posture while driving.) And no matter how good your sitting posture is, get up and move around at least once an hour to undo some of the chronic low-level strain on your shoulders, neck and head.
除了定期的躯体训练，日常习惯也具有一定的防范作用。设置您的监测物或其它标识，高度与您的视线一致。移动监测物至合适的距离，使您可以毫不费力地看见（不必伸出脑袋）。坐姿，您的重心在您的臀部之上，您的双脚在地板上平放（尽量持久地保持，开车，也要尽量保持同样的姿势）。无论您有如何好的坐姿，至少每小时一次，起身走动走动，缓解一下您的肩颈和头部的慢性轻度劳损。

欢迎大家指正