How to Run Right

Sarah Tuff, writing in the New York Times, offers these "Rules of the Road."
For distance running, most experts agree on the following principles of proper form:
Arms should not swing side to side.
Look ahead, not at the feet or up at the sky.
Stride rate, or turnover, should be around 180 steps a minute for
optimal efficiency. You can measure your turnover by running for one
minute while counting how many times your right foot hits the ground;
then multiply that number by two.
Debatable areas include:
FOOT STRIKE
The position in which the foot hits the ground, heel, midfoot or
forefoot. Runners have long been taught to land first on their heels,
but to avoid a “braking effect” the Pose method advocates a forefoot
strike, and ChiRunning teaches a midfoot strike. The Olympian Jeff
Galloway coaches runners to let their feet land the way that feels
natural.
STRIDE LENGTH Whether your foot strikes under your body and paws back, or you extend your lower leg out in front of you.
BODY CARRIAGE
While Mr. Galloway says that a forward lean can cause back and neck
pain, Nicholas Romanov coaches “controlled falling” as part of the Pose
method. In ChiRunning clinics, Danny Dreyer teaches a similar concept
of falling forward.