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Mark Agnew

Good form when running can save you energy, allowing you to go faster for longer. It also mitigates the risk of injury. But when you are tired, be it after a fast 5km or a gruelling 100km, form tends to go out the window.
To help maintain your technique, here are some simple tips to add to your training and think about when you are running.
Core
Your core muscles are fundamental to so many movements. Having a strong and enduring core will have no end of benefits. For form, it will help you maintain an upright posture even when you are tired.


This will allow you to drive with your legs, and to run smoothly.
To strengthen your core, you can do the plant or side-plank. Another tough exercise is the dead bug – when you lie on your back with your arms and legs in the air, and slowly lower one arm and one leg, then bring them back up.
Try linking a few exercises together. For example, one minute of plank, break, one minute of sit-ups, break, one minute of dead bugs, break, one minute of shoulder-touches, all while in a press-up position.
Strength
Cross-training is important for running because it will make you quicker and more resilient against injury.


Doing strength training will improve muscular endurance and help maintain form when fatigued.
Include plenty of single leg strength exercises in your programme. For example, walking lunges, or Bulgarian split squats – by raising the back foot of your lunge onto a chair. Romanian single leg dead lifts are great to, where you balance on one leg and lean forward while lifting up the other leg too.
But also do upper-body work. Strong back, shoulders and pectoral muscles will help keep your trunk and head upright, aiding your core and keeping your technique.
Self-awareness
Try and be mindful of your technique when you are training. Do not just go out and run, but think about how you are upright, your gait, where your feet are landing and how you lift your legs.
Concentrate. It can be quite mentally taxing, and you will find your mind wandering, but bring it back to form.


This way, when you do get tired, you will find it easier to recognise your faltering form. Work through a mental checklist – upright posture, no lean from the hips or looking straight down, lift the feet, plant the feet and drive.
This mindfulness is harder than it seems, especially when you are tired, but by practising it, you will avoid the death shuffle that afflicts so many runners when they begin to flag. Meditation away from running, when you mentally scan your body, will help train your brain too.


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Running technique can disappear when you are fatigued, making running more inefficient and leading to a spiral of more fatigue
You can pre-empt the dip in fatigue during your training



Running technique can disappear when you are fatigued, making running more inefficient and leading to a spiral of more fatigue.


How to maintain your running technique when you’re tired – training tips to keep your form on trails and track

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Running technique can disappear when you are fatigued, making running more inefficient and leading to a spiral of more fatigue You can pre-empt the dip in fatigue during your training

Running technique can disappear when you are fatigued, making running more inefficient and leading to a spiral of more fatigue

You can pre-empt the dip in fatigue during your training