The form in any running is highly important, as you want to use your body in the most important and efficient way for speed and distance. In the reference book, 4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon, it paints the ideal picture of what form you should be striving for running on a “flat” terrain.

(Kuehls page 2-3)

            The overall   form is that you need to keep you head up, but not back, breath through both your mouth and noise, do not carry yourself in your shoulders (keep arms low), and do not clench your fists. Now for the lower part of your body, keep your back and chest   upright with both hips and butt forward and under you. 

Finally, your leg swing and placement is important in the form, you want your swing not to be too far ahead of you or too far behind, you will be over striding if you do. In addition, you want to keep a small stride as it will increase your cadence, which increases speed.  Then there is the foot placement, through the years, there has been controversy over what is right and what is wrong, the one that was seen most during the Pittsburgh Marathon 2016 from the Steel City Road Runners because of using the Milestone Pods was heel landing. You start by placing your heel, roll onto the front of the foot and push off from there running, this is the ideal foot placement.

The overall form is important to the runners success and can help one successfully complete the type of race that they want, either a faster race,  a race without walking,  etc.