I saw this great footage of the marathon leg of Ironman Melbourne. These guys are without a doubt at the top of their game when it comes to ironman run but there are certain principals we can all look to emulte to make our own running more efficient.

1) Great posture and balance
Run tall with an open chest and a slight forward lean. Weight should be distributed evenly so balance is perfect with minimal ‘lurching’, side to side movement or forward to back fluctuations during the stride.

2) Great stability
Stability in the hips, core and lower leg is key with no flaws such as dropping the hip which can happen when core muscles and glutes become fatigued.

3) HIGH turnover ~90spm
Run with a high turnover ~90rmp or even more. This reduces the muscular load and increase elastic energy transfer so can make you more efficient.

4) Foot lands close to center of gravity under hips
The closer the foot lands to your center of gravity the less braking force you will apply during your run stride.

5) Low ‘bounce’
Energy can be wasted lifting your body off the ground. Minimising the vertical ‘bounce’ can reduce wasted energy and ensure force production is in the right direction.

6) Little unnecessary movement
There is little movement in the upper body with minimal rotational stress, don’t waste your energy on a big arm swing at Ironman pace!

By training to specifically improve these characteristics you can make your triathlon run more efficient with the aim to maintain a higher pace for longer.