Hey guys its Dr. JP and today we are going to analyze the running form of Paul Chelimo.
For those who dont know who he is, he is an elite middle to long distance runner, who
is most notably known for winning the silver medal during the 5k in the Rio Olympics in
2016.
I'm really happy you guys suggested me to make a running analysis on him because he
is such a great athlete to watch!
Anyway, lets get into this running analysis!
The clip we will be looking at is when Chelimo participated in the 2017 Carlsbad 5k race.
During this event, he runs an incredible time of 13:47.
Even though this was not his best time, this clip is probably one of the best side views
of an elite long distance runner I've been able to look at.
With these long distance races, I usually look at time splits throughout the race; however,
unfortunately, I couldnt find them during this specific race.
Anyway, lets take a look a overall components that make up speed, which is stride frequency
and stride length.
During this clip, he presents with a step rate of 180 steps/min.
Now, before we move on, I know many of you are here to see how these elite athletes run
and copy certain aspects, such as this quick step rate.
While increasing your step rate may help decrease stress on the joints, especially at the knee
without an increase in energy consumption, I do not recommend a runner to just go straight
to running at 180 steps/min.
Too big of an increase in step rate from your preferred pace may actually cause an increase
in metabolic cost to run, leading to you getting tired much more quickly.
I recommend slowly icnreasing your step rate by 5-10% from your preferred rate, and see
how you feel from there.
Anyway, this cadence is pretty popular among elite long distance runners; however, the
factor that sticks out a bit more for him is his step length.
Based on a few calculations, he presents with a step length of about 2.14m.
Similiar to Mo Farah, he has a pretty long step length.
The factors that contribute to this is his ability to utilize those long legs, as well
as the decent force production as he pushes against the ground.
Next, we will look at specific aspects of his running form, which allows him to optimize
his stride length while still maintaining a decent step rate.
As always, we will start with foot landing.
As you can see he presents with midfoot landing.
This makes sense as he is participating in a long distance race.
In these type of races, landing around this area is usually more efficient than landing
on the forefoot...as research has shown that landing around the forefoot leads to quicker
breakdown of glycogen.
What this basically means is that forefoot landing usually uses more active energy, which
could make you tired a bit more quickly into the race.
Anyway, what I prioritize more is where the foot lands in relation to the body's COM.
As you can see his foot lands in front of the center of mass.
Contrary to some beliefs out there, this is not a bad thing.
Obviously you dont want to be reaching out with the foot and end up overstriding, where
you land too far from the center of mass.
But also, if you land too close, the running cycle happens so quickly that you cannot effectively
utilize the elastic properties of the muscles.
Paul Chelimo's foot positioning during initial contact is out forward just enough to allow
utilization of these elastic properties.
Now, while this does cause slightly longer foot turnover, this style allows for a more
efficient running style.
Next, we move on to the foot movement as it goes from intial contact to pushing off the
ground.
I want you guys to pay attention to the hip movement during this transition.
You can see how he really maximizes that backside movement of the hips.
He really optimizes his step length and takes advantage of the length of those legs.
Lets move onto this next frame, where we take a look at the amount of vertical movement
that occurs as he runs.
He actually presents with a bit of a bounce.
I find this similiar to the running style of Mo Farah.
Having a bouncy type running style is something one typically does not focus on as this may
actually cause increased stress on the joints.
Even though he presents with slightly more vertical oscillation compared to most other
elite runners, it really is not an excessive amount.
Now, if I were to try to apply one small tweak to his running, it would be slightly increase
cadence maybe by 5%.
This may possible minimize that bounce he has without an increase in energy consumption.
Again, everyone has their own unique running form, so whether this tweak is beneficial
or not really depends on the runner.
Now, lets take a look at hip movement as he runs.
Here is his peak hip flexion in the running cycle.
This is appropriate for this given pace as this usually naturally increases at higher
speeds.
Now, lets take a look at hip extension.
You can see that he has pretty good extension of those hips.
Like I metioned earlier, it really allows him to maximize usage of those legs, which
contribute to his great step length, but it may also aid in efficiency because by bringing
the hips into this position..it allows for a stretch to the hip flexors, causing an effect
similiar to that of an elastic band, which will help bring the leg forward during swing.
Next, we are going to take a look at this frame.
Look at his great postural alignment.
You can really see this as you look at the trunk because he is not bending forward at
all, and he does not arch his back, which is typically what runners do when they overcorrect
to prevent trunk bending.
While maintaining this alignment, his whole body is also tilted forward.
This slight forward body tilt aids in momentum forward and improved push off from the hip
extensors during this phase.
Now, lets take a look at shoulder movement as he runs.
Here I draw lines that represent the range in which his shoulders move.
He presents with good backside movement of those shoulders and then returns to relatively
neutral position.
He presents with good arm swing that is appropriate for this pace.
Having good enough mobility to maintain this arm swing aids in counteracting angular momentum
coming from the legs.
Now, lets take a look at the front view of the body.
As you can see, he presents with pretty symmetrical movement of the arms and legs.
His arms stay up high and relatively close to his body.
You can also take a look at his legs and see how his heel stays lined up with the upper
leg.
He does not present with any heel whipping, allowing him to maintain that smooth cyclic
motion of the legs.
Finally, we will play this clip again and take a look at the head this time.
You can see he maintains a relatively neutral position of the head as he runs.
There is no forward/back bopping.
Instead youll see some side to side movement which is natural as his body shifts its weight
onto each leg.
And tahts it for the quick analysis on Paul Chelimo.
I really hope you guys enjoyed the video.
If you did, I would really appreciate it if you shared this video.
Again, I'm super greateful for all the support you guys have given me.
Please let me know what you thought about the video and leave a comment below.
And as always, THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!