The Extreme Benefits of Backwards Running

The Extreme Benefits of Backwards Running

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If you are relatively new to running, this tip can be invaluable to you in helping to avoid a lot of the grief and trial-by-error that many experienced runners have already gone through to learn lessons the hard way.

To run effectively and with minimal risk of injury, you must be mindful of a) form and b) pacing.  Of course, the latter can negatively impact the former if you overdo it to an extent where you reach an exhausted state such that what had initially started as good form begins to break down.

The best solution/tip that I could give a beginning runner that would help to short circuit potential form and pacing issues would be to turn around and run backward.  That's right, turn around and start moving your legs to propel you opposite of the direction that you are facing.  It may seem counter-intuitive, dangerous even but it isn't really and the benefits of naturally and easily keeping you in proper form as well as at a proper pace are immense.

First with form, your foot is engineered to have all impacts absorbed in your foot's arch which typically is in the center part of your foot and well away from your heel.  To take advantage of the arch's shock absorption capability, most of your foot strike on the ground should be with the pad of your foot.  Try running forward-facing where some if not all of your foot impacts will be felt with your heel versus backward-facing where it is virtually impossible to have heel impacts.  If you can train yourself to land on the front pad of your foot and remain off your heel entirely, your body will thank you as you will much more likely avoid injuries to your achilles, your knees, your back which all typically develop from repetitive heel impacts that reverberate up your legs through your body.  Backwards running will help you get a feel for landing on the pad of your foot and having impact absorbed in the arch.

With regard to pacing, it is important, especially as a beginning runner, to keep your heart rate in an aerobic zone that allows you to maintain conversations or at least not get too labored in your breathing.  When exertion is such that you are overly breathless and reddening in the face, that means your heart is beating at an excessive rate which in turn can lead to over-training that can result in injury, exhaustion, or both.  When you run backward, it is much more difficult if not impossible to over-exert yourself where you're ending up in excessive heart rate ranges.

It might seem that running backward could be dangerous since you don't get as much time to survey the upcoming terrain.  But in practice, you'll find that this isn't really as big a concern as it could initially seem.  First, you likely won't be over-exerting yourself to stages where you get light-headed/dizzy so that you'll still have your wits about you.  Second, when you run on the pads of your feet, they are highly sensitive to the ground as they land where you'll feel potholes, sewer manhole lids, and the like to know that your weight might need to shift slighly to compensate for the change in surface.  Last, you'll plan in advance which places are most advantageous to do backwards running without fear of obstacles so that it will be anything but dangerous.  If all else fails, you could always put on blinders with rear-view mirrors attached.

I couldn't more highly recommend this as a technique especially for beginning runners.  Give it a try and enjoy!