Running Is a Skill — Six Simple Cues

In this article

We plan the distance, check the pace and lace up our shoes. But how often do we make time to practise running itself, rather than simply doing more of it?

Years ago, I remember following Andy Galpin and taking away an idea that has stayed with me: practise the skill as well as doing the work.
That is my recollection, rather than a direct quote, but it still makes me stop and think.
We can spend hours running, lifting, cycling or training for HYROX without giving much attention to how we move.

That practice does not have to be complicated.
On the bike, it might mean exploring a smoother rhythm. With a wall ball, it could be rehearsing the catch, squat and throw before adding fatigue. In running, it might be a few minutes spent noticing coordination, rhythm and control, without chasing a pace or distance.

When I look back at the periods when I was running at my fastest, drills were part of my training.
I cannot say they were the reason I ran faster, but I do wonder why I let that practice slip away. I want to bring some of that curiosity back into my own running.

A big goal of mine is to return to working towards my British Athletics coaching qualifications.
It is something I got really excited about possibly more than ten years ago, and the interest has never really gone away. I would love to start working with young athletes and juniors, helping them learn, enjoy their sport and build confidence.
My local club feels like a possible route into that, and it is definitely something I am exploring.

Adharanand Finn, one of my favourite running writers, gave me another nudge with his article Drills, baby, drills in Monday Musings on Substack.
His reflection on practising what we recommend to others struck a chord. Before encouraging anyone else to make room for skill work, I want to make room for it myself. This guide is a starting point for that conversation.

The six cues below are the starting point. The next step is setting aside a few minutes to practise.

1. Find a comfortable, upright posture

Your cue: “Give yourself a little height.”

If you notice yourself folding forwards or slumping, gently reset: eyes towards the route ahead, shoulders easy and body comfortably upright.
Keep breathing normally.

Avoid: puffing out your chest, arching your back or holding yourself rigid. “Tall” is a feeling to explore, not a position to lock into.

2. Let your lean stay natural

Jacqui in mid-stride. This edited and annotated photograph illustrates her torso lean at one moment; the lines are visual guides, not a measured angle or a target to copy.

Your cue: “Balanced, with a small lean if it feels comfortable.”

You may naturally lean forwards a little as you run. Let that happen without deliberately tipping yourself off balance or folding at the waist.
The aim is a comfortable whole-body position.

Avoid: assuming that more lean means more speed. A study found that exaggerated forward lean increased the energy cost of running. Posture research

3. Explore an easier step rhythm

Your cue: “A little lighter; a little less reaching.”

If each step feels like a big reach forwards, try slightly shorter steps at the same easy pace for a few seconds.
You can also experiment with a gentler landing, without trying to become silent.

Avoid: chasing a compulsory cadence number or forcing yourself onto your toes. I have made this mistake far too many times.
Cadence means steps per minute; small changes can alter joint loading, but that does not establish an ideal number for everyone. 👉 Step-rate research

This was me at Wrexham XC, and I was focusing on that rhythm. You will also notice me purposely swinging my arms, trying not to be static.

4. Give your arms some freedom

Your cue: “Easy shoulders, soft hands.”

Let your elbows bend comfortably and your arms swing with your stride. If you notice clenched fists or shoulders creeping upwards, gently release them. Tension = Energy

Avoid: pinning your arms to your sides, forcing your hands high or making a big pumping action on an easy run. Research supports allowing arm swing; it does not prescribe one exact elbow angle. 👉 Arm-swing research

5. Notice unnecessary tension

Your cue: “Let go of the squeeze.”

Check whether you are deliberately gripping with your toes or holding your feet in a fixed position. Let the movement happen without trying to control every part of the landing. You can use the same check for your jaw and hands.

Avoid: trying to make your ankles floppy. Your muscles still need to support you.

6. Let your leg swing through

Your cue: “Thigh forwards. Let the knee bend.”

After your foot leaves the ground, your knee bends as your thigh comes forwards. Two muscle groups help coordinate this movement:

• Hip flexors, at the front of your hip, help bring your thigh forwards.
• Hamstrings, at the back of your thigh, help bend your knee and control the moving leg, particularly as it prepares to land.

Activation means a muscle is working. These muscles already activate as you run; you do not need to consciously squeeze them with every step. Developing their strength is part of physical preparation, while this cue is about noticing smooth, comfortable movement.

Try it gently: before your run, take a few slow marching steps. Bring one thigh forwards to a comfortable height, allowing the knee to bend, then alternate. Use this to explore the movement—not to turn your run into a high-knee drill.

Avoid: forcing your knees high, flicking your heels towards your bottom or holding your hips rigid. Allow natural pelvic movement and let the foot follow.

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Try it on your next easy run

A small Pillars practice.

1. Settle into your normal easy run on a familiar, even stretch.
2. Choose one cue that feels relevant.
3. Explore it gently for 20–30 seconds, keeping the effort easy.
4. Return to your normal running for 1–2 minutes.
5. Repeat up to three times, only if comfortable.

From thinking about running to practising it

A cue is a small reminder while you run: easy shoulders, for example.
A drill is a short movement exercise that lets you rehearse a particular element, such as coordinating opposite arms and legs.
Strides are short, gradually faster runs that bring you back to the whole movement.

Drills can exaggerate an action to help you explore it.
That does not mean your easy run should look like a high-knee march or a skipping exercise.

A simple place to start: march, skip, run

This is a modest Pillars starting suggestion, not a research-tested programme. Begin once a week on a flat, clear, predictable surface, after 5–10 minutes of comfortable walking or jogging.
The practice itself takes around 5–8 minutes.

1. Controlled marching

Walk forwards slowly, lifting one knee to a comfortable height and moving the opposite arm forwards. Place the foot down close to you, then alternate. Keep breathing and avoid leaning back to lift the knee.

Try: 2 × 10–15 metres, walking back between repetitions.

Notice: Can you coordinate your arms and legs without tensing your shoulders?

2. Small, relaxed skips

If marching feels comfortable, try a gentle step-hop rhythm, alternating sides. Keep the skips low and easy; you do not need to travel far or drive your knees as high as possible. If the rhythm is unfamiliar, return to marching and ask for a demonstration.

Try: 2 × 10–15 metres, with an easy walk back.

Notice: Can you keep the rhythm comfortable and repeatable?

3. Bring it back to running

Jog easily for 20–30 seconds using just one of the six cues, then let your running return to normal. You do not need to hold the drill shape.

Optional for runners already comfortable with faster running: replace that jog with 2 × 10–15-second relaxed strides. Build speed gradually, stay well short of sprinting and ease down smoothly. Walk or jog for 60–90 seconds, or longer if needed, between them.

Notice: Does the running feel comfortable and coordinated, without forcing it?

Keep the first few sessions small. If they feel comfortable during the session and the following day, you could build towards twice a week, separated by recovery days.
Change one thing at a time.
Marching alone is a valid starting point; skipping and strides are optional.

Warning, skipping and faster running add load.

Avoid introducing them for the first time in race week or when managing an injury.
Stop a drill that causes pain, and scale back if it leaves you unusually sore.
More demanding hopping, bounding and jumping need their own gradual progression.

What can we honestly say about drills?

Finn describes the time some Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes devote to drills.

The study he links to followed 30 recreational runners over 15 weeks of interval training, with one group also doing drills. The abstract reports no additional performance improvement from adding drills, alongside changes in some loading and movement measures.
It does not justify promising better running economy or fewer injuries. Equally, one programme cannot settle every question about every drill. 👉 Read the study abstract.

My reason for bringing drills back is to make purposeful practice part of my training and see what I learn. Feeling smoother is useful feedback, but it is not the same as proving that running uses less energy.

Keep the bigger picture

If you are comfortable, enjoying running and progressing, there may be very little to change. Practising the skill should build curiosity and confidence, rather than make you worry about every step.

These prompts do not guarantee faster running or fewer injuries. Training progression, recovery and your individual circumstances still matter. If a change causes pain, stop that experiment; persistent or recurring pain deserves assessment by a physiotherapist or another appropriately qualified clinician.

Give yourself permission to practise—and permission to keep what already works.

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📚 Where these ideas come from—and what the research supports

Drills — Azevedo and colleagues, 2015. The added drills did not produce an additional performance benefit in this 15-week programme with 30 recreational runners. We reviewed the abstract, not the full methods, and cannot judge the precise drills or their delivery. Read the abstract.

Coaching practice — Jared Deacon / Scottish Athletics, 2016. This acceleration coaching resource includes progressions from walking to skipping to running. It informs the idea of gradual skill practice; it is not a trial validating our beginner routine or proof of distance-running benefits. View the coaching resource.

The six themes were prompted by coaching advice from David and Megan Roche of Some Work, All Play (SWAP), in the Patreon article supplied by Tim. Pillars has written this guide independently, added a practical experiment, and qualified the advice against the research below. It is not a reproduction of the article or an endorsement by its authors.

Coaching inspiration: David and Megan Roche / SWAP on Patreon. The supplied extract does not include the original article title, publication date or direct article URL, so this links to their creator page.

Posture — Carson, Aslan & Ortega, 2024. A small treadmill experiment in 16 runners found higher energy costs with greater forward lean. This supports caution about exaggerating lean; it does not establish one posture for all runners or all terrain. Read the open paper.

Cadence — Heiderscheit and colleagues, 2011. Testing changes relative to runners’ preferred step rate showed that modest increases can alter hip and knee mechanics. Mechanical changes are not proof of fewer future injuries, and the study does not justify a universal minimum cadence. Read the study abstract.

Arms — Arellano & Kram, 2011. Experimental work supports an energetic and balance role for arm swing. Our relaxed-arm cue is an application of that principle, not a study-validated prescription for hand height or elbow angle. Read the study abstract.

Gait retraining — Chan and colleagues, 2018. A trial in 320 novice runners found fewer injuries over the following year after a two-week programme using instrumented treadmill feedback. That structured intervention is different from reading six tips. We cannot attach its injury reduction to this guide. Read the researchers’ abstract.

Where evidence is limited: the exact “tall” and relaxation prompts, deliberate heel recovery, and the practice timings are coaching suggestions. We have not established that these specific cues improve running economy or prevent injury.

Pillars interpretation: keep changes small and individual. We have not adopted a minimum cadence of 165–170, an obligation to shorten ground-contact time, a requirement to land directly beneath the body, or a claim that a difficult form change will inevitably pay off.

The article that prompted this resource

Adharanand Finn — Drills, baby, drills, Monday Musings.
I read this through his paid newsletter. The reflections above are my own response; the full article belongs with its author.
Visit Monday Musings and look for that title; subscriber access will be required, but, he does offer free blogs from time to time.

Books by Adharanand Finn

If you enjoy exploring running beyond the training numbers, here is his full list of published books, plus his announced forthcoming title, checked on 5 October 2026:

• Running with the Kenyans (2012) — his exploration of life and training in Kenya, and what he learns by running alongside its athletes.
• The Way of the Runner (2015) — a journey into Japan’s running culture, exploring teamwork, competition and the place running holds in everyday life.
• The Rise of the Ultra Runners (2019) — his journey into ultrarunning and the experiences of people drawn to its extraordinary distances.

Forthcoming

• The Running Pilgrim: Tales from a 1,400-Mile Journey Around Ireland (expected 2027) — his run around Ireland, exploring family roots, belonging and what running means to him. Not yet published at the time of this update.

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Nutrition support for your running

Want help with the food and everyday habits that support your training? Explore nutrition coaching with Tim in Oswestry or online across Shropshire. We can work together on fuelling, recovery routines and practical choices that fit your week. Book a free introductory conversation.