How can Kenenisa Bekele’s running form help us all run better? In this video, I analyze Kenenisa Bekele’s running technique and explain what runners like you and I can learn from watching one of the fastest marathon runners in the world.
Kenenisa Bekele is one of the all-time greatest distance runners. The footage used for this running form analysis video shows him winning the Vitality London Big Half in 2020 with a course record time of 60 minutes 22 seconds.
Lots of different factors contribute to his prowess as an endurance athlete. One such factor is his great running form. Kenenisa Bekele is a great example of proper running technique for distance running.
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The five aspects of Kenenisa Bekele’s running form I highlight in this video are:
1 – FOOTSTRIKE & STRIDE ANGLE
You’ll see that Kenenisa Bekele runs with a midfoot strike, rather than running aggressively on his forefoot, as you might expect from a sprinter. Neither does he land on his heels, as the majority of runners do. He runs with a midfoot strike, landing close to beneath a flexing knee, rather than overstriding.
Bekele creates a long stride without overstriding because of the stride angle he creates at the hips – the separation between peak hip extension and peak hip flexion, at terminal stance (the point that his trailing foot leaves the ground). Such a large stride angle allows him to cover more ground during flight phase.
To emulate this, you can focus on exercises that help to improve hip mobility, and running technique drills to help you “run from the hips”. Hill sprints are a fantastic way of achieving this.
2 – STRIDE WIDTH AND FOOT PRONATION
Kenenisa Bekele runs without allowing his feet to cross the midline of his body, rather than displaying the type of crossover gait which sometimes occurs as a result of poor core and hip stability, and is also quite commonly seen in forefoot striking runners.
You can see that Bekele strikes the ground with his feet in a supinated position. His feet then roll inwards through pronation during the “loading response” period of his stance phase. This is completely normal, and something we all do to a greater or lesser extent when we run and walk. His transition from supination to pronation is more pronounced on his right side.
3 – CADENCE & CONTACT TIME
Maintaining a high running cadence (stride frequency) not only helps you to prevent overstriding, it also allows you to keep a short ground contact time. When you maintain a short ground contact time, your limb stiffness is increased. This increase in limb stiffness allows for a more efficient transfer of energy throughout the body, and into the ground as you run.
Kenenisa Bekele has a running cadence of 180-190 strides per minute with at his half marathon race pace (around 4:37/mile).
4 – VERTICAL OSCILLATION – BOUNCE
The world’s best distance runners tend run with very little “bounce”. They waste little energy moving up-and-down, and channel all their effort into efficiently moving forwards. Kenenisa Bekele is no different. Running with a fast cadence and short contact time will help you to reduce your vertical oscillation and bounce less when you run.
5 – RUNNING ARM ACTION & UPPER BODY
The gentle and relaxed torso rotation you see in Kenenisa Bekele’s running form is a form of counter-rotation to balance out the action of his legs and pelvis. With his upper and lower body working in an opposite rotational pattern, it allows him to use his core muscles more effectively to help drive himself forward. For more information about how runners use the anterior oblique sling, check out this previous video:
ELIUD KIPCHOGE RUNNING ANALYSIS:
I can’t wait to see Kenenisa Bekele running the London Marathon 2020 later this year!
Let me know in the comments how you get on with trying to apply these principles of Kenenisa Bekele’s running technique to your own running.
Good luck!
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ABOUT ME: I’m a runner, sports rehabilitation specialist and coach based in the UK (Norwich and London).
Since 2007 I’ve been working with athletes focusing specifically on helping distance runners and triathletes overcome injury and improve performance through developing their individual running technique.
Running biomechanics has become a geeky little passion of mine!
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