Mo Farah, Kenenisa Bekele & Haile Gebrselassie – Slow Motion Running Form

I saw this footage today on Graham Chapman’s (@RunningTraining) blog and also reposted on @Runblogger… I simply had to repost it here!

As Graham says, watching Mo Farah, Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie in action is like poetry in motion 🙂

This video really highlights the running form of these truly exceptional distance runners at 12 miles into the recent 2013 Great North Run (half marathon).

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Last updated on March 2nd, 2021.

10 Comments

  1. Those guys are really like chasing the dreams. Too late for me but it is a real pleasure to watch! Great share! Thanks

  2. What struck me more than anything was the fact that far from running forefoot all 3 seemed to plant midfoot and demonstrated a significant degree of pronation.

  3. What was also interesting is that they seem to land far in front of their bodies with a slight anterior trunk lean (from the pelvis), but they have a “glancing” strike, meaning their forward hips are already starting to extend by the time their feet hit the ground (not breaking). And HUGE stride ANGLES (angle between the femurs at terminal stance and initial swing.)

    Great video!

  4. All 3 of these guys are incredible.

    Like Terry, the pronation bit struck me too. Makes you wonder about all the stuff shoe shops give us about needing structured shoes, because over pronation does not seem to be doing 40-year old Haile any harm! Perhaps that’s the way our bodies are supposed to run; and therefore, wearing support shoes does more harm than good…….

  5. I asked you a question on twitter, I’ve been out for a month, and won’t start running for another two wks, due to a stomach operation, which give me 10wks to London, how much strength pace n general fitness you lose in 6wks?? And can I get back in 10wks to my peak? I done a 1:26 half a month ago, so hoping for a 3hr/3:10 London, is this possible chees jay or should I just go round and forget time, enjoy the special day.
    Ps love you twitter account, keep up the good work

    1. Hi Jay,

      Great question. You’re clearly going to notice a drop-off in terms of strength and general fitness (and as a result pace) after a six week lay-off from running/exercise after such surgery. With the appropriate progression back into your training – which means don’t throw yourself back in at the deep end – you’ll be surprised how quickly your fitness returns, in every aspect.

      Obviously, knowing nothing about your long term athletic history or ability, it’s hard for me to say how likely you are to be able to run 3:00 / 3:10 in London in 10 weeks time. Gut feeling is that it’s unlikely.

      A few thoughts –

      1) London is a tough Marathon to perform well at, due to the shear volume of competitors, and congestion.

      2) Taking into account the point above, you might be best off to focus on building your training up gradually over the next 10 weeks to run a comfortable 3:20 – 3:25, enjoying VLM for what it is and importantly not overreaching in terms of your post-op rehab. Your core strength will no doubt need some work!

      3) Having built up the strength, core and running milage progressively (rather than rushing to a probably unattainable peak), you’ll be in a great place to have a great summer of training and run 3:00 – 3:10hrs or faster 😉 in the Autumn, if you pick an appropriate marathon.

      As I said, just some thoughts – given that I don’t know anything about you. I might be miles off the mark… let me know!

      Cheers,

      James

  6. With respect to the ‘overstriding’ and lack of forefoot plant comment’ that section of the GNR is downhill which makes a difference.

  7. The thing I notice most from that video is the powerful drive at toe off. So different to what some new fad running techniques reccomend.

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