8 Running Tips: Uncommon & Effective

The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is just around the corner, and lots of people are training for it. Here are some simple running tips:

Relax your muscles: Keep your jaw loose, keep your shoulders down and occasionally shake out your hands and arms to stay relaxed. While running, your body goes under stress, so its natural for your jaw to tighten up, for your shoulders to scrunch up, and other such stress reactions.
So, consciously keep the stress out of your body, and see yourself improve running form, and run faster & efficiently.

Wear good & big: running shoes: Buy running shoes that are slightly longer and wider than your feet. When you run, your feet expand, and they need the space. So, be nice to your feet, if you want to run well.

Keep it loose: Don’t clench your fists too tightly while running. Keep it like a cupped hand, as if you were holding an egg in each palm, that you don’t intend to crush. It will help keep your body relaxed, and improve performance.

No time, no problem: If 20 minutes is all you have, still run. 20 minutes of running is better than not running at all.

Run against the flow: Running against the flow of traffic keeps you in command. This is specially important in India, where there are plenty of hazards while running. See running tips & hazards in India.

Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate: Water is the lifeline of any process in your body. So, when it starts running low, it diverts water to only the important processes, and physical work (in this case, running) is not as important as digestion, blood flow, etc. So, less than optimum hydration will affect your performance, besides increasing the risk of muscle cramps. So, at all times be completely hydrated.

Only the right liquids: Hydrates with water. Alcohol is not your friend, when you’re trying to improve running performance. Beyond affecting fitness levels, alcohol has its share of side effects.

Look at the big picture
“Whether one shall run on his heels or his toes is hardly worth discussing. The main thing in distance running is endurance—and how to get it.”

Lace it up: Make sure your shoes laces are double knotted. While running long distances, laces often get un-tied, so make sure you double knot them. Further, the loose ends of your laces can be inserted in &  around your shoes, to avoid them ever coming in the way.

And last but not the least, relax when your body feels tired and sluggish

We have lots more running tips. See this, for more running tips. Or go to our running section. Even find running tracks in Delhi.

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