Altra Drop Zero was the main sponsor of the Runner’s World Half & Festival. Even though I had heard of the company before and checked out their shoes on their website, I didn’t know much about the concept of drop zero, or what kind of effect it can have on your running. As part of the festivities, Nicole, Karen and I met up with Golden, the founder of Altra, for a clinic on how to prevent injuries while running. I can honestly say that the hour or so we spent with Golden opened my eyes about running and taught me some interesting things that I think, as runners, we can all use.

The first thing that really struck me was that running is the only sport in which technique is not taught. As a former high school track runner, I can vouch for that. We were encouraged to run our hearts out, but no one ever mentioned the proper form or anything about form at all. This is the reason that runners are very prone to injury.

Golden shared four steps to better running:

1. Posture. You should run with a straight body, slightly leaning forward, with your head up, shoulders back and relaxed. You shouldn’t be bending at the waist. Golden told us that his father, who is also a running legend, would watch marathons with him when he was younger and be able to predict the winners and who would fall away from the pack when they lost their core and bent at the waist. You can make sure that you have the proper posture by raising your hands “to the moon” while you run.

2. Foot Strike. Your midfoot should make contact with the ground and not your heel. You should also land under a bent knee in order to be able to absorb the pressure that your body creates when hitting the ground. Traditional running shoes have a heel that is at least two times the thickness of the toe. Due to this difference in height your foot doesn’t hit the ground at a natural stride and not under a bent knee. Golden also went on to say that there is no such thing as a magical running shoe. A shoe will never make you a better runner, but the wrong shoe can hurt you.

3. Arm movement. Your arms should be high and relaxed. Your elbows should stay behind your waist and your arms shouldn’t cross your body. If you have trouble keeping your arms in the efficient position, it is helpful to carry a water bottle or small weight to keep your arms up.

4. Cadence. No mater what speed you are running at, you should aim for an average of 180 steps per minute. An easy way to check you cadence is to count how many times your right leg hits the ground over 20 seconds. If you’re around 30 steps in 20 seconds, you’re looking good.

After the clinic, we were all outfitted with Altra shoes see the drop zero difference for ourselves. Since my gait analysis earlier this summer showed that I overpronate, I went with the stability shoe, the Altra Provisioness.

I’ve only been able to use them twice, and I am following Golden’s advice to slowly rotate these into your running routine. So far, so good. They honestly feel like no other running shoe I’ve ever had and they completely change the way your foot hits the ground and how your foot is spaced inside the shoe. It is remarkable what a difference a shoe can make.

What kind of shoes do you run in?

FTC: Altra Drop Zero provided me with a free pair of Altra Provisioness.