Mo Farah, Usain Bolt, and the World Championships
I also will say, in his defense, that I absolutely love his focus on form. We ran a profile of him a couple of years ago that included the detail that he was trying to get one of his runners to change the position of his thumbs while running. Salazar was mocked for that. But why shouldn’t there be an optimal position for one’s thumbs while running? I feel like form, in running, is treated the way defense was in baseball for many years. Because you can’t precisely measure it, you ignore it and just figure you can focus on the other stuff. But it’s essential to injury prevention and to moving efficiently.
.. In fact, as a serious runner, I can say that the thing that pains me the most about non-serious runners is their failure to understand that running is no more a “natural” or “intuitive” act than hitting a topspin forehand is. Do not heel strike—ever! Do not run with a water bottle! Running is not weight lifting! Relax your upper body!