Running
Before bicycles and cars made transportation fast and easy, running was one of the only ways for a human being to move rapidly. According to the legend, Philippides ran twenty-six miles from Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C. to deliver the news that the Athenian army had defeated the Persians, making him the first famous runner in history. The first ancient Greek Olympics (776 B.C.) consisted of a foot race.
With the advent of mechanized locomotion, running in the United States today is almost exclusively a sport and a hobby. Official competitions in the United States include the sprint (the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter dash; the 400-and 1,600-meter relay; and the 100-, 110-, and 400-meter hurdles), middle-distance running (the 800-, 1,500-, and 3,000-meter run; the mile; and the 3,000-meter steeple chase), and long-distance running (the 5,000-and 10,000-meter run and the marathon). There are also running events in the triathlon, the pentathlon, the heptathlon, and the decathlon, as well as a variety of cross-country and road races. The most extreme of them, appearing in 1978, is the Hawaiian Ironman contest, consisting of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike race, and a 26.2-mile run (1,427 contestants finished the race in 2000).
Track and field races never became as popular as baseball, basketball, golf and football, but U.S. athletes have performed extremely well in sprint competitions worldwide. Among famous U.S. Olympic heroes are Jesse Owens (four gold medals, 1936), Wilma Rudolph (three gold medals, 1960), and, more recently, Carl Lewis (nine gold medals, 1984–1996), Michael Johnson (five gold medals, 1992–2000), Florence Griffith Joyner (three gold medals, 1988), and Marion Jones (three gold medals, 2000).
Human running mechanics
Running is a complex, coordinated process that involves the entire body. Every human being runs differently, but certain general features of running motion are common.
Lower body motion
Running is executed as a sequence of strides, which alternate between the two legs. Each leg's stride can be roughly divided into three phases: support, drive, and recovery. Support and drive occur when the foot is in contact with the ground. Recovery occurs when the foot is off the ground. Since only one foot is on the ground at a time in running, one leg is always in recovery, while the other goes through support and drive. Then, briefly, as the runner leaps through the air, both legs are in recovery. These phases are described in detail below.
Support
During the support phase, the foot is in contact with the ground and supports the body against gravity. The body's center of mass is typically somewhere in the lower abdominal area between the hips. The supporting foot touches ground slightly ahead of the point that lies directly below the body's center of mass. The knee joint is at its greatest extension just prior to the support phase; when contact is made with the ground, the knee joint begins to flex. To what extent it flexes varies with the running style. There exist stiff-legged running styles which reduce knee flexion, and looser, or more dynamic running styles which increase it. As the supporting leg bends at the knee, the pelvis dips down on the opposite side. These motions absorb shock and are opposed by the coordinated action of several muscles. The pelvic dip is opposed by the ilio-tibial band of the supporting leg, the hip abductor, and the abdominals and lower back muscles. The knee flexion is opposed by the eccentric contraction of the quadriceps muscle. The supporting hip continues to extend and the body's center of mass passes over the supporting leg. The knee then begins to extend, and the opposite hip rises from its brief dip. The support phase begins to transition into drive.
Upper body motion
The motions of the upper body are essential to maintaining balance and a forward motion for optimal running. They compensate for the motions of the lower body, keeping the body in rotational balance. A leg's recovery is matched by a forward drive of the opposite arm, and a leg's support and drive motions are balanced by backward movement of the opposite arm. The shoulders and torso are also involved. Because the leg drive is slower than the kick of recovery, the arm thrusting backward is slower also. The downward arm drive is more forceful and rapid.
Stride rate
Exercise physiologists have found that the stride rates are extremely consistent across professional runners, between 185 and 200 steps per minute. The main difference between long- and short-distance runners is the length of stride rather than the rate of stride.[1][2] During running, the speed at which the runner moves may be calculated by multiplying the cadence (steps per second) by the stride length. Running is often measured in terms of pace[3] or minutes per mile or kilometer.