Moses Mosop (Kenya) Running technique / Looptechniek 

Notice how he doesn’t force his foot upward at the ankle (forced dorsiflexion) just before he’s about to land (which makes it likely to land on your heel first- no bueno), but keep his foot straight, if not ever so slightly pointed downward, allowing to easily land on the forefoot (ball of foot) easily. He generates enough force using his Achilles tendon and calves to push himself off, propelling him forward. Maintaining a perfect rhythm and cadence. Truly remarkable!

It's so obvious that this running technique is far better than the average heel strike. It's just more natural and much more energy efficient. When i started with barefoot running, the first times i had intense pain in my calves after. But they builded up and i radically improved my running pace

According to wikipedia, Mosop is only 152cm tall, his posture makes him look a lot taller!

One of the best runningtechnique videos on youtube. Mosop's technique is perfect!

Best running video on RU-vid period! Thanx! After watching this I totally changed my running technique and run so much faster and easier now I almost feel stupid for running like such an idiot for so long smh thanx again!

Notice how: 1) His feet, ankles, and legs don’t flail out. He keeps everything in a straight line. 2) His upper body is doing as little work as possible. His core is not rotating and gravity/inertia is doing most of the work for his arms. 3) He toe-strikes rather than with his heel allowing him achieve greater spring-like momentum and put less damage on his tendons and ligaments.

I feel like proper running form is easier when sprinting rather than running

Simply oustanding! Moses Mosop ran the 2011 Boston Marathon and like the description says, he finished very close to Geoffrey Mutai, who set the World Record for the Marathon that day. AND Mosop had NEVER run a Marathon in his life before!! He was called that "Marathon Virgin" and still ran 2:03:09 for his first one. Amazing what hard work and dedication can do. Thanks for posting this video and pointing out the differences between recreational distance runners and elite runners.

I've been running for 20+ years and it's curious that never the running technique has been so scrutinized! And it's great because with proper running technique we can run faster, longer and have less injuries. I now run for fun but i am still a competitive amateur and i always like to improve my form. Tomorrow i'll go for a run and i'll try to improve my technique and see how i feel! Can't wait to see the results in a medium term...

Fuck, I have trouble running 5 km in 4 mins/km, and these guys do the marathon at 3 mins/km. It's insane.

Jacky, it is a fantastic video. I will remember that " Good running is about landing close under the hip (center of mass) which will put the brakes off." Thanks!

turns up to be every sport has to learn to get good at it. thanks Thjeko... you inspired me

love freeze frame by frame, really gives you proper technique 🥇😄✌

Learn something new everyday... Thanks for posting!

Powerful foot action is what separates the great from the good. Runners who have a bare foot background have a significant advantage over those who do not. Strengthen your feet and you will improve your performance.

Has anyone else noticed that the kid in the background at 1:47 and following seems to be running in a very similar manner as the pro athlete (only she's sprinting). That's nice and maybe tells something.

I've been experimenting with this technique. I am not a runner, but by using this technique I can see how I might be able to run successfully, without injury, into older age.

the only thing i knew about being faster before was to not straighten your knees all the way. now we know how to land correctly! thank you so much for this!

Great video - Mosop's lean and running efficiency is just amazing. His arms are very compact.

Damn this guy is so fluid and smooth.

Something the video doesn't cover is HOW IMOIRTANT POSTURE AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY IS. Which is something Mosop gets perfectly too! IMO, midfoot striking with minimal drop shoes is all the way.

Keep in mind that most people cannot run a marathon at this velocity, and so each motion should be a little shorter, and the fact that normal people do not have the same bone and joint and tendon strengh as these world class athletes. The hardest part for most people is to keep a good cadence at a lower velocity. I would recommend doing 10% of your running barefoot, and this will help teach you how to reduce your cadence, by reducing how much pressure you put onto the ground, and not just by taking smaller steps. Optimally you'd do 50% of your training barefoot, but this is likely to cause injuries if introduced too quick, because a lot of calf and foot muscles simply aren't ready to take the load.

thank you for the video. Being able to actually see proper running form (by an elite runner) compared to incorrect running form, and then have it presented in this simple get to the point video, made it so easy for me to grasp the art of a proper running form.. It is now embedded in my brain, and when I am running I will be able to visualize and put it to use.. Thank you !

Correct push-off LOCATION (directly below center of gravity), maximal hip extension, strong core and pelvis to not sag on contact, and propulsion with hamstrings, calves and Achilles....that's how you run fast and long. Foot contact style is personal, as is shoe selection, and is ultimately not that important unless you have injuries and need to change. To focus on whether Mosop's heels touch the ground first or his forefoot is like saying your car has to be red to be fast because Ferraris are typically red. That is the wrong thing to focus on. If you can run at the pace Mosop runs, you too will be mostly on forefoot. He runs marathons at a pace faster than most runners will even be able to run for just 10 minutes. And you want to take his foot strike style as gospel for your 9:45-minute pace marathon? Nope. What's important is to make final push-off directly below the body (center of gravity) so there is no braking effect in the gait cycle. If you push off correctly this way, you can be flat footed, forefoot landing mostly (like Mosop), or heel landing, and still be as efficient as you can. The too-far-forward, braking-effect mistake can happen whether you "forefoot-strike" or land on your heel. Plenty of average runners catch on to the wrong point, believe forefoot landing is all there is, and still end up with a braking effect, wasting energy, and potential injury. The difference: their calves and Achilles tendons are catching the braking effect instead of their knees and hips.

Make sure to select the method that will enable you to get the best out of it. It is called the "Pose method of running"!!

That's how i run! People should start running like this! This is so true, it gives you extra speed and acts like a spring for your body and it doesn't make you feel heavy! My weight is 95kg(not obese) but i still run very fast because i run like this, and i play football/soccer ... I would highly recommend rhis method for those out there who wants to run really fast!!

Beauty in motion. This is the kind of flawless technique that gives me hope that one day I can achieve the same thing.

Excellent video with clear descriptions of movement. Thank you very much for posting this. Shame about some of the negative comments as this video has only been posted to help people.

Who else got this recommended in 2024? This video was published around 2013, the year Kipchoge ran his first marathon in Hamburg, and 3 years before carbon plated shoes took over marathon running. The running community on youtube was in its infancy. Basically only the proper running form has stayed the same.

You know it's not just Kenyans in general. These guys are from a specific small tribe in Kenya only. I believe the size of the tribe is only 500,000. Every single Kenyan long distance runner is coming from this one tribe. There's a documentary on it on RU-vid if anyone cares to check it out. Quite interesting.

yeah it's just that people are never taught how to walk or run. i see so many people just throw their legs in front of them, and wobble, lumber and stomp.. everything. Part of the training scar is from wearing shoes in the first place. THIS is how a real human is supposed to run

Great video and slow frames allowing us to see the landing point of the foot and contact time with the ground! Thanks!!!

1 step he covers 2.+ mts.real support strength I like to see this man more videos.real hard to practice to run like this foarm.

I've never understood how people can run by landing on their heels. It just doesn't make sense. I always run on my toes or the middle of my foot, sort of, I never land on my heels. To me it's both easier and more efficient.

Many people aiming to improve their running, do NOT automatically adapt good running form by digging the shoes. Using a method may help tremendously with that. Not only through getting a better awareness of ingrained old, bad habits, but also by providing a simple frame work to learn new movement patterns most easy. The vid (also on this channel) "Minimalistic shoes and running form" (showing two of my clients struggling with form despite their minimal shoe wear), is a perfect example of that.

The lean is all about good alignment of the body parts (ball of foot, hip and shoulder on top of each other), to be able to pivot the COM (center of mass) over support without delay. So as soon as the COM moves over support (mid-stance), it is extremely helpful if a runner feels well aligned in the way as described. It is about perception (awareness) of body parts. For example, shoulders back or a forward (through bending in hip + butt back) will delay the transfer of the COM over support.

Just recently started researching proper running technique. I had no idea there was so much to it. Thought it was just about endurance.

4 Words : focus, alignment, stability and timing (pace rhythm)

One more thing; You have to be light enough and strong enough to maintain that form. Number one is diet, too heavy and it's not possible to run like that. So figure out a diet so you can get down to a weight realistic for runners.

Noticed the great running form of the little girl in the background?

Someone else mentioned to run harder... which is kinda obvious. But a way to manage this is with interval training. So go all out for 1 km (for example I run 3'30" minutes/km) then recover at a reasonable pace (I like to run 6'00" minutes/km to recover)and then after a while repeat. When you feel ready, increase either distance of the fast pace, speed and/or shorten rest time.

great video. really really nice. I've watched a view explaining this ankle landing thing but this is by far the clearest one.

Would love to see a video like this now in 1080p filmed at 240 fps!

I raced Mosop twice. First Boston 2011, he got me by a tick over an hour. Later that year I closed the gap on him down to 58 minutes and change. Now I know why!

Very informative! Thank You for the upload!

To run like an elite, train like an elite. There's no shortcut. The running industry would like to have you believe there's a shortcut though.

He is hypnotic. Superlative technique.

That's how I run and don't get any pain or injuries. No heel or toe running but center of the foot. I get a lot of distance with this

What technique that is. This is how you go quicker and use less energy at the same time.Taken me months to get this down but you really notice the difference.

Agree, everyone can do forefoot running. It is no big deal. Unfortunately, forefoot running ALONE doesn't mean good form. Quite many forefoot runners still land ahead of their bodies center of mass and brake forward motion, often with a cadence way too low. This won't last for long as most of these runners will break down with injury.

kenyan are always winners in all marathon leg in Philippines.. damn they are so fast.. what lung power

Interesting fact: Assuming a classic average cadence of 180 strides per minute(194 measured over 10 seconds in this video may be inaccurate), Moses Mosop travels around 1.9m with each stride ...without landing heel first and with perfect form. 180 x 123 = 22140 strides in 2 hours 3 minutes of a marathon, divided into 42.2Km = 1.90m. That's some enormous stride achieved by a terrific spring off each step. You can only be a top runner with good form, a fast cadence AND an enormous stride!

It is near to impossible to improve one's running skills without a second person, who judges and corrects all the little mistakes one inevitably makes. Still, every little bit of change has an effect on speed and invested power. Great video, only 25 years to late for me. =)

PS I do think Moses looks great and that mid-foot strike is the most efficient form and very attractive to look at..however you need a good forward spring to give yourself enough height for a long stride with mid-foot landing. That's not to say that you should waste energy gaining any more height than is necessary. However, any ballistic missile must have height to get distance and a good runner spends most of the time completely off the ground. Heavier people and those with less spring in their legs or with stiff hips and knees will find it very difficult to make this work properly. That's why the heel tends to come down first, as it does with walking of course. You can see older or unfit runners with no spring in their legs, hardly able to bend their knees at all. For them not to heel strike would mean cutting right down on their stride length, reducing speed even more. That could be disheartening. On the opposite side it is great to watch young runners with that natural spring in their stride.

Did some body observed the lady running accross the street and noticed how similar is her lower body form compared to Moses? Now take a closer look at her arms! The whole body upper and lower has to be properly aligned to make this machine running like Moses. Great Video Thanks!

Magnifica grabación para el estudio biomecánico de la carrera.

thank you! This is great!

also very important, when we land with the heel, we most likely putting the leg straight when we strike the grown, and guess what, the knees, the hips, and all lower back absorb the impact, no wonder why i been injured lately, just invested over 120 in new shoes with more protection but i should invest the time to learn the technique this runner has his leg is not fully extended when he hits the ground, so his leg muscles are the ones taking that impact, , he is like 120lbs tho, im like 160lbs, is harder for me haha.

kenyans have fascinating forms and great great athletes

The forward momentum is caused by you pushing on the ground & the ground pushing on you with the right technique you can eliminate breaking forces( forces that act against your forward momentum). Everyone has a different technique it's just a matter of using the right form, is the one the works the most healthy.

I think of running as more of a controlled forward fall (with your legs 'catching' your torso before you fall on your face), rather than a motion that propels you forward. In fact, that's what sprinting is, and sprinting is much lower impact on your joints than jogging.

Wow this was actually really helpful

From 1:42 to 1:59, the young woman in the background running in sync with the same form is priceless.

thanks for posting this - amazing work!

Barely discernible vertical oscillation too.

First, thanks for sharing this footage! AwesoneRants, If Thjeko has no time, I got some really excellent tips after posting a link to me running on a youtube video, on the posetech forums. Helped me a lot to take my running to the next level.

Great comments on a v helpful video I would add that Moses rate of hip extension plays a critical part in speed , as it does with Kebele, for example.I don’t see this feature discussed on thread it’s a critical element to fast running!

running requires strong calf and shin.

In end its the practice that made him perfect and indeed health is also a bigger aspects!

Imagine how fast he could go if he had proper running technique

So beautiful they are flying!

I had no idea their technique is superior. Was sure that it's mostly about having the organism optimally adapted for endurance. Can't form my own conclusion as for technique because I'm a noob.

Watch the vid entitled Chi running (Danny Dreyer) on this same channel. It explains the differences between Pose- and Chi running, which are quite many. Also check DD running form. It is way different then Mosop's or most other elite runners. Check "Nicholas Romanov Pose running"as well. Quite a difference ... With al respect to Chi running (which definitely has some good points) I prefer Pose method by far (-;!

great video! :-) greetings from austria!

It's not about the angle but the pressure putted into the ground

Hey guys, I seriously suggest you listen to Chong and hid teaching of placing tension in the feet, if you have not noticed the runners heel does not strike the ground.

0 to 100 real quick

He does natural running wich is 30% more efficient. You need Vivobarefoot or Vibram Fivefingers or other Natural running Shoes to learn this skill.

Great video!!! Thanks!

I like watch this "frame per frame" vids because we can see the technique and how they land their feets with the front part of feet...

i would just like to point out that the "average runner"is wearing 16 mm ofsets. hes basicaly forced to heal strike

This is some awesome stuff!

More exhausting? Maybe true if you do it wrongly but forefoot strike is actually about 5% more energy-efficient than heel strike.

just bought myself vibram fivefingers komodo sports and love them at first i wasnt properly forefoot striking more midfoot but i have perfected it after 2 days i have tried all year to do this in runners and couldnt do it no ground feel really enjoying my runs now and i am faster and more economic than ive ever been id advise to transition very slowly your using different muscles unused by running in runners calfs will hurt at first

And the foot position is not a choice as you say since if in proper position you will have support on the ball of foot. Period.

Thanks for this instructing video

He doesn't dorsiflex a huge amount like we're told to apparently.

Thanks a lot !

I'm just getting back into running so I greatly appreciate your video, my observation is that I noticed that the Kenyan runner holds his hands high, Is that a better technique?

wow how quickly he gets out of Pose position after impact

Thank you, very useful 👌

Yea I think core body training is as important as leg training, if you don't keep that perfectly straight upper body you will run a lot less efficient, I am no expert (nothing to do with sound LOL) but from watching videos like this he really utilizes every aspect of economic running: using the tendon's elasticity to his advantage, leaning way forward in conjunction with the bounce of the tendons, and NOT DOING WHATEVER THE LAST GUY WAS DOING! haha

Great video, thanks

His nick name should be shadow!

He has his hands pretty high ^^

I've seen enough people out heel striking in Vibrams to think that a change of shoes isn't always going to be effective.

That's why his form is so beautiful to watch. Now why do you assume that landing on the heels is the correct form?

Very nice video, I will try to do this.

It seems I gotta learn how to walk properly first haha

The running Step landing is preferential that isnot a key factor in going that fast.