1)      Assume a three-point stance.

2)      Place your feet slightly less than shoulder-width apart.

3)      Place the down hand directly under the shoulder, with the thumb and the index finger facing forward in an inverted “U” shape position. Keep the down arm straight and aligned slightly outside the rear leg.

4)      The distance from the heel of the front foot to the toes of the back foot will vary from a few inches up to 12 inches or more, depending upon the size of the athlete. Taller athletes with long legs will require more spacing. The knees and the toes are pointed straight ahead.

5)      Place the ankle of the front leg slightly ahead of the hip.

6)      Keep the butt even with or slightly higher than the head, never lower.

7)      Bend the free arm at 90 degrees with the upper arm approximately parallel to the ground.

8)      Hold the head slightly up. Just enough to enable the athlete to see a few feet ahead.

9)      Place most of the weight on the front leg and down hand

SPEED MECHANICS

The start:

1)      Move the down arm rapidly backward, not upward, in what is called a “drag technique".

2)      Thrust the free arm rapidly forward.

3)      Gain as much ground as possible on the first step. These first three steps occur simultaneously.

4)      Take all your steps in a straight line. Steps that are taken inward or outward are time-consuming and inefficient.

5)      Raise the torso gradually, but try to get into the upright position as soon as possible in order to initiate a full running stride. Too much forward body lean decreases the length of the stride.

The techniques:

1) Focus- the eyes straight a head and avoid tilting the head in any  direction.

2)    Arch- both the upper and lower back slowly. This will help maintain an erect torso and keep the hips in proper position.

3)      Fix- (lock) the elbows at 90 degrees.

4)      Rotate- while maintaining the fixed elbow, swing the arm from the shoulder, driving the hand from chest level through the “hip pocket.”

5)      Squeeze- while swinging the arm, keep the elbow tight to the body. This will help eliminate the rotational forces that produce an inefficient motion.

6)      Punch- drive the lead leg out and up, punching it toward the finish line, not just lifting it upward.

7)      Plant- snap the down leg back beneath the hips. The foot should hit naturally on the ball and toes.

8)      Extend- lock the down leg out into full extension to maximize the power production of the stride.

The teaching progression:

Learn the stance, start and running mechanics in a slow and deliberate fashion. Focus on one or two techniques at a time and build up from 1/4 speed to 1/2 speed to 3/4 speed, and finally to full speed. 

Once the techniques are learned, practice them at full speed with 2-3 sets of quality reps per set over distances ranging anywhere from 10-50 yards, depending on the progression stage. Basically, the distances increase as you begin to master the techniques.