I have a terrible form problem with not getting my knees high enough its almost like shuffling and my kickback is way to far behind. I seem to be fine when doing drills though, Any thoughts on how to correct this? I am a 2/4 runner if that helps
Thanks
umm…focus on picking your knees up while you run, maybe drive your arms a little harder. Realize that sacrificing a small amount of turnover for an extra foot and a half stride length is good. Don’t fight that slightly slower turnover, and just relax and go with it. Running correctly is often times over-complicated, when it’s not that complex.
Do A’s and B’s. Also hills might help with the knee lift.
You need to check out the flexibility of your quads first, particularly the Psoas. Ironically, more work trying to strengthen the hip flexors may make the problem worse if it increases tightness.
When I spoke to you some time ago, you mentioned the same thing. Can you go over why tight quads can effect knee drive? I’m a little confused why this is so. I always thought that it was the other way around. IE, loose weak hip flexors and tight hip extensors will hurt knee drive 
Will general hip flexor stretches make the problem go away? Will hills and resisted runs help this too?
Thanks
P.S.
I “googled” “the effects of tight quads in sprinting” and I came up with this… This bit does not mention tight quads effecting knee drive only hip extension. Any kenisiolgy majors want to take a stab at my question?
Specifically, Hamilton found that the key to optimal hip range of motion was the conservation of hip mobility in the kick or drive phase of running - when the foot becomes a rigid lever for toe-off, the gluteal and hamstring muscles recoil and contract to propel the leg backward, and the quads also activate themselves to help straighten the leg for the backward push. We can call this basic motion hip extension - the backward movement of the leg at the hip.
But how can older runners preserve adequate hip extension and thus stride length - and younger harriers improve on the extension they already have? Certainly, flexibility of the quadriceps muscles is one key, since over-tight quads will resist backward leg movements. Consistent and thorough stretching routines for the quads - carried out only after a thorough warm-up - can certainly help make the quads and their associated connective tissues more supple.
the above is from : http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0122.htm
Just bumping this up… If anyone has time holla back!
When the quads are tight they affect the action over two joints- at the knee and at the hip. If the quads are tight they force the other muscles to compensate and do more work. (the knee doesn’t flex enough on recovery to create a short enough lever)
When the heel of the recovery leg passes well below the support knee, you have to work much harder to drag that straighter leg through, often over-arching the back, causing a backwards lean and increasing the chances of a hamstring injury.
Sometimes the resulatant inability to lift the leg in front is perceived as weakness in the muscles involved, leading the athlete to work these muscles harder causing even more tightness. With proper mechanics and flexibility in place, it should take very little effort to move the recovery knee from the position generated by toe-off to it’s final height - perhaps only a couple of inches higher.
How does pelvic tilt factor into this?
Particularly anterior tilt?
I have excessive backside mechanics as well unfortunately…
Thanks,
Chris
I’d imagine it would make your hip flexors tight therefore limiting hip/knee flexion
So in all essence, what your saying is the hip flexors and quads need to have more flexibility in order to get a better knee lift? Is there any way to test if the quads are tight? I feel my quads are flexible enough but I was having the hamstring and lower back problem you highlighted above.
WOW!!! thanks CF! I never really thought of it that way.
I will be cutting and pasting this one right next to my Charlie on mechanics document 
Part of what makes a sprinter a sprinter is high mounting points on the pelvis leading to mechanical advantage but also increasing the likelyhood of too much anterior pelvic tilt and stress on the hams if the quads are tight.
Charlie,
Picking up on this thread ,I have a perceived problem with knee lift on my left leg only [over a long period of years it has had many more hammy strains than the right]
My problem is that although both knees achieve nearly horizontal at end of recovery in both sprint drills and sprinting, the left leg lever starts out quite closed at the start of the recovery but starts to open up b4 the heel has passed over the opposite knee while the right lever remains tightly closed untill it has cleared the left knee.
I am thinking that as a consequence that I would not be getting the same lever drive on the left side and also as the lower leg has opened sooner and at a lower height that it is resulting in a shorter stride on that side and may also affect stride rate
Sorry if this is hijacking the thread a little but on the other hand it might also be connected to it.
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
the problem is present whether it is one-sided or bilateral. You need thrapy and flexibility work to baance out the mechanics and cure what might become a chronic injury pattern.
Charlie:
Is it safe to say that whenever there are chronic hamstring problems, there are always tight quads/hip flexors involved?
I’ve had relatively chronic soreness/tightness hammy problem, and I can’t say that my quads are particularly tight. I guess it’s possible, like in my case. I’ve probably got some kind of tightness in another part of my body that I’m not aware of.
Not always, but ranging from often to usually.
i have a tight left hamstring the semimembriouses muscle in the hamstring is sore all the time. I also have tight hip flexors and my ART guy goes at them at times. But its very tight the illiopsoas region. Its both of them but the right one acts up the most, ever since i got those heellifts for my short leg i had this hamstring problem for the first time. Does’nt bother me all the time just feels sore when i run. Do you all think its just trying to adapt or is it really getting sore leading to a chronic injury?
Charlie, a few questions if you would:
Would a tight IT band also limit hip extension the way tight quads do?
Would you disclude all deliberate hip flexor movements from training and instead focus on the abs with trunk flexion movements?
As an athlete becomes more powerful, does he have to simultaneously become more flexible in the quad/hip flexor region to compensate?
How important would this be? Could this factor really determine sprint success? For example if one had low mounting points on the pelvis would this greatly hinder the sprinting ability? Or could it possibly be made up for through developing strength, and or flexibility etc.
Thanking you in advance