need help with my 11 year old's form

[lisa]

My daughter just started x-country. When she runs, her right foot swings out and she complains about her left knee hurting. She walks perfectly straight. When I tell her to focus on keeping her foot straight, she says it feels like she is running pigeon toed. Any suggestions?

[Charger]

I'm old school, so I would get a bunch of her friends to make fun of her for it. From what I recall about being 11, girls will change pretty much anything if they were being made fun of.

Aside from that just encourage her to keep trying to run correctly. You could video tape her and then show her what she's doing. Visualizing it can often help. There are several running books out that teach good form that you can check out. I've read Chi Running and have tried to bring that into my running with some success.

[tattooed phat man]

proprioceptive cues in "brain training for runners" could help, but it's a lot to ask of an 11 year old.

to put the question in perspective, has the coach brought this up or just your desire to have her run 'perfectly'?

[lisa]

Charger, love the advise. Encouragement to ignore that awkward feeling and concentrate on keeping her foot straight seems to be helping. It gets worse as she gets tired, but seems to be getting better each week. Tattooed phat man, her coaches have not made mention of her form, but since she is the youngest on the team, I'm not sure they are giving her much thought yet. She is getting as much mental benefit from this experience as physical. Her goal was to get in shape for Track & Field, but she has really started to enjoy that natural high after running long distance! Thanks for your help.

[tattooed phat man]

great! especially for an 11 year old, running should first and foremost be fun.

after raising boys in a very competitive suburb, it appears to me that kids who enjoy sports and competing will ultimately out-perform most all of the kids who are pushed to excel by parents with big dreams for them.