Running the right way is called proper form. When you have proper form, you'll save energy, which you can use to run faster and longer. Our camp leaders, Bill Beaumont and Mike Leary, tell us today about proper form and about training, two keys to becoming a better runner.

RUN LIKE THIS: Mike's feet are moving straight in line with his direction of travel. His arms are moving straight forward and back, with his  elbows close to his body.  Run relaxed, with good posture, looking straight ahead.	NOT LIKE THIS: Mike's legs aren't heading straight ahead, and his arms are swinging side to side. He's also leaning too far forward. All the extra motion is forcing him to use extra energy  that he could be using on speed or distance!

Bill and Mike say you should run upright, perhaps leaning in just a bit, with your hips forward. Your legs and feet should be moving straight forward and back, in the direction you're traveling. Also, your arms should move straight forward and back, with your elbows close to your body, as you're looking straight ahead.

When runners are getting tired, especially near the end of a race, they can lose their form unless they concentrate on it. Many people lean forward too much, which means they're fighting gravity and actually using more energy, Bill says. It's important to conserve your fuel!

Bill says he looks straight ahead with good posture, but glances down once in a while to check on his form. If he can look down and see his socks, he knows he's leaning forward too much or overstriding.

Strive for a short, light, quick stride, Bill says. There's even a simple way to tell if your stride is the most efficient for any distance from a 5K (3.1 miles) to a marathon. Your feet should be hitting the ground 180 times per minute.

Wait a minute, you say -- that's a lot of counting to do! But Bill has some tricks to make it easier. Instead of counting both feet, he just counts his left foot. That cuts it down to 90 times a minute. Then, instead of counting for a full minute, he just does 30 seconds -- which cuts it to 45. So, if your left foot hits the ground 45 times in 30 seconds, you've got a good stride length. You can practice this on your training runs.

DON'T BE TENSE: Even experienced runners sometimes bunch their shoulders up, Bill says.	JUST RELAX: Don't clinch your fists. Keep your shoulders down and loose, arms at your side.

You can also tell about your stride by listening to your feet! You want them to be "quiet." If your feet make a loud "clop, clop" or "clump, clump" sound, your body's telling you that you need to work on your form.

Mike says your hands are very important too. Don't ball them up into a fist -- that causes tension and uses extra energy. It's better to be relaxed. Mike touches his thumb and forefinger or second finger together lightly, which keeps from making a fist and helps you relax.

The same idea goes for your shoulders, Bill says. At some time or other, especially when they're tired, almost all runners hunch their shoulders up. Relax! Keep your shoulders and arms low. Bill has a saying: "Relaxed is smooth, and smooth is fast."

So, what if you're in a big race and you're nervous? That's natural, Mike says, and even a good thing -- the adrenalin gives you an energy boost. But stay relaxed when you run. You know you've prepared and you're ready to go. No worries!

HELPING HANDS: Mike touches his thumb and forefinger or second finger together lightly, which keeps from making a fist.

Remember, when you run with proper form, you conserve energy. And you can use that energy to go faster and farther. Here's some really good news for our great group of running-campers: It's easiest to learn proper form when you're young! (If you have bad form and you've run that way a long time, it's a lot harder to change your ways, Mike points out.)

Once you've got the basics of proper form, it's time to put them into good use with a training program.

Mike and Bill agree that a good training program uses repeated cycles of stress and recovery. By running farther or faster than you're used to, you put stress on your muscles and body. Then you rest, and that's when your body adapts to the challenge, and your muscles get stronger. But remember the 10-percent rule: Don't increase your mileage by more than 10 percent each week! Otherwise you're more likely to get an injury. Bill says he never does two "hard" days in a row, so his body has time to rest and recover.

It's normal to have some aches and soreness from running, but pain and injuries are signs of overtraining. Bill says that if something hurts for two straight days, take two days off from running. If it hurts for two weeks, see a doctor. Remember one of the top rules of running: Listen to your body! And anytime you have aches and pains, record them in your logbook. For instance, if you feel tired on your runs for several days, your body may be telling you that you need more rest, more iron, or more fuel (like carbs or hydration).

THE CABLE GUY:  Bill has a trick for keeping good posture during a race, especially near the end when he's tired; he pretends there's a cable attached to his head, to keep him upright!

Speedwork, like intervals on a track, is when you run hard for a distance, usually a short distance; rest and then go again. For instance, you might run one lap around the FBHS track (that's a quarter mile), jog until you feel comfortable again, and then do another lap.

Tempo runs are when you run a longer distance, maybe for 20 or 25 minutes, at a continuous pace that's fairly fast, but not as fast as your race or speedwork pace.

And long runs are just that -- your longest training runs. You should go at a "conversational" pace, meaning you can talk easily with the person running next to you! If you're planning to run a 5K (3.1 miles), your longest training run should be three times the distance of your target race, or 9.3 miles.

Mike also talked about a training run with a funny name, the fartlek. That's kind of like a combination of tempo run and speedwork -- it's a run at about tempo pace with faster "surges" built in.

Runners can also benefit a lot from core strengthening, Mike says -- strengthening your midsection, from your hips to your chest. That's because your "core" is the platform for your arms and legs. You can do sit-ups, but that mostly exercises your back; Mike likes crunches, a great workout for your midsection.

CAPTAIN CRUNCH: When you do crunches, you come up only half as far as with a sit-up. It's a great midsection workout. Mike keeps his hands on the sides of his head.

Lie on your back and come up only 45 degrees instead of all the way up, as with a sit-up. Mike keeps his hands on the sides of his head rather than behind it. Bill also likes a midsection exercise: You lie down flat with your legs straight, then lift your legs by about 6 inches or so for a count of 3, and repeat. So, as we learned yesterday -- there's a lot more to running than just lacing up your shoes! We've given you a lot of information, but you can do it. "If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now!" Bill told our summer campers. Mike agreed: "Start early to meet your goals." Stay focused and take control of the things you can control -- your training, rest and diet. And come on back for Day 4!