Running Drills: The 8 Key Drills for Better Running Technique

Miles make you enduring — but not automatically economical. Running drills are the classic track-and-field exercise programme for coordination, stride mechanics and neuromuscular control: ten minutes, two to three times a week, that noticeably improve your running economy. Here are the eight most important drills, the right dosage, and the mistakes that cancel out the effect.

What are running drills — and why do they work?

Running drills are a set of standardised technique exercises that train the individual phases of the running stride in isolation: leg lift, leg recovery, active footwork and push-off. In German-speaking athletics the programme is known as the "Lauf-ABC" — the alphabet of running, because these drills are to running what letters are to reading.

The training stimulus is primarily neuromuscular: you are not training the cardiovascular system but the cooperation between your nervous system and your muscles. The result is better running economy — you consume less oxygen and less energy at the same pace. Research on running economy shows that targeted technique and coordination work can reduce the energy cost of distance running by several per cent. Over a marathon, that is worth minutes — with no extra fitness required.

A second effect: the drills train active foot placement and, over weeks, shorten your ground contact time. Both connect directly to your running cadence and stride pattern — stiff feet and long ground contacts leak energy with every single step.

The 8 key running drills

• 1. High knees (knee lifts): Run in place or forwards over 20 metres, lifting your knees alternately to hip height. Keep your torso upright and drive your arms in active opposition. Trains the hip flexors and the front swing-leg phase. Tempo: controlled — quality over height.
• 2. Butt kicks (heel flicks): Run with short, quick steps, actively pulling each heel towards your glutes. The thighs stay almost vertical — the movement comes from the knee joint, not the hip. Trains the hamstrings and the leg recovery needed for the swing phase.
• 3. Skips (A-skips): The link between high knees and actual running: from the knee lift, push lightly off the ground with the standing leg so a bouncing step exchange emerges. Forwards over 20–30 metres. Builds push-off power, rhythm and the coordination of both leg phases at once.
• 4. Strides: 4 to 6 runs of 80–100 metres, starting at a jog and accelerating continuously to about 90–95 % of your maximum speed — then flow out. These are not sprints. Strides are where drill technique is translated into real running: this is where the learned movement comes together under speed.
• 5. Bounding: Exaggerated, long running strides with an extended flight phase — each leg pushes off powerfully, knees drive high, arms swing actively. Over 30–40 metres. Develops push-off strength and hip extension. Demanding: only add it after a few weeks of basic drill work.
• 6. Carioca (side gallop): Move sideways, alternately crossing your legs in front of and behind the standing leg, with your hips deliberately rotating. 20 metres in each direction. Trains lateral hip stability and rotational control — capacities that forward running never specifically demands but that stabilise every step you take.
• 7. Backwards running: Run backwards in a controlled manner for 15–20 metres, on your forefoot, looking behind you. Strengthens calves, shin muscles and quadriceps — muscles that are underloaded in forward running. Also proven as a balance stimulus and in knee rehabilitation.
• 8. Ankle bounces: Small, springy hops in place or slowly forwards, driven purely by the ankle joint — knees stay almost straight. 2 × 20–30 seconds. Strengthens the calf–Achilles unit and trains the stiff, energy-returning ground contact that makes fast running possible in the first place.

Dosage: how often, how much, when?

Running drills work through consistency, not volume. The effective dose is surprisingly small:

• Frequency: Twice a week is plenty. More is possible but adds little — the adaptation happens between sessions.
• Duration: 10 minutes per session. That typically means 4–5 drills of 2–3 repetitions over 20–30 metres, walking back as recovery.
• Timing: After 10–15 minutes of easy jogging, ideally before a tempo or interval session. That way the drills double as the running-specific part of your warm-up, and your legs are primed for the quality work ahead.
• Intensity: Never to fatigue. Drills are technique training — every repetition should look clean. If you can no longer hold the form, end the drill.

Strides are the exception on intensity: they are allowed to be fast, but never tense. Between strides: flow out and walk until your heart rate has dropped clearly.

Common running drill mistakes

• Doing them too fast. Technique drills are not races. Sprinting your skips destroys the movement quality that is the entire point. Master the form first, then add speed.
• A passive foot. The most common technical error: the foot lands "flat" instead of actively under your centre of mass. Think of an active, short ground contact — the foot "paws" slightly backwards and downwards rather than striking ahead of your body.
• Dead arms. Arm action is half the drill. Keep the arms bent at roughly 90 degrees and drive them from the shoulder — they set the rhythm and the counter-swing.
• Skipping the warm-up. Bounding and ankle bounces on cold tendons are a direct route to calf and Achilles problems. The warm-up jog is mandatory, not optional.
• Only drilling before race day. Drills work over weeks and months. Starting them two weeks before your race just imports muscle soreness into your taper.

Beginners vs. advanced runners: different priorities

Beginners start with three drills: high knees, butt kicks and skips — 2 × 20 metres each, once a week. The first goal is simply to coordinate the movements at all; many new runners notice here for the first time how poorly synchronised their arms and legs are. After 4–6 weeks, add strides. If you are new to running, our article on improving running technique for better economy covers the broader fundamentals that drills fit into.

Advanced runners use the full spectrum: bounding and ankle bounces as a strength-coordination stimulus, carioca and backwards running as stabilising balance work, strides as the fixed finisher before every quality session. At this level it is no longer about learning but about keeping the skill sharp — like a musician playing scales daily. Drills stay relevant well into a marathon build-up; only during the taper are they reduced to a few short strides.

How Peakora builds technique work into your plan

In Peakora, technique and coordination blocks are a fixed part of the weekly structure: before interval and threshold sessions, your plan automatically reminds you to include drills and strides, and the adaptive engine doses quality sessions so that technique work never happens under fatigue. Good intentions become a structured ritual — and ten minutes a week become measurably better running economy.

Frequently asked questions about running drills