When I see pictures of cross-country runners in the fall and winter or track and field runners in the spring when they are in season, I see many examples of poor technique. From this I can only conclude that technique is for the most part ignored by most coaches.
For example, I see quite a few pictures of some of the best high school cross-country runners in the San Diego region, if not the West. They show not only excessive rotation of the shoulders but a glaring heel hit on touchdown. Simply correcting one or both of these faults could shave many seconds, if not minutes, off the runners time.
The scene is not much different on the collegiate level. Most of the long-distance runners in college, because of the lack of attention to technique while in high school, are for the most part, not interested in improving their technique.
I have even offered my services for free in the aim of helping some D-1 girls and their coach who is striving to improve the training of these runners. The simple addition of a few strength and flexibility exercises has already improved the times of these runners significantly. They established new PR records and most of them performed significantly better last year than they ever had previously.
However, there are no takers on my offer of their running technique analysis. I know the coach has tried to convince them to do this, but he was unable. The idea that running technique is an individualistic factor that is developed by each person independently is so strongly ingrained, that it has been impossible to convince them otherwise.
If these girls had fairly effective technique this would not be a major issue. However, almost every girl on the team is a heel hitter. This tells us that each one of them can improve her performance by making this small but major technique change. Other aspects could then be corrected to show even more significant improvement in their running.
For the most part running speed is already developed by the age of 13. Refinements and corrections in technique and improvement in the physical qualities specific to the running technique can then help each runner achieve their full potential. But if no corrections, enhancements or improvements are made, running speed will remain the same.
This is borne out by data of many runners who do not improve their times over a four-year collegiate career. In fact, you can see a decrease in performance in many of the runners. It is a simple matter of comparing their times in each year of participation. Write ups in newspapers tend to ignore this lack of improvement but instead rely on the hype that surrounds some of the runners who have had outstanding high school careers.
Thus the answer the question in the title of this article should be a resounding yes. Technique should be taught on all levels, but especially on the elementary, middle school and high school levels. By looking what is done on these levels especially in the elementary and middle schools it is easy to see that it is a deplorable situation. Technique of running is not taught! Nor are the children given any physical exercises to improve the strength of the muscles as they are involved in running.
As a result we lose many potentially great runners in this country. Those who make it typically do so through trial and error, not because of what they are taught in regard to technique and development of the physical qualities specific to the technique. Sadly I see nothing on the horizon to change this terrible trend.
For more information on running technique and development of the physical qualities specific to running, see the second edition of Explosive Running.