From member Jeff: I love the site! Keep up with the good work! My questions for Doc relate to Acceleration mechanics. In his articles, Doc does a great job explaining acceleration as far as the forward lean, the role of the knee joint yadda yadda yadda. My question is what are the specifics that he is looking for when viewing film of a runner as far as proper thigh and shin angles during the knee drive and the pawback? And what exercises would he recommend to improve the pawback action during acceleration? Seeing how the body lean, knee drive, and shin angle are different from top-end speed mechanics.
Jeff, a great question but one that cannot be answered in detail. The problem is that acceleration occurs over the first 30 m, as for example, in a 100 m race. Because of this there is a change in technique from when first starting to when you are in full stride.
The most important exercises for acceleration are the knee drive and ankle extension (explosive calf raises) from beginning to end, and pawback as you hit full stride. To improve pawback you do the pawback exercise as explained in Explosive Running.
In regard to body lean, from a dramatic forward lean the runner changes to a full upright position during acceleration.
I hope this helps clarify the issue..