WFR #10: Head Posture/Gaze | Wed 29th Jul, 7:30pm | Prospect Park Weekly Form Run

[Alen Shapiro]

When: Every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (run leaves at 7:37 abouts).

Where: Find The Big Red Pointer(TM) (center of the map, click here).

Distance: A single figure 8 lap of Prospect Park, ~4.6139 miles.

Optional Distance Sub-group: 3 miles or less if that's helpful (please let Run Leaders know).

Today's Direction: Left as you face the park at startup.

Pace: Welcome to all. Fun.

AQI: We're monitoring Air Quality Index here and have been asked to not run if the local index exceeds 125.

Where this week's topic fits in:

I dragged this week's bubble ("Head Posture") to the top of the topics hierarchy and gave it a good shake. The result was this diagram. This week, "Head Posture" enhances "Head Bob", while "Head Posture" is mutually supported by, and aids, "Run Tall".

Just in case you'd like to explore, here's a pretty QR Code for Week #19:

Towards the end of Week #19 Notes (below "The Mantra"TM) there are links to all the WFR weekly topics.

This week's focus: Head Posture/Gaze (efficiency - week 10).

TL;DR: Heads-up, sort of!

While your head is slightly forward while running, it should not be slouching lazying forward head posture. You want to be like on the right:

Our suggestions are to keep good postures and sometimes your eyes down scanning the ground, chin slightly tucked in, works on all surfaces. 

That's what Ethiopian elite marathon runners usually do: "...they always gaze down at the ground roughly 80% of the time, and occasionally look up.

"Note that they do not run with their head down, their head is up, but their chin is dropped and so is their eye gaze. Interesting."

I think this is not mutually exclusive from a relaxed tilt, with their neck aligned with the back, looking out middle distance is recommended for longer distance runners. 

Doing this right can improve oxygen flow as well as conserve energy. So when you run, think about if it helps you to let your gaze guide you: Look out ahead naturally and scan the horizon. That'll straighten your neck and back into one line sort of. If this doesn't work, try imagining a straight line so the weight of your head is carried down through your feet. If all that's to vague, try stretching your whole body upward (Channel Giraffe). Feel the stretch in the back of your head!

Also, keeping your head up is just as much psychological as it is physiological. This post cites a study that shows just that: Women who were put in neck braces with different head position and while there was no physical difference, they felt it was tougher with their head too far forward or back (of course the study glosses over the fact they're in fricken braces, so there's probably extra injury if you have a tendency to tilt your head too far forward or backward without it)

On uphills, keep your Eyes Up on the uphill. "The biggest mistake I see on the hills are that our eyes are immediately draw down to our feet as though we are trying to convince ourselves that the hill doesn’t exist! Get those eyes up! Keep your eyes on the top of the hill. Looking down at the ground drag your shoulders and torso downward essentially stopping all forward motion."

On downhills, try to keep you eyes on the horizon, or slightly above the bottom of the hill. What often happens is we start “braking” on the downhill. This starts with the eyes, head and neck. The head tilts back, eyes start looking to the sky as if we are looking for a branch to halt our progress down the hill. Keep those eyes forward and on the hills. I promise they only bite when you’re not looking!"

Poor head posture can lead to fatigue, and injury - so avoid over-stretching your neck or jutting out your chin.

Related WFR Topics
Head Bob #1 (bubbles), Run Tall #14 (bubbles).

Reading Bubble Diagrams:

Bubbles in the pictures are individually linked to the most recent notes. They are now no longer pictures (hooray), they're scalable vector displays.

Topics are related to each other. Some more or less directly than others. Bubble Diagrams (e.g. this week's topic bubble diagram) illustrate how they are related. Bubbles nearest the top are more directly related to this week's topic. The path to the top illustrates a chain of related topics. Topic bubbles are expanded once in their highest position (most closely related to this week's topic) and are colored blue (or colored black if this is a topic's only appearance). Duplicated bubbles are colored green, which is no less important than a blue colored bubble at the same vertical distance from the root.

Lines that join topic bubbles have been colored. Blue connecting lines illustrate a child topic (lower) supported by its parent topic (upper... think waterfall). Purple connecting lines illustrate the child topic supporting its parent topic. Black connecting lines indicate bi-directional (mutual) topic support. Lightly colored connecting lines indicate topics that are pulled out of the way, as the level they occupy is too crowded. One day 3D (AV) will allow us to walk through bubble diagrams (like tinkling mobiles hanging from your ceilings) and currently lightly-connected bubbles will just be viewable at a different angle (by spinning the view) and not colored differently. One Day... ahhh... One Day.

📢 ANNOUNCEMENTS 📢

📱Join Heylo ✅

NBR is moving to a new communication platform that’s purpose-built for running clubs.

Heylo makes it easy to find weekly runs, see upcoming races and events, stay on top of club announcements and socials, and chat with your teammates—all in one place.The transition was completed February 1, 2026 so please be sure to sign up using this link.

Monday Night Plyo is looking for new run leaders! Every week at 6:30PM, our Plyo leaders host a workout focusing on bodyweight, strength, and mobility exercises at the track. If you’re interested, please email the run coordinators at training at northbrooklynrunners.org with a brief intro!

Volunteer for the Brooklyn Mile on August 2nd!
Please sign up using this google doc form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjho12LuFbP_qvOnLmV8GG_dGZgZeX9eVtfpYitonBOoEalQ/viewform
and also sign our NBR spreadsheet so the board knows who is volunteering!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10R3zeoyLUTfA6KVW0ewoi0aOcsH1FFzqRpl6IYmAhl4/edit?usp=sharing
If you are running the mile, you can still volunteer, but please note it in the comments.

📢 Weekly Daddy Joke 📢

Some jobs, bad posture will get you fired...

...once your boss notices he will hand you your too weak notice!