WFR #13: Shoulders Back | Wed 9th Sep, 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: Right 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 ("Shoulders Back") to the top of the topics hierarchy and gave it a good shake. The result was this diagram. "Shoulders Back" facilitates "Arm Swing", and "Relax". While "Run Tall" and "Shoulders Back" mutually support each other.

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: Shoulders Back! (week 13)

TL;DR: Do not lead with your shoulders (leave Shoulder Rolls in the restaurant)

These guys seem to have it down, but it's not cast in stone!.

According to Alberto Salazar (we'll try to pick out the good advice, honest), if you fix the forward hunching of your shoulders you will also fix your stride. Many coaches believe good running starts with the shoulders.

Your shoulders need to remain level with each other and positioned comfortably, not rounded forward and not dipping from side to side with each stride. When running, your shoulders should stay loose and relaxed. Additionally, keep your shoulders perpendicular to your running direction. Do not lead with your shoulders i.e. don't "shoulder-roll". Think: low and loose, not high and tight. Essentially try running with your shoulder blades in your back pockets, even if you don't have any back pockets (and no, not both in the same pocket).

One of our regulars discovered that the "Run Tall" stretch, felt in the back of his head, helped him keep his shoulders back and down (thanks Michael...good observation).

Check in with yourself as you tire on a run - especially cold runs - and notice if your shoulders have started creeping up toward your ears (me!). Shake out your shoulders to release the tension and let your arms swing from your relaxed shoulders like pendulums. 

Now of course, this just isn't natural to people who slouch all day and drool over their computers - or anyone else without a stick up... nevermind. Well to combat the unnaturalness of it, Salazar recommends something even more unnatural: the use of a harness called "Shoulders Back" or "Back Shoulder Protective Brace"! It's something people who ride horses wear to help pull their shoulders back and impress the Romneys. But it has got some runner's cred now that high school sensation Mary Cain, whom Salazar coaches, runs with it (owie!): http://tonireavis.com/2013/02/06/mary-cain-chin-up-shoulders-back-cant-lose/. (ps, Nooooo! DON'T USE THESE!).

And here we've had our own Charlie Radin model it for us: http://tmblr.co/Z35wxtf5HqUh

Related WFR Topics

"Arm Swing #4" (bubbles), "Relax #5" (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 auto-generated scalable vector drawings.

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 📢

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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.

Volunteer for the NYC Marathon Mile 12 Water Table!

The first Sunday of November is a great opportunity to support your teammates who are running. Sign up & don’t forget to say you are volunteering with NBR:
Mile 12, Shift 1: https://haku.ly/3e7358a5b9

Mile 12, Shift 2: https://haku.ly/80afeefe4d

What races are you running? https://tinyurl.com/nbr-races 

📢 Weekly Daddy Joke 📢

I had a terrifying experience last night relaxing in the bathtub when all of a sudden... I felt a tap on my shoulder.