Fit: Need to Flee? Use Chi

THERE'S JUST ONE THING that prevents many runners from becoming marathoners: pain. Even with the fanciest shoes and religious stretching, those 26.2 miles are usually a recipe for hurting all over — unless you swap your regular style for ChiRunning, according to ultra-marathoner Danny Dreyer and his disciples.

His Tai Chi/track hybrid takes on running from a new angle — a 45-degree angle, to be precise. "The problem with running upright is you land on your heels first," says Dreyer, who will be one of the presenters at the Marine Corps Marathon Expo on Friday. and Saturday "Whenever you have your heel in front of your body, the impact goes right up your leg. You're pushing with one leg and putting the brakes on with the other."

Instead, ChiRunning encourages runners to lean forward from the ankles, not from the hips. At the point at which they can tilt no further without falling, their legs start in a run powered by gravity instead of the muscles.

But perfecting the lean is just part of Dreyer's method. To understand the details in depth, folks can study his popular book, "ChiRunning" ($15, Fireside). Or they can get real-time feedback by signing up for a local workshop run by his ever-growing posse of followers.

That's why Tiffany Phelps, who always battles her knees on her long-distance dashes, showed up at a recent session in Arlington led by Lloyd Henry of OnPoint Fitness. "I just know what I've read on the Web site. It said 'effortless running,' and that sounds good," the 35-year-old said.

Like her classmates, who came with their own complaints of pinches and pains, Phelps learned that it wasn't going to be quite so easy. Just explaining the posture points took Henry close to an hour: Straighten your spine, level your pelvis so your abs are engaged (not your glutes!), keep your knees soft, make sure your feet are parallel and that your chin isn't jutted too high — and don't lose any of that when you tilt forward and start running. Cheaters are easy to spot because their bodies don't form a straight line through their head, shoulders, hips and ankles.

And, of course, there are more rules to keep in mind while in motion. Elbows should jab behind you but fall easily back into place with each step. Hands should be closed, but not too tightly. The feet should come down flat and soft but peel up off the ground more gradually. "It should feel like you're running on clouds," Henry notes.

Student Michelle Fitzgerald, 30, was still planted on Earth after the four-hour workshop but felt an immediate improvement. "Hills are usually my nemesis. When I see one, I have a mental block," she said. "But now they don't seem so bad, as long as I can maintain my focus." Phelps said her knees like this new technique but that it'll be tough to keep thinking about body placement. "I'm used to getting on my headphones and just going," she said.

To make sure that can happen one day, Henry e-mails his students a cheat sheet to keep the form fresh in their minds, along with a video analysis of their running from the workshop. It took him about six months of constantly reminding himself to be vigilant about his engaged abs and arm swings before he felt comfortable. But now? "I can't go back," he gushes, recalling the days when his post-race recovery required ice baths to soothe his muscles.

Whether you're a marathon master like Henry or a complete novice intimidated by a 5k, ChiRunning will get you to the finish line feeling better, says Dreyer. All it takes is practice.

With contributions from Jessica Milcetich
Photos courtesy Lawrence Luk