Some of the most textbook perfect styles don't produce the performances you'd expect of them. Having said that if you’re a beginner wanting to start running there are some fundamentals you should focus on to help "refine" your style and as such improve your performance.

How you hold your head sets your overall posture, which directly effects how efficiently you run. Look ahead naturally, not down at your feet, and scan the horizon. This will straighten your neck and back, and bring them into alignment. Your head should sit directly over your shoulders and in alignment with the rest of your body. Pick a point in the distance and ensure that that point isn't "bouncing" up and down, if it is that means you're running gait is bouncing rather than flowing detracting from your efficiency along the road. 

The shoulders play an important role in keeping your upper body relaxed while you run, which is yet another factor critical in maintaining an efficient, relaxed running posture. For optimum performance, your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. As you tire on a run, don't let them creep up toward your ears. If they do, shake them out to release the tension. Your shoulders also need to remain level and shouldn't dip from side to side with each stride. A simple ploy you can use to ensure you're relaxed through the shoulders is to brush your finger tips past the top of your thighs as you run. This will ensure a relaxed shoulder position and arm carriage (see the next point). Practice this til it becomes second nature and you'll find your upper body relaxing.

  As mentioned above, arm carriage is important to distance running. Even though running is primarily a lower-body activity, your arms play an important role in balancing your running gait. First up, make sure that your hands are relatively relaxed. A tightly clenched fist only serves to create tension in your upper body and that's the last thing you want when running. Next up, make sure that your arm carriage is coordinated to your leg stride pattern; while your arm swing works in conjunction with your leg stride to drive you forward. It is important that your arms should swing mostly forward and back, NOT across your body. If you swing your arms across your body, this rotates your entire torso lowering your efficiency and speed over the road. Make sure that your elbows are bent 90-degree angle or slightly less.

Body position is largely a function of your head and shoulders when you run. Get your head into the right position relax your shoulders and your body will straighten and allow you to run with an efficient, upright posture that promotes optimal lung expansion and stride length. Many coaches describe this position as "running tall" and it means you need to stretch yourself up to your full height with your back comfortably straight. Imagine you have a string tied to the top of your head pulling you upright, this is the position you want to maintain throughout the run. If you run in a "seated" position - dropping back down through your hips - you'll develop tightened hip flexors and a shortened inefficient gait pattern. If you're getting tired during a run and you start to feel yourself slouching in the manner just described, take a deep breath and feel yourself naturally straighten. As you exhale focus on maintaining this upright position.

Your hips are your centre of gravity and as such are of central importance to good running posture. Your upper body should sit comfortably upright and straight which will allow your hips to naturally fall into proper alignment, keeping you pointed directly ahead. If you hunch or lean forward in the upper body this will tilt your pelvis forward as well, putting pressure on your lower back and throwing the rest of your lower body out of alignment. When trying to gauge the position of your hips, think of your pelvis as a bowl of water, you don't want to spill any of that water so you need to keep it level in order to avoid spilling anything. The same scenario applies to your hips.
 

While sprinters have a high knee lift to generate maximum power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift. As a distance runner what you're looking for is a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Pull these factors together effectively and you'll end up with fluid forward movement that doesn't waste any energy. If you want to ensure a proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg (below the knee) extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long and this can lead to all sorts of overuse injuries.

To run well, you need to generate maximum force when pushing off the ground. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly - landing on the outside (lateral) border of your heel and then roll forward laterally towards the mid-foot (outside border of the foot), before pronating (rolling in) and then driving off the forefoot/big toe. This is known as "heel-toe" running action. To achieve this you need to keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push-off. As you roll onto your toes feel your calf muscles contract propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not be slapping the ground loudly as they hit it. It should be a gentle, quiet landing.

 

To increase fitness levels efficiently and maximise enegry usage it is important to have a comfortable and effiecient running style.  This will allow you to run consistently and comfortably over extended periods of time.