Another great coaching article from coach Lorraine Hiles about ankle mobility, fast feet drills and ankle strength (These topics were requested by one of our TaSH runners)
Why do running drills?
Running drills increase your economy of movement, help to improve your ABC – Agility, Balance, Coordination and help you to develop a better range of motion (ROM) and flexibility. In turn this can help to reduce the risk of injury.
Flexibility is the ability to perform a range of movement in a joint or a series of joints. Restricted flexibility can commonly cause poor technique and performance and may also hinder running speed and endurance because the muscles have to work harder to overcome the resistance to an efficient stride length or movement.
Flexibility tends to decrease as we get older although females are usually more flexible at all ages.
Coaches and Leaders in Running Fitness are encouraged to use an active, dynamic and functional approach to flexibility exercises in the warm up.
Mobility drills can be incorporated into your RAMP (Raise, Activation, Mobility, Potentiate) warm up to access the existing range of motion (ROM) and prepare and stimulate the body’s kinetic chains for the activity about to be undertaken.
The natural ROM of each joint depends on the muscles, tendons, ligaments, connective tissues and the joint itself.
Strength exercises can also be incorporated into your warm up or as a standalone session performed once or twice a week.
Ankle mobility drills – examples
1. The following drills aim to Activate your feet, ankles, calf and soleus muscles and can be performed before or during your warm up.
Walking on your toes/balls of feet
Walking on your heels
Walking from your heels onto your toes/balls of feet
Walking sideways on your toes/balls of feet
Make sure your toes are pointing forwards throughout these exercises
Dynamic soleus stretch – walking small steps with knees slightly bent and heels on the ground throughout.
Ankle activation/mobilisation – stand facing a wall with one foot touching the wall with your big toe, and the other foot behind, use your hands against the wall for balance. Try to touch the wall with the front knee, keeping the heel on the ground. Move your toes back from the wall a centimeter each time until you can still comfortably touch the wall with your knee. Now move the knee backwards and forwards 10 times. Repeat with the other knee.
2. The following should be done as part of the warm up once you have Raised your body temperature, heart rate e.g. after a brisk walk/easy jog.
Forward skipping
Side skipping – on balls of your feet in one direction then the other. This works your big toes, hamstrings and soleus.
3. The following plyometric exercises should only be performed towards the end of the warm up providing you have no injuries.
Bunny hops
Stand with feet hip width apart, arms by your sides, shift your weight onto the balls of your feet (imagine a credit card under the heels of your feet), using only your ankles jump repeatedly pull your toes towards your shins while in the air, landing on the balls of your feet, small jumps x 5-10 secs.
These can be done;
– on the spot
– moving forwards
– forwards and back
– side to side
Progress to hopping on one leg.
Fast feet running drills (Low knee drills, Pattercakes)
This is a great drill for teaching the correct placement of the foot on landing for endurance running.
During this drill the knee stays low (around 45 degrees), the airborne foot comes through at ankle height, the foot lands on the midfoot, the strides will be short.
As with most drills, you can practice this whilst stationary to get the feel of where you should be landing. Test one foot then the other. You should not be landing exclusively on your toes or your heels.
Alternatively you can perform this slowly at first before you speed up to fast feet.
When performing this drill make your feet sound loud as they land to generate more force pushing to the floor which is more likely to make you land on your midfoot.
If you have a tendency to run and/or perform fast feet on your toes your feet will be quiet so try to make them noisy and pull your toes up when the foot is airborne.
As with all drills, try and maintain an upright posture, hips remain high and level (see Running Drills article on Coaches corner, TaSH website and newsletter, April 2026).
Why is foot placement important?
Correct foot placement can help you to develop a more efficient running style and reduce the likelihood of injury.
Heelstrike runners (the heel strikes the ground first in front of the hips) tend to overstride and may have a lower cadence which can increase the force through the ankle, knee and hip and may lead to Runner’s knee, Tibial stress fracture and Anterior Compartment Syndrome.
Forefoot runners (run on the toes or high up on the balls of the feet) tend to put a higher demand on the ankle and Achilles complex.
It is important to note that your unique style of running may be the result of an injury that you sustained in the past and that any changes that you make to your running style should be SMALL and occur over a generous period of time.
If you have had an injury you need to consider other factors that could have contributed such as overtraining, poor footwear etc.
The TaSH Coaches have been trained to observe and analyse running styles so please ask for their advice if you would like some feedback about your running style.
Ankle strength exercises
Strength exercises in uninjured runners are called “prehab exercises”, helping to prevent injuries and improve your performance.
Here is a video in which Physiotherapist Manni Ovola shows you some exercises that will help to strengthen your calves in order to reduce the likelihood of injury. Below that is a description of the exercises that are demonstrated in the video.
N.B. If you already have an injury you must seek professional advice first, this video is not a treatment for injuries.
You NEED To Do This Calf Workout | Avoid Running Injuries
Description of the exercises
1. Grastrocnemius muscle 12 reps
Place a folded towel on the floor.
Use the back of a chair for balance.
Place your heels on the towel, toes on the ground.
Push both heels up as high as you can in a slow, controlled manner, hold for 2 secs then lower heels down.
Keep the feet parallel.
2. Tibialis posterior muscle 12 reps
Place your toes and balls of your feet on the towel, heels on the ground.
Use the back of the chair for balance.
Raise both heels slowly up and down x 12.
Make sure you move up in a vertical direction rather than too far forwards.
3. Gastrocnemius muscle 8 reps
Place one foot on the seat of the chair
Raise the heel of the other foot slowly up and down x 8 then switch sides
Remember to move vertically
You may find that one side is easier than the other and you may feel your Glute contract which is OK.
4. Soleus muscle 12 reps
Stand behind the chair, use for balance
Bend your knees slightly throughout this exercise
Raise both heels up and down x 12
Try to keep the knees fixed and just move the heels.
5. Soleus muscle 5 reps each side
Sit on the chair with 90 degree angles at the hip, knee and ankle so that the foot is under the knee
Raise the other leg up in the air
Raise the heel (of the foot on the ground) up and down slowly x 5
Switch legs.
These exercises can be done once or twice a week and before or after a run.
References;
England Athletics coaching webinars by;
Jo Wilkinson
Kyle Bennett
Dave Mitchell
Chris Hollinshead
Components of Fitness UKA, Peter J L Thompson
“You need to do this calf workout” video by Manni Ovola
Perfect running form – Footstrike simplified, YouTube video by James Dunne, Sports rehabilitation therapist.
