I want to run more and hurt less.
You’re about to head out for a tempo run, or maybe for a 15 miler. You do some hammy stretches, quad stretches, some ballistic arm stuff that you learned in track in high school. Does this stuff even do anything? If you stretch regularly for a minimum of 6 weeks (outside of your warm up stretching), your flexibility will improve, but does it make you faster or prevent injury? Also, do you even need to be flexible to run?
There was a study investigating the presence of an “inflexible” gene (COL5A1) in long distance runners. The researchers found those who possessed the “inflexible’ gene had higher running economy. It’s possible that stiffness in the muscles could store elastic energy and boost your running economy.
Stretching before you run actually reduces your running economy for up to one hour. Stretching also doesn’t decrease your risk of injury, delayed onset muscle soreness, or overuse injuries.
Instead of stretching warm up with functional mobility drills:
Single and double leg hops
You guessed it, just hop in place as if you were jumping rope. Afterall, running is a series of single leg balances, hopping from one foot to the next with a force 2-3x your body weight. You better warm up first.
Hip rotations
Lift your hip up to 90/90, externally rotate and bring it back to the ground. Extend your hip back, internally rotate, bring it forward and back down the the ground. This lubricates the hip joints and gets them ready for the impact they are about to take.
Squats or lunges
Feet a bit wider than shoulder width apart 20-30 squats or lunges will get your quads and glutes firing.
Impact of stretching on the performance and injury risk of long-distance runners by Claire Baxter, et al.