If you’ve ever watched an elite race, you might have noticed something surprising. Some of the best runners in the world don’t always look smooth or efficient in the final miles. Their arms might swing a little more wildly. Their stride might look uneven. Their posture might not be as upright as you'd expect.
This can be confusing, especially if you’ve been told that good running form is the key to efficiency and endurance. So why do elite runners sometimes look like they’re struggling when they’ve trained at the highest level? The answer isn’t that they don’t focus on form. In fact, they likely spend more time on it than most runners. The reality is that race-day demands and the intensity of competition can make things look different from what’s happening in training.
Fatigue Breaks Everyone Down
At peak effort, even the strongest athletes hit a point where their form starts to unravel. A marathoner at mile 24 isn’t going to look the same as they did at mile 5. A 10K runner hammering out a final surge isn’t thinking about perfect arm swing. They’re trying to win. The harder the effort, the harder it is to maintain perfect posture, fluid movement, and relaxed mechanics.
That doesn’t mean they don’t train for it. Elite runners spend hours each week on drills, strength work, and technique to develop efficiency and resilience. Their form might not look textbook-perfect when they’re racing, but the work they’ve put in allows them to hold onto efficiency much longer than the average runner.
Racing Is About Strategy, Not Just Mechanics
In training, runners have the freedom to focus on controlled, efficient movement. In a race, efficiency sometimes takes a backseat to competition. An athlete might surge to break an opponent and momentarily sacrifice smoothness. A marathoner might dig deep in the final mile, willing to trade ideal mechanics for raw power.
What looks inefficient isn’t necessarily ineffective. Some of the most unorthodox runners in history have been incredibly fast because their form works for them. When winning is on the line, running pretty isn’t always the goal—running fast is.
Form Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
We’re often told that there’s an ideal way to run, but the truth is that every athlete has a form that works best for their body. A sprinter’s stride won’t look like a marathoner’s. A runner with long legs and a high cadence will move differently than someone with a bouncy, powerful stride.
Elite athletes refine their form to maximize their strengths. What might look inefficient to the outside eye is often a finely tuned movement pattern that allows them to perform at their best. If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t be running at the highest level.
Training for Efficiency Still Matters
Just because form doesn’t always look perfect in a race doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. Elite runners spend time on drills, mobility, and strength training to improve their biomechanics and efficiency. The goal isn’t to run with a stiff, robotic “perfect” form but to build the ability to stay smooth under fatigue.
For everyday runners, the takeaway is this: form work is important, but it doesn’t have to be rigid. Instead of forcing yourself into an artificial idea of what “good” running should look like, focus on what makes you efficient, powerful, and able to handle the demands of your training.
Because when it really counts, no one wins a race by looking pretty. They win by running their best when it matters most.