For runners, form is everything. It can be the difference between a personal record and a disappointing result, or between chronic injury and enduring health. When all else breaks down and a long-distance runner hits the dreaded wall, it is form that can carry him through to the finish line.

Most books on running form revolve around the premise that there is an ideal form all runners should try to achieve. However, research and experience show that people can run effectively in a wide variety of patterns with some key universal elements.

Unfortunately, the constraints of our modern lifestyles change how we move, limiting our range of motion and weakening key muscle groups. Runner's World Your Best Stride is designed to help you counteract those forces and regain your own unique, powerful and effective stride that will carry you through endless, injury-free miles.

Author Jonathan Beverly details his search for common ground among physical therapists, podiatrists, and coaches on which elements of running form are universal and how to improve them. Specific exercises will show you how to counteract tight muscles from excessive sitting, how to improve limited arm mobility from hunching over electronic devices, and ways to improve speed by lengthening your stride. All of this culminates in an approachable guide to human movement and a practical tool for improvement.

Jonathan Beverly was the editor in chief of Running Times magazine from 2000-2015. In addition to overseeing the magazine’s tone, editing all text and working closely with designers during these years, he wrote 150 editor’s notes, more than 35 feature stories and numerous smaller training articles, athlete profiles, race reports, and shoe and gear reviews. His features have ranged from in-depth service pieces to athlete profiles to thought-provoking essays about various aspects of the sport. Prior to becoming editor, Jonathan wrote regularly for Runner’s World, Running Times and other outlets as a freelancer during the 1990s. He has run 26 marathons and innumerable road and trail races throughout the world. He has also coached adult runners with Bob Glover and the New York Road Runners Club during the 1990s, has taught several community college running classes, and has coached junior high and high school track and cross country since 2003. He lives in Nebraska.