"You're running differently", remarked my partner. "Your leg is not going out to the side anymore." She made this observation recently after seeing me running for the first time following a break with a knee issue. I was a bit dumbstruck. I hadn't noticed!

To be fair, I am not the most observant person you will ever meet. It took seeing a video of a race many years ago to realize I did flick my left leg out significantly when running. Yet, my partner was right (she often is!). Both legs were swinging beneath the hips again in a linear fashion in a 'proper' running style.

While I may not be observant, I am curious. Why the change?

Tackling that leg flick thing

Once I became aware that my left leg flicked out, I debated whether I needed to do anything about it. It didn't cause me any discomfort, and assuming that is how I had always run, it had not caused me any injury, either.

I was running well at the time, so why change something you feel is not broken? But, of course, there is that element in you that says, what if correcting your running style could make you run even faster?

So, I tried. I trained for a while incorporating increasing periods where I concentrated on my running form, looking to gradually remove the leg flick and develop what is considered a 'proper' running technique.

It would be of no great surprise to tell you it did not work, and I was fine with that. My body intuitively returned to its leg flick style the instant it could. I accepted that was how my body moved and fighting this could create issues rather than solve them.

It was a bit like when I tried to amend my golf swing. Try as I might, the body wanted to swing a club its way. When I tried to 'correct' the swing, more hooks and slices of the ball were the order of the day.

Forward to today

So, back to the present. I always assumed my left leg flicking out so much was connected to breaking it while playing football. Therefore, the same logic wondered whether recent arthritic issues in the left knee and the strengthening exercises aimed at getting me back running have led to the disappearance of that leg flick.

According to those with more knowledge of bio-mechanics than me, a leg flick is often caused by an issue with the hip abductors. A weakness in the hip can cause an internal rotation that results in the leg flicking out on the swing section of the running stride.

Therefore, the prime theory is that the strengthening exercises I have been doing to address the issue with my knee may also have addressed a previously unknown issue with the hip that was causing the leg flick. As I say, all theories and any alternative ideas are welcome as they would please my curious mind.

When the budget allows, I shall head back to physio and get their opinion. A gait analysis may also be beneficial.

Should you worry about perfecting your running style?

To the best of my knowledge, running with a leg flick style did not hinder me. I ran that way injury-free for 25 years. Could I have run quicker with a more linear stride pattern? Perhaps, but there are probably a myriad of other factors that if addressed could have seen me shave a few seconds off my running times over the years.

We are all different and we all have our little quirks. How we run is no different. Yes, there are the basics to running form. Upright posture, look ahead not down, relaxed natural arm swing, feet landing beneath you, good cadence, relaxed shoulders, etc.

However, running is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. While the basics remain true, our bodies will naturally dictate how we run according to a person's biomechanics. Therefore, if your technique is not considered the correct running form, do you try to change it?

This is not a simple question to answer. A so-called 'improper' running style could be a natural quirk that gives you no issue. This may have been the case with me. However, it may also signal a weakness that makes you run less efficiently and places you at an increased risk of injury.

A qualified sports physio is a good bet if you have any doubts regarding your running style. This could include a gait analysis to pinpoint areas that may need addressing using exercises targeting specific muscle groups.

Even the very best have their running styles

A leg that flicks out is quite common. The degree to which it leaves the mid-line of the stride can vary though. Mine was quite extreme.

Yet you should take heart from some of the world's elite athletes whose running styles would have the purists shaking their heads in rabid disapproval. Paula Radcliffe's head movement and Emil Zatopek's pained and ungainly running style come to mind.

Kenyan distance runner Priscah Jeptoo is another example of an elite athlete whose running form goes against everything a coach would tell you to do. The front on view in this clip of her winning the New York marathon illustrates her unique style perfectly.

Her leg flick style, more pronounced on the right, has still powered her to London and New York marathon wins. This quirky and individual running style does not seem to have hindered her success, although no doubt some physios will wince at the strain it looks like it places on her knee.

Final thoughts

Individuality in sport is important and something that makes sport so great to watch. Therefore, perhaps quirks in athletic styles only need discouraging if they threaten injury. Ultimately, the body will move in the way it needs to move. Through the decades, there have been many examples of world-class runners with unique running styles.

My leg flick has vanished, suggesting that perhaps there was an issue that originally caused it and not just my body's natural way of moving. However, I ran to a good standard regardless of which direction my left leg preferred to head mid-stride.

Sometimes it might be better to resist the temptation of abiding by the textbook and instead abide by the rules of our bodies. We are all different and I doubt there is a perfect runner out there, anyway. Any tweaks are best aimed at correcting a diagnosed issue with your biomechanics rather than a perceived view of the one-size-fits-all running form.