Kristy Popp, former assistant cross country coach at Iowa State University, runs a couple athletes through stretching exercises designed for long distance running. The stretches in this video are designed to help runners become more flexible and also avoid injuries.

Stretching & Flexibility

Drill Summary: There are three different stretches in this video that can be used after a cool down.

The first stretch is Groiners. The athlete sits on the ground with their knees bent and a little wider than their shoulders. In that position, they rotate their knees side to side, touching the ground (if they can) on every rep.

The second stretch is the Hurdle Trail Leg. For this exercise, find a fence or wall to hang on to. Face the fence/wall and act as if one of your legs is going over a hurdle. Make sure to go both backward and forward over the hurdle and work both legs.

The final stretch is Leg Swings. Use the wall/fence to anchor yourself, and swing your leg back and forth as well as side to side.

This video came from Championship Productions’ video “How to Build a Championship Cross Country Program.” View other world class Track & Field videos!