I remember when I first started running serious miles and training with a team I would come home and my neck and shoulders would be sore. Since I was just starting to log long distance I assumed this was a side effect that everyone had and I would just deal with it. Thankfully our charity team had an amazing Ethiopian coach who was able to point out my stupidity and correct my errors.

When you run, your hand position is very important. I am not talking about swinging your arms or pumping but what you do with your finger and your hand. I was holding my hand in a fist position and as the running became more intense, especially on hills I would tighten that fist. As you can guess that is the exact opposite of what you need to do.

In an accent that cannot be transcribed to text, our Ethiopian coach explained to me that I need to pretend I am holding a potato chip between my thumb and index finger and make sure it does not break. Yes, imagine you are holding a potato chip when running, it works. I searched the web looking for an image to help and the best I could find was a Cheeto shaped like Jesus, but you still want to hold on to that Jesus cheeto and make sure you do not break him. I think the image works

The neck and shoulder pain went away immediately, but there was also another benefit. I was much more relaxed when I was running and enjoyed running a lot more. Give it a try on your next runs and if you cannot imagine holding the chip try to imagine holding Cheeto Jesus and making sure you keep him intact