Yep, good running form is incredibly important. Our legs are rather wonderful springs, directing impact force into the giant muscle that is the glutes (i.e. the

Yep, good running form is incredibly important. Our legs are rather wonderful springs, directing impact force into the giant muscle that is the glutes (i.e. the butt). The knees (or any other joints) should merely direct the force upwards. Heel striking, over striding, running too fast, too much padding etc. all lead to impact forces going into joints and those really don't like that. I've been running every single day no exceptions for almost 8 years, including marathons and a half marathon at least once a year. Most of my runs are slow, all of them are run with small steps and fore/mid foot strike. Stomping around the track huffing and puffing is not the way to do it, but when done right it is absolutely wonderful for the body.