As gamers ourselves, our team at RunAI can appreciate a good video game. Graphics, story, gameplay, there are so many different things to enjoy about them. But last week when we sat down and watched the new Super Mario Movie, it got us thinking. What about how they run? Do they really know how to run?
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So to satisfy our curiosity, we decided to gather some of our favourite video game (and anime) characters and try out how they run.
What could go wrong?
The iconic blue hedgehog is so well-known that he’s appeared in 32 official games as of December 2022. But despite running so much, is the way he runs really the best?
In this case, we will be basing the way he runs off the 1991 game that Sonic featured in. While Sonic usually runs so fast that his legs become a blur, we noticed that when he first starts running, he tends to land on his heels. Sonic also leans forward and swings his arms backwards fully while folding them when they are close to his chest.
Our review : Sonic’s running style is unique, because even though he’s so fast, he uses heel-striking (landing on your heels) which is normally used for slower pace running. At the same time, he leans forward when he runs, which makes it hard to balance if you are not fast enough.
To summarise, Sonic’s running style is built for high speed but uses heel-striking, which is harder to do at high speeds. This running style is made for people who aim to train their core while running at slower paces, due to the way he leans forwards while running.
Everyone’s favourite plumber has been around since 1985, in his iconic red hat and overalls. By reviewing game footage, we were able to find that Mario tends to land on his midfoot, keeping a straight posture as he swings his arms. He also seems to have a bigger and more animated stride compared to Sonic.
Our Review : Mario’s running style uses forefoot striking, which usually allows for longer distance running. However, due to Mario’s iconic 90 degree arms wings, a lot of stress is put on the biceps and triceps. Also, because of Mario’s almost robotic running form, having to constantly keep muscles tense leads to fast fatigue.
To summarise, Mario’s running style is a high speed, short distance running style that is normally made for long distance. I would not recommend running like this unless you’re doing a high intensity workout.
Many may not know this, but before we were RunAI, we were runner’s high, and Oi was our mascot.
The funny thing about Oi was that he had a very…interesting running style. While running and landing on his toes, he would always make it a point to lock his elbows at 90 degrees and rotate them up and down at the same time.
Our Review : If you are looking for a full-body workout, you should run like Oi. In general, the Oi running style is built for short term speed, using toe-striking (or landing on your toes) when you run. However, because of the way you have to lock your elbows at 90 degrees and swing them as you run, unless you’re built with very strong deltoids and triceps, usually you end up very out of breath.
To summarise, Oi’s running style is a high intensity, high speed workout for short distance training. It trains your stamina, chest, shoulders, triceps and legs.
The short answer is not really. The long answer is that each of their running styles is built for a different goal, but all of them have their flaws. Sonic leans forward while heel-striking. Mario runs with more robotic movement. Oi offers a full-body workout.
So maybe you should not try to imitate the way they run in the long-term, but it can make for a pretty fun challenge.
