Here are some articles I found on running backwards. It is a legit form of training.
Just Do It Backwards
Chris Stockdale
Your heart is pounding at what feels like its maximum rate, your muscles are burning with
lactic acid, and you feel like you're running the last half mile of a fast 5Km, yet you are
being passed by little old ladies and small children. What are you doing?
Believe it or not, although you are only running at a 10 minutes per mile pace (or slower),
you're getting a fantastic workout that raises your heart rate, strengthens and stretches
your leg muscles, and gives your knees relief from the constant pounding they receive on
the roads. No, you aren't dragging a parachute, wearing a weighted vest, or using one of
the many "training" gimmicks now available--you are just running backwards!
Research performed by Tim Flynn of Texas Tech University* has shown that backwards
running not only is a great form of cross-training, but also is a way runners with
injured knees can keep up their fitness while they recover. As the knee absorbs less
impact during backward running, athletes with problem knees can use this form of exercise
to run without pain.
Benefits for non-injured runners are tremendous as well. If you're bored with your current
routines at the track and are looking for a different activity that will add to your
overall fitness and strength, you might find backward running injects some new life into
your training.
In tests conducted on a group of runners, Flynn showed that a person walking forward at a
16 minute/mile pace will only raise his/her pulse rate to about 106 beats per minutes
(bpm), but when that person turns around and walks backwards at the same pace, the pulse
rate soars to about 156--higher than would be achieved by running forwards at a 10 minute
pace. When that person runs backwards at the same 10 minute pace, the pulse will skyrocket
to about 90% of maximum, around 174 bpm.
Oxygen consumption will also soar to approximately 84% of VO2max instead of 60% consumed
during forward running at the same pace.
In addition to receiving a great aerobic and anaerobic workout, by running backwards you
will also give your quads a tremendous strength workout as they are active for a longer
period of time than in normal running. Your calf muscles will be stretched as well as
contracted as you will tend to land on the front part of your foot and then your heel wil
drop towards the ground.
Be warned, though, that if you have Achilles tendon problems, backwards running may
increase the stress on the tendon.
Even if you are currently running high weekly mileage and consider yourself super-fit,
don't expect to be able to go out and run a backwards mile without stopping. This type of
running needs practice because initially you will feel totally uncoordinated, off balance
and exhausted after just a few minutes. You will need to build up your time and distance
gradually. Once you feel comfortable in this new position, try these workouts:
1. On a (preferably deserted) track, run 800 meter intervals backwards at a hard pace, with 5
minutes of walking or jogging forwards to recover.
2. Jog backwards up a gently sloping hill for about 100 meters and then jog down forwards and
repeat. As you get used to this workout, increase the length and incline of the hill.
3. If you're too embarrassed to be seen in public performing this unusual feat, use a treadmill for
your workout. Try alternating three minutes of backwards running with three minutes of forward
jogging. Be conservative with the pace and incline in the initial stages and gradually increase
the speed and angle.
The hardest part of this new type of workout may be learning to ignore the stares and
snickers of other runners sharing the track with you. But in addition to adding a whole new
and challenging routine to your training, you may discover you have a hitherto undiscovered
talent and will be able to challenge the backwards-mile record of 6:07.
*Source: Running Research News, May/June 1993