The power of parkour and how it can help regular runners

You're sprinting toward the finish line, mere seconds from besting your personal record, when it happens. You trip and go flailing through the air.

Maybe it was a shoelace that came undone or an elevation change that went unnoticed, but at that moment, the reason doesn't matter. Not while you're on all fours with bloodied palms and knees and bruised ego, watching as precious seconds waste away.

That scenario is just one of the reasons local parkour instructor Ethan Young suggests runners add the discipline to their repertoire.

First used by the French military for speed and efficiency, parkour is a method of movement that incorporates running, vaulting, climbing and swinging the body to help its practitioners overcome obstacles in natural and urban environments.

The discipline gives athletes more control of their bodies and teaches them to look at the environment differently, opening up opportunities to create unconventional routes to desired locations, Young says. For runners, the applications are limited only by the imagination, and one of the practice's most basic techniques can even save you from a face-plant.

Parkour's basic roll, not to be confused with a gymnastics roll, can easily help falling runners get back on their feet with little time wasted, Young says.

The move is executed by first bouncing off the balls of the feet, then rolling onto the left or right shoulder as the body hits the ground. The goal is to tumble in a diagonal motion from your shoulder to the opposite hip, which distributes weight evenly and helps protect the neck. (Remember to tuck your head!) Runners who make time to practice the roll on grass and dirt before graduating to concrete could instinctively find themselves in control when they next trip, he says - but that isn't the only parkour technique of value to runners.

Here are just a few of the dynamic movements that could open up your world (and workout) to several new possibilities. At your own risk, of course.

Ethan Young performs a safety vault on a parkour course he set up at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Hixson, Tenn.

SAFETY VAULT

Purpose: To get over obstacles easily with minimal risk of falling.

Practice spot: A waist-high rail or wall. Make sure it's even and there's no drop-off on the other side.

Procedure: 1. Place both hands on the obstacle to the right of your body. 2. Throw left foot onto obstacle. 3. Lift up left arm and swing right leg through space under left leg. 4. Practice using alternative side by starting with both hands to left of body.

Ethan Young performs a kong vault on a parkour course he set up at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Hixson, Tenn.

KONG VAULT

Purpose: To leap over long objects - think large rocks or picnic tables - while gaining distance (and looking like a freakin' action hero).

Practice spot: A waist-high wall or rail, in an area padded with grass or dirt if possible.

Procedure: 1. Run toward the obstacle. 2. Once you get about a foot away from it, use your legs to launch your body forward, hands outstretched. 3. Slap both hands on top of the object. 4. Tuck your legs into your chest and push away from the object with your hands. 5. Land on the balls of your feet and continue running or drop into a basic parkour roll.

Ethan Young performs a lazy vault on a parkour course he set up at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Hixson, Tenn.

LAZY VAULT

Purpose: To hop over objects sideways or diagonally while continuing to run forward.

Practice spot: A long stretch of waist-high railing unobstructed by foot traffic.

Procedure: 1. Run parallel to railing, with railing on your left. 2. Place your left hand on top of the rail and push off the ground with your right leg.

3. Use the momentum to swing your left leg over the rail, then follow with your right leg.

4. Place your right hand on the rail behind your back mid-air so both hands are in contact with the object. 5. Remove the left hand from the rail off as your left foot hits the ground. 6. Land with right foot and push away from the rail. 7. Practice with rail on your right.