what muscles are at work when you are running
Your hamstrings are located on the back of your thigh and work along with the muscles of your hip to power you along the ground. Your quadriceps, at the front of your thigh, extends your knee to take the next step and absorb the impact of your landing and get a good workout as you run.
The muscles on the front of the thighs are called the quadriceps. They consist of the vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis. Each of these muscles get built up whenever you extend your knee. During running, this takes place when your lower legs move from a bent to straight position.