Three Keys to Optimal Running Performance

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There are three primary factors that affect running performance: running economy, stride rate and stride length. Definitions are as follows:

Running Economy: The oxygen cost to run at a given pace, measured either in heart rate or milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min)

Stride Rate: How many footstrikes you have, measured per minute

Stride Length: The average distance of your strides, measured in feet and inches

 

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RUNNING ECONOMY

The greatest improvements in running economy will come from weight loss. Because even the best runners translate some of their energy into vertical (up and down) movement, less weight means less energy expended. If running forces were translated purely horizontal weight would not be an issue. Other indirect measures, such as arm carriage and swing, posture, and leg swing, can also affect running economy - but these are difficult to measure and are based more on individual preferences than transferable similarities. 

 

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STRIDE RATE

Stride rate is arguably the most important factor in running performance. In general, a faster stride rate means lesser impact forces, less chance for injury, less energy wasted,  and faster times. Most runners do not spend enough time thinking about their leg turnover, and if they do, they simply think about “shuffling” their feet faster. What you should think about is shortening the “pendulum” of your leg swing to increase your stride rate. You can do this by:

1. Bringing your heel up to your butt (instead of swinging it back behind you)
2. Keeping your knees more out in front of you as you run
3. Adopting a slightly “forward leaning” posture (similar to POSE Method or Chi Running)
4. Becoming more of a midfoot/forefoot striker

 

Just to prove the validity of stride rate and how much it can help your running times, I’ve developed the below formula for how much a slight increase in stride rate can improve performance. The times are based on a 9:00min/miler. If you typically run slower than this, the time savings will be greater. If you run faster than this, the time savings will be lesser.

Stride Rate Old = X
Stride Rate New = X + 4
*Keep in mind, stride rate new is only factoring in ONE leg, so a shift of cadence from 86 to 88 would actually be a shift of 172 to 176 in total number of foot strikes per minute
Stride Length = 4’0 (or 48 inches)
Marathon Time = 3:56:00 (or 236 minutes)
Marathon Pace = 9:00 min/mile
Mile = 5280 Feet

So...

4’0 x 4 = 16’0 gained per minute
16’0 feet x 236 minutes (3:56:00 marathon) = 3776 feet
3776 feet/5280 feet = .715
If a mile is being run in 9:00, .715 of 1 mile at that pace = 6:26 gained by increasing average stride rate from 86 to 88!

 

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STRIDE LENGTH

Stride length is also a very important factor in running performance. If you’re not pushing off it doesn’t matter how fast your legs are turning over, you’re not going to go anywhere. The three best methods of increasing stride length are:

1. Strength Training
2. Plyometrics
3. Hill Running

 

Strength training to improve strides length would focus on lifts that emphasize forceful hip extension, such as squats, deadlifts, step ups, and lunges. Plyometrics would include low rep/high intensity exercises such as box jumps and bounds, but because of the intensity of these exercises, they may not be suitable for all runners.

In my opinion, hill running is by far the safest and best form of stride length training - but it must be done properly. Simply plodding over hills won’t do it. You need to find a hill of a reasonable grade (probably somewhere 4-6%) and focus on taking as few strides as possible to run up the hill. This will make you emphasize forceful hip extension and will ascertain that the work you’re doing is being done behind you (i.e., pushing off). Another  benefit to doing this type of running is a dynamic stretch in the calf and ankle, which are two areas of limited mobility for most runners. Note that this method of running is NOT how you should be running hills in a race - it is for training purposes only. It is very difficult and taxing on the body, but when done properly in training, will naturally transfer an increased stride length into your regular running stride.

Below is a similar formula to that of stride rate so you’re able to see the dividends that an improved stride length can offer. A 9:00min/miler is again used as an example.
 
Stride Rate = 85
Stride Length Old = X
Stride Length New = X + 2”
*Keep in mind, stride length new is only factoring in ONE leg, so a shift from 3’6 to 3’8 would actually be a shift of 7’0 to 7’4 (remember--12 inches = 1 foot)
Marathon Time = 3:56:00 (or 236 minutes)
Marathon Pace = 9:00 min/mile
Mile = 5280 Feet

So...

170 total strides/min (85 cadence) x 236 minutes (3:56:00 marathon) = 40,120 total strides
3.75 feet per stride length x 40,120 total strides = 150,450 total feet covered
150,450 feet / 5280 feet in a mile = 28.4 miles
170 strides/minute x .167 feet/stride = 28.39 feet gained per minute
170 strides/minute x 3’6 (3.5 feet/stride) = 595 feet/minute
170 strides/minute x 3’8 (3.67 feet/stride) = 624 feet/minute
28.39 feet gained per minute x 236 minutes = 6700 feet gained over marathon
6700 feet gained over marathon / 586.67 feet being covered per minute = 11:25 gained by increasing stride length and average of 2 inches!

Thus, if you increase stride rate from 86 to 88 AND increase stride length from 3’6 to 3’8 (both as examples), you will decrease your marathon time 17:51!!!

 

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At the very least, these examples should show you how important stride length and stride rate are to running performance. Weight loss and running performance are a bit more difficult to quantify in exact numbers, but the correlation between a decrease in weight and a decrease in running time is almost 100%. Just be careful - everybody has an “optimal” body weight and restricting calories to try to get below this point can lead to decreased energy levels and poor quality of training.

Train smart!

Scott Welle, MS, PES, CSCS, ITCA, PFT

 

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