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Learn About Running Cadence and How It Could Help You Run Better?

All that you need to know about Running Cadence and How it could change your running for better, be it running form, running economy, injury-free, and other improvements

By Ganesh KuduvaPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 5 min read
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Learn About Running Cadence and How It Could Help You Run Better?
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"Hey Coach, I would like to learn about running cadence today. Could you tell me what it is?"

"Running cadence is the number of times you hit the ground with your feet in a minute."

"How do I measure it?"

"You can just run using a stopwatch for a minute and count the number of times your feet hit the ground. Sometimes, alternately, you can count the number of times one foot (either right or left) hit the ground and multiply that by 2 to get your cadence."

"Got it. So what's the ideal cadence to have? Is there a standard number to achieve?"

"Well, globally, there is a mention of 180 as an ideal cadence to have. But researchers are going on to prove or debate that it need not be 180 especially considering the person's height. The more the height, the cadence can generally get lesser. So, what else would you like to know about cadence?"

"Maybe how running cadence can help me be a better runner?"

"When you say better, could you ask exactly share in what terms?"

"I am unsure. Maybe it is related to speed, better running form? I have heard people talking about running economy as well, relating to running cadence."

"Ok, you have heard many things. Let me clarify one by one. Before that, do you know what is running turn-over?"

"No, I don't."

"Ok. Running turn-over is nothing but how fast both your feet can move, one after the other as you run."

"Does it mean how fast I run?"

"No. It is not your speed."

"I am confused. The more turn-over, the better my speed. right?"

"Not necessarily, always. Let me ask you this. Consider two runners. Both run the same 100 meters. But runner A has the higher cadence, and runner B has the lower cadence. Who do you think would have run faster?"

"Well, it may depend on another factor of stride length along with the cadence."

"Bingo. There you go, but tell me more."

"We have four possibilities like below when we think of both the elements.

higher cadence, higher stride length

higher cadence, lower stride length

lower cadence, higher stride length

lower cadence, lower stride length."

"It is interesting to see how you are thinking clearly about things. Would you be able to talk more about them, or should I?"

"I won't be able to. You can better explain these, coach."

"Higher cadence, higher stride length - This runner may be the fastest of all. Higher cadence means higher turn-over, and at the same time, if the stride length is longer, the runner may cover more distance in a stipulated time.

Higher cadence, lower stride length - This runner may not be fast but probably will have a low impact on his body from his running. When people have higher cadence and lower stride length, they are mostly not over-striding. Meaning, they may not overreach the ground in front of them with their foot placement. They may also prevent heel striking (heel strike generally leads to joint injuries unless you have built tremendous strengths in your muscles and joints.

Lower cadence, higher stride length - This runner may relatively be faster because of the higher stride length, but because the turn-over is lower, he may leave more impact on his body through his running. Since the turn-over is low, the runner may be on the ground whenever he hits the ground for longer, leaving more impact on the body (joints and other musculoskeletal elements)

Lower cadence, lower stride length - This runner may not be fast, but he may potentially have a better running economy. Because he is not over striding, he spends less effort adding to his running economy. Also, when the stride length is shorter, the runner spends less time on the ground, leading to his turn-over getting better.

So, you understand how your stride length can play hand-in-hand with your cadence to make you a better runner. Be it to run faster, run economically, or to run less injury-prone."

"Yes, I think so. How do I improve my cadence?"

"Metronome is one of the widely used tools/methods to improve your cadence. You have both devices or mobile-based metronome applications available for use. You can pre-set your cadence and run according to the beeps from the metronome. Say, if your current cadence is 165 per minute. You may increase it by 2 to 4 steps per week for optimal improvements. Set to 167 for the first week, 169 for the next week, and so on."

"Thank you, Coach. I am now clear about running cadence, and I would look forward to working on it. I want to understand more about running economy, but not today. We can save that for another day."

***

When you are unclear or not convinced about what cadence would help you, try experimenting. Measure your current cadence and set an improvement goal to target. It could be improving your running economy (You can see if you could run the same distance with less effort as you increase your cadence) or improving your pace (you can see if your pace gets better as you increase your cadence, keeping your stride constant).

Don't go by a pure number that is prevailing everywhere. It would vary from person to person, helping with their individual goals. For example, Mo Farah (One of the accomplished athletes) has a cadence of 208 with a stride length of 2+ meters!!

Other elements come into the picture always, helping you be a better runner with things like running form, less injury-prone, running economy. They are your core strength, overall body strength, flexibility, mobility, running mileage (an indicator of your aerobic capacity), VO2 max, and lactate threshold.

Be Strong. Run Forever.

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About the Creator

Ganesh Kuduva

LinkedIn Top Voice | Founder - Runner Forever | Health & Wellness Coach | Author of BE A RUNNER FOREVER (Available on Amazon) | Corporate H&W Speaker | Follow me for posts on Health and Life Skills (www.runner-forever.com)

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