It's certainly beneficial to dissect and analyze different teaching methods. A video at the New York City Marathon showed that the top 150 runners had the same cadence, taking 184 to 188 steps a minute. That does make us wonder why the given stride frequency for a given speed (or should we think intensity?) But when I changed my running, I quickly bested PB's in a big way.Anyway, my frequency is often higher than even lightweight girls and women around me. There is nothing more gratifying or fulfilling than setting a goal on the outer boundaries of what we think is possible and then systematically pursuing it. Perhaps because it is a relatively easy fix compared to stepping up your stride length. The great Hungarian coach Mihali Igloi was a big fan of what Bekele seems to have done in the 10k. There are different viewpoints regarding the importance of stride length and stride frequency when acquiring maximum speed, as well as maintaining it. If you don't do this, you can't measure angles. A good running stride rate is 85 to 95 single-leg strides per minute— 90 is ideal. One's running gauge measurement reduces the body's ability to even run straight. This is during the exact same 150m sprint. Some time ago, I heard a very good coach who I greatly respect say there are three factors that go into speed. For sprinters who are powerful athletes and can generate a large amount of force through their stride, they are more likely to cover more ground with each stride, thus being stride length dependent. Interestingly, they seemed to increase the one factor that was lowest during most of the race. As a coach i experimented a longer stride length by putting 2+ meters line marks on the track so that athletes keep this interval of stride for running. My strides are tiny for my height. Stride rate describes how fast strides are taken and the units are strides per time. It gets even more interesting when we look at the last 1km when the pace changed dramatically. Clinical studies show a 3 meter drift rate per 20 seconds of running if uncontrolled (gladly link the studies). Follow the same calculations as above: distance in feet/number of steps = step length and distance in feet/number of strides = stride length. Garmin watches, like my Garmin 235 for example, tells me strides per minute. Sport Jester- Sorry, no mean spirit intended, but you sound like those SOMAX guys who think bounce, crossover are what is keeping americans from running sub 2hr marathon. Stride frequency is one of the most important parameters of running technique. Just as we saw in the earlier study where Bekele versus Sihine and Mathathi adopted a different combination of length and frequency, it seems to occur in sprinters too. There may be other ways of running we cannot execute right now, but could be conditioned to master, and do better with.Also, Bekele might be more efficient in long stride when he's mainly aerobically. To check your stride rate, go out for a run. Consequently, it is proposed that the SF reliant athletes are required to concentrate on neural activation in their final preparations for the major races and have a nervous system ready such that they can produce the quick turnover of the legs. The bottom line is that something has to change. Sihine was somewhere in between these two. Good question. Your article has set me on a more sensible track; to vary my strategy for different stages of the run and to get the right balance between length and frequency for each stage. Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever books are sold! So, all you shorter runners complaining about how your height keeps you from having a long stride, just look towards Bekele. I wonder if there is a way to "feel" whether your body prefers a longer SL or a faster SF? That being said, I'm not even sure why it is necessary to bring Chi Running into your blog posts. I'm not certain how trainable rate of force delivery is, but improving muscular force and ground contact time have training applications. His contention was that you needed to work on going back and forth between these two stride types during practice. In particular it should be obvious that there is no magic stride frequency that everyone should run. according to this article a good rate would be around the 200 mark which seems pretty big to me and that stays the same if going fast or slow its the stride length that determines speed rather then stride rate. Sign up for our twice a month newsletters that are based on  real science, not bro science! In the second edition of his Running Formula, legendary coach Jack Daniels explains, "Almost all elite distance runners (both men and women) … So far, I don't have any conclusive results. I mimicked frequency with a computer generated beeps with which athletes adjust their stride frequency by hearing. Some coaches took this to mean that the only way to increase speed was to increase force production. Speed= Stride length X Stride frequency This simple equation is a staple in sprinting and biomechanics material. For more on the psychology of performance, check out my NEW book Peak Performance. This is the only post where you can see what other good runners actually get for stride rate and length – thanks. But what is it that changes when we go faster? Rick- Thanks for the cycling info. You'll note that elite runners make up a very small percentage of the entire running population. Hopefully, this clears up some of the ideas you have about what and how we teach. And for elite marathon runners, are measured at 29-31 miles and amateurs at 36 miles, in physical distance travelled calculating in drift rates. I always found it interesting that for decades (and some still do) insisted that cycling at a low RPM was more efficient than a high RPM. On the other hand, the SL reliant athletes need to keep their strength levels up throughout the season and have the required flexibility in the hip area to produce long steps. I have heard for years I should increase my stride rate, but what if I was already fast? He’s able to run both ways. Runners do base building, intervals, and tempo work, but they often do not actively work on their running stride rate. It seems like I rest the neural component for most of the race because in most races I can turn it over quickly in the last 600-800m. Have you seen the video? There seems to be a lot of connections that you can make with cycling. Just work on drift and they can run 1:50 or under. You are helping lots of runners. Stride Length and Stride Rate are the results of increased speed not the causes of speed. Stride rates vary enormously among runners for many reasons, and few studies explicitly have quantified differences in stride rate between barefoot and shod runners. Which is huge. The result is a rate (fraction) of feet per second. I discuss Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, and some of the best sprinters of all time. Drift doesn't matter. Is the hip angle/separation legit, I see you mentioned SOMAX in your above post and they describe a similiar hip angle comparison btw Sammy W. and Hall & Ritz, SOMAX also has another article describing hip angle with various UK runners showing that Coe and Cram had the 100+ degree as oppose to their recent runners that were in the 85-90 range. It all depends on how good the athlete is in combining both to produce optimum performance. Watching myself jog in the shop windows' reflection is looks silly and weak. Almost anything that needs to be calculated can be thanks to the huge strides in science and technology. Driving this point home, the author’s stated that “Thus, it is possible to reach the absolute top level of sprinting in the world (run under 10.00 s) with widely varying pattern of SF and SL reliance.”. Say I wanted to do start introducing sessions such as 20x200m or 10x300m in say January once a week at about 60s 400m pace to prepare for indoors (for a sub 14min 5k guy). Please bear in mind that Chi is mostly training runners who are not elite and have no intentions of being, or training like an elite. It’s almost as if the runners subconsciously chose to rely more on rate or length for most of the race, to “rest” the other factor, and then went to the other factor when it was time to increase the speed. The stride can reduce the resolution of the output, for example reducing the height and width of the output to only \(1/n\) of the height and width of the input (\(n\) is an integer greater than \(1\)). Likewise, I once had a long discussion with a runner who wanted to improve his 800 meter time. More study necessary , If an athlete's height is no factor to stride frequency, perhaps calf length or girth is?I am 6ft4 and have switched from 145spm to much higher, while getting rid of heel strike which ruined my body and had me given up by a sports doc. Speed = stride length * stride rate. Somewhere, he had heard that world record holder David Rudisha ran with a stride rate of 220 steps per minute so he thought that was optimal and tried to match that. The formula is s= 0.78l ^1.67/ h^1.17 where s is speed in meters per second l is stride length in meters, and hi . Stride Rate: stride rate is measured by multiplying the stride length (distance) by how often you’re coming in contact with the ground (time). I know that when I'm finishing a race and trying to sprint, I tend to focus on the fastest turnover I can – rather that a more forceful muscle contraction which will give you a longer SL. What they found was very interesting. You need to enter a valid Mailchimp API key. KEep it up. STRIDE RATE There is an abundance of advice on how to improve your stride rate. In essence, this is what Bekele did. Rate and length have an interesting relationship in that at max speed increasing one will lead to a decrease of the other, so it’s balance between the two that matter. If I'd open up the range of motion, I'd look like doing high knee drills when just running along. Some rely more on stride length, while others will rely more on frequency like Mathathi. Do you think this hurt the aerobic development that would need to be had for later in the year? Those things definitely matter but they are components of the two key aspects of speed. This is where stride rate comes into play. His high-frequency finish may not just be what he uses when the "preferred" technique fatigues away, he may simply not be able to reach such speeds at a relatively low frequency.His relatively low cruising frequency might not point to raw strength after all. Some authors det… Or, with a more balanced stride during his prime, could he have run even faster than 9.58 seconds at 100 meters and 19.19 seconds at 200 meters? Hence, .6 x 11 = a 6.6 percent improvement in race times. For the group, their average stride rate went from 175 to 196 and their relative stride …