In music, cadence is the sequence of notes or chords comprising the close to a musical phrase. In running, the number of times your foot strikes the ground in a given period. I suggest that we change that to the number of times your foot kisses the ground in a given period. I do not believe that we should be striking anything, though that is for another time, perhaps the Running Technique, The Foot & Running Shoes Webinar.
This week I had the pleasure of attending the Auckland Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships as well as the Auckland Cross Country Teams Race. Both were run on conditions that could best be described as sloppy.
My observation during these two events was that those who were able to organise their anatomy, and maintain a their cadence whilst running through thick mud had the greatest success.
If you ask Dr. Google what your cadence should be, you'll probably get some form of advice telling you to run a cadence of 170-190 strides per minute. Rather than focusing on a particular number, I would suggest that your cadence should be as high as is maximally sustainable. I write this with some caution, as very often I find this piece of information to be dangerous in the wrong hands, or perhaps feet. There is more to running technique than just having a maximally sustainable cadence.
Maybe appropriately, running with a low cadence is like getting stuck in the mud. My goal with athletes I coach is to teach them to fly. Spending more time in the air, and less time on the ground.
Want to know more? Join me for the the Running Technique, The Foot & Running Shoes Webinar. Make sure you subscribe to receive more articles just like this one direct to your inbox.
My observation during these two events was that those who were able to organise their anatomy, and maintain a their cadence whilst running through thick mud had the greatest success.
If you ask Dr. Google what your cadence should be, you'll probably get some form of advice telling you to run a cadence of 170-190 strides per minute. Rather than focusing on a particular number, I would suggest that your cadence should be as high as is maximally sustainable. I write this with some caution, as very often I find this piece of information to be dangerous in the wrong hands, or perhaps feet. There is more to running technique than just having a maximally sustainable cadence.
Maybe appropriately, running with a low cadence is like getting stuck in the mud. My goal with athletes I coach is to teach them to fly. Spending more time in the air, and less time on the ground.
Want to know more? Join me for the the Running Technique, The Foot & Running Shoes Webinar. Make sure you subscribe to receive more articles just like this one direct to your inbox.
