What is Running Cadence?
What is running cadence? Simply put, running cadence is a measurement of how many times your feet hit the ground per minute.
Why is Running Cadence Important?
Running cadence is important to athletes, particularly those looking to improve their race results. It is one of the two most important measurements when it comes to increasing pace. The other important factor is stride length, but for now, we will focus on cadence. It’s only logical that a faster cadence will make for a faster pace. If your foot hits the ground more often per minute then you are generally covering ground faster.
The reason I like my athletes to work on cadence before stride length is because it is more natural to promote better running form. Increasing stride length, without increasing cadence, can lead to over-striding. This is an injury waiting to happen.
How to Measure Your Running Cadence
The easiest way to measure cadence is to use your GPS watch and let it tell you what your cadence is. However, it is always good practice to manually measure this to ensure its accuracy. When out for a run, check the watch and start counting each time your feet hit the ground for 30 seconds. Then take that number and double it. This will be your cadence. You can also just count every time your right, (or left) foot hits the ground and count for a minute. Either way, this will be your cadence. Benchmark this figure and work on improving it over an eight week training block.
The running technical model says that the ideal cadence should be around 170-180+ strides per minute. However, we all have different physiology, so one size does not fit all. However, in general, this is a good guideline to shoot for. Whatever your starting point though, the goal should be to increase your cadence over time.
How to Improve Running Cadence
Knee Drive
There are a few coaching points I like to get my athlete’s to work on. The first is knee drive. By driving the knees up off the ground each time the foot hits the ground it promotes a quicker turnover. The focus should be to get the foot off the ground as quickly as possible.
Forefoot Strike
Once your knee is being driven up, getting your foot off the ground quickly, the next step is to land the opposite foot on the ball of the foot. A forefoot strike promotes the quickest turnover and prevents the braking effect of a heel strike. This is a far more efficient technique and reduces the injury potential and impact of over-striding.
Easy Runs
Easy runs are a perfect time to work on all aspects of running including cadence. There is no pressure to hit a specific pace during your easy runs. So even when running at a slower pace, you can improve your cadence. Once this becomes more natural, it will feel instinctive when racing to have a faster pace.
Conclusion on What is Running Cadence
Work on your running cadence and before you know it, you’ll be smashing personal records. It is a rather straight forward aspect of running to work on and relatively easy to measure. We all know that if it can be measured, it can be improved! Get out there and get at it.
If you’d like any further advice on running cadence and ways to improve yours, comment below. I’m also interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions.
