I was listening to a coach instruct one of his female runners at the end of a race recently to lengthen her stride so she could run faster.
Somewhere I was read that in order to run faster (for a distance runner) you were to shorten your stride to get a quicker rotation.
Depends on the individual/situation. This coach and this athlete may have found that lengthening the stride works.
For a lot of distance runners, it seems that it's easier to get a kick started if they focus on a quicker tempo--which may, initially, result in a somewhat shorter stride that gradually lengthens as the kick proceeds.
I personally find stride length to be subjective. I had two guys on my high school team who were both 800/miler guys, but their physiques were completely opposite; one was around 5'6" with some muscle mass, while the other was about 6'1" and on the slim side. The shorter guy would shorten his stride, while taller one would lengthen his. Their personal records are fairly similar, give or take a second or two, and their tactics were extremely different (taller guy was a natural front runner, while the other would sit and kick), but they could still reach similar results even with variant tactics and physique.
Summary: To each his/her own. Stride will vary with each runner.
Stride Question wrote:
I was listening to a coach instruct one of his female runners at the end of a race recently to lengthen her stride so she could run faster.
Somewhere I was read that in order to run faster (for a distance runner) you were to shorten your stride to get a quicker rotation.
The intended meaning is usually distance covered with each stride. But many people confuse this with range of motion. For example you hear comments like "stretch out the stride", meaning extend the range of motion.
Taking a longer stride for a given speed always results in a reduction of stride rate. Also, there is an optimal stride length and rate for each runner at each speed, which depends on the physiology and fitness of that particular runner. Taking a longer or shorter stride than optimal results in a reduction of speed or endurance.
Most often people err on the side of taking too long of a stride for the speed they are running.
In the last 100m of an 800m I tried just about everything to pick up speed: shortening my stride, lengthening my stride, pulling more with my arms, etc. Nothing worked until I just simply tried pushing off harder with every step. That worked, but that sure as crap never worked when I was finishing a 400m. At the end of a 5K I always get my knees up more. So different stuff works in different races.
When I started running in college I ran at over 200 steps a minute. I had great recovery in my stride but I'd always drop my foot right in front of my body.
Once I started bringing my knee up (first goal coach set out for me), I had to lengthen my stride (increasing my push-off power) in order to continue to land with my foot under my body. This brought my steps per minute down to ~184 which is where it is today, and increased my efficiency greatly (ultimate goal coach set out for me).
For me running with a longer stride and less steps made me faster, for this girl it'll depend on where she's starting from. With that I'd like to add than many high school coaches tend to operate under the assumption that a longer stride ='s a faster runner regardless of who the athlete is. This is a mistake, just as believing that a shorter stride will make any athlete faster. The goal shouldn't be a longer or shorter stride, but a more efficient one.
increase the power you generate for each stride and you will run faster
cleveland screamer wrote:
increase the power you generate for each stride and you will run faster
Increase your leg strength so that the force you generate when pushing off from the track increases. You will go farther with each stride without having to try to lengthen it by stretching out.
Stride Question wrote:
I was listening to a coach instruct one of his female runners at the end of a race recently to lengthen her stride so she could run faster.
Somewhere I was read that in order to run faster (for a distance runner) you were to shorten your stride to get a quicker rotation.
Depends on the race. In the 800 in London at the weekend, Wheating was shortening his stride and pulling further and further ahead of his less efficient rivals, an awesome display of efficiency. However in such a finish, the runners are all slowing in the last 100m.
When speeding up is required, an increase in both stride length and stride rate is what you are looking for.
wellnow wrote:
Depends on the race. In the 800 in London at the weekend, Wheating was shortening his stride
According to whom?
Stride rate is the same throughout the race- from start to finish. Stride length increases as part of the "kick".
MarathonMind wrote:
Stride rate is the same throughout the race- from start to finish. Stride length increases as part of the "kick".
Rate and length are dependent variables.
As one increases, so does the other.
Lasse Viren, for example, ran at 200 spm for his 10k races on the track, and got up to 214 spm for his long kicks to the finish.
Thanks for the replies. This does help me be more informed. I do think I came away with this with the understanding that it would come down to the individual and other factors. Thanks for the great information.
Lydiard urged his runners to think "fast ankle action" and the stide length took care of itself.
stride right wrote:
wellnow wrote:Depends on the race. In the 800 in London at the weekend, Wheating was shortening his stride
According to whom?
I saw the race on TV. Any more stupid questions?
MarathonMind wrote:
Stride rate is the same throughout the race- from start to finish. Stride length increases as part of the "kick".
Not true. In a long distance race, as you run and glycogen is gradually depleted, you have less power available, so your stride will get shorter. The final kick uses a few fast twitch fibers that you have saved for the purpose.
In shorter races, the last 100m tends to get slower, and strides shorten.