Does cadence really make a difference?

I also didn't worry about it until I got a nicer Garmin watch, always looking for something that I can improve upon!

We have all read that everyone "should" be running at 180 steps / min without any sort of qualifiers. This is pure fallacy. So a 5'4" runner who weighs 110 vs a 6'0" who weighs 150 should have the same cadence? Ridiculous. Look at Evan Jager (6'2") vs. Ezekiel Kemboi (5'9"). Do they have the same cadence at the same speed? No. That is called Physics. Pendulums of different length and weight do not swing at the same speed.

Also, at different speeds, cadence changes and so does stride length. At an easy pace you may be 20 strides/min slower than at a 5k race pace. At full sprint, maybe 15-20 spm faster than 5k pace. One size does not fit all.

Very Slow cadence is probably inefficient and harder on the body. But I also cite any video you want to watch of Kenyan group warmups. Are they running anything close to 180spm? Draw your own conclusions.

Always looking for any ways to improve, except "run more miles."

Write down, to remind yourself on how it can be

Heartstrings, you're tugging at my heartstrings

Helpless, I have become so helpless to your touch

Touch me somehow

Restless, you leave me restless

Breathless wait for me

The closer I come to you

The closer I am to finding God

You're a miracle to me

The closer I come to you

The closer I am to finding God

You're a miracle to me

Burning, like Joan of Arc to see you, just to feel you

Cadence, I'd dance with the dead cause I believe

Yes I believe, yes I believe

Stifle, Paul said that you stifle him

Again and again and again

And if these are my parting words

Then this, my last request

Hold me here, until I sleep

If I burn, then I burn for you

JamestheAmateur wrote:

I think it primarily helps to avoid overstriding/heel striking. I used to badly heel strike until I increased my cadence. Now I have a midfoot strike and am more comfortable at quicker paces

Same. I have gotten much faster since focusing on my cadence. I also had recurring hip and hamstring injuries prior to increasing my cadence. I have had none since.

No!

Cadance and stride length are a result of the speed you choose to run. High speed equals high cadence and longer strides. Do not shorten your strides in order to get that so called bulls@$@ 180. Let the body dictate the correlation. Elite runners run at more than 180 their races simply because their speed is high and that brings high cadence. They don't go 180 at easy runs. All this 180 myth is nothing but ignorance of people that don't understand anything. And you see all those wannabes shortening strides looking like ducklings running and shouting "I have 180 like the elites". Burros! What they don't have is the the 2m stride of the elites.

BocaBaton wrote:

JamestheAmateur wrote:

I think it primarily helps to avoid overstriding/heel striking. I used to badly heel strike until I increased my cadence. Now I have a midfoot strike and am more comfortable at quicker paces

Same. I have gotten much faster since focusing on my cadence. I also had recurring hip and hamstring injuries prior to increasing my cadence. I have had none since.

This is exactly the reason I picked up my cadence. I went to all the doctors and PT you could think of, none of which helped. I switched to more neutral shoes and picked up my cadence and almost all of my issues resolved themselves.

HowBadIsMyCadence wrote:

Coach LMNOP wrote:

It depends on what distance you are running. I've heard people talk about cadence for a 400m race and that's pure insanity.

The longer the race the more it comes into play

Give me an example for say a 1 mile race and a 2 mile

Take a look at a 10k runner and longer then compare them to your example of a 1 or 2 miler. Are their running styles or stride length the same? The answer is NO. Marathoners run with a shorter and quicker stride hence a higher cadence than a sprinter or even 800m runner.

I personally think cadence is just another over analysis by running geeks looking for the magic solution to run faster. The limitations of an athletes body is what prevents people from running faster not their cadence.

Also accurately measuring your cadence is fairly difficult and the margin for error leads to people like you guys worrying if your cadence is 170 vs. 180.

Experiment of 1:

Like all hobby joggers, when I first got my fancy new garmin I went on a easy test run. When I looked at the data I saw that my cadence was a ridiculously low 145 spm. I have since increased that and am now comfortably running easy runs in the mid-low 160's spm. FWIW I'm not as tired at the end of the week anymore and have almost no nagging hot spots.

Coach LMNOP wrote:

Take a look at a 10k runner and longer then compare them to your example of a 1 or 2 miler. Are their running styles or stride length the same? The answer is NO. Marathoners run with a shorter and quicker stride hence a higher cadence than a sprinter or even 800m runner.

Marathon runners run with shorter strides AND lower cadence than sprinters and 800 runners, not higher

Al pacino wrote:

And you see all those wannabes shortening strides looking like ducklings running and shouting "I have 180 like the elites". Burros!

You mean like Penguins

Al pacino wrote:

All this 180 myth is nothing but ignorance of people that don't understand anything.

You mean like the coach Jack Daniels? The first time I read about cadence was in _Daniels' Running Formula_. He may be wrong on that one, but I'd wager he understands something.

oheo wrote:

If you're healthy, don't worry about it. If you struggle to stay healthy as mileage climbs, you may consider getting to the mid 170's. Your cadence is fairly low for someone your height. But, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If you're healthy and want to be faster, consider it.

If you're unhealthy, consider it.

If you're healthy and apathetic about your improving, don't worry about it.