What is cadence? Cadence, which is also known as stride rate, simply means the number of steps a runner takes per minute (SPM). It is one of the most simple but important factors to track in running for several reasons:
By increasing your cadence, you are not just changing the speed at which your feet move; you are changing where your feet land in relation to your body. With a higher cadence, your feet will land under your bodyline, not in front of your hips, which will naturally decrease your stride length and increase turnover of your feet.
Low cadence will result in a bounding-like gait with the feet spending more time on air that results in harder landing, overstriding and extreme heel striking, which it turn translates into taxed muscles and joints, making you more susceptible to injuries.
A lot of runners are prescribed support shoes because they are over/under pronators, but many can simply correct this by changing their cadence and return to wearing neutral shoes.
For many years the “magic number” for cadence was 180, but in recent years more research has come out to show that it really is not that black and white. Cadence can vary depending on the kind of run you’re doing, meaning that long training runs will have a lower cadence than a tempo run, for example. Cadence could also be dependent on our height, weight, as well as your running ability. As a general rule of thumb, I’d aim for “around 180” but it doesn’t mean that you are not running efficiently if your cadence is 178, for example.
So how do you increase cadence?
- For starters, like anything in running, we need to increase it gradually; if you are currently running in the 150s, try increasing it to 165 for a few short runs to get a feel for it, eventually reaching 180+.
- Use a metronome app, and step at each audible click.
- Use a music playlist that has your goal beats per minute (Google playlists with 160, 170, 180 BPM, whatever your current goal cadence)
- Think to yourself: pick up, pick up, pick up, for quick turnover of feet.
- Think about spending less time on air, but also as soon as your foot hits the ground, you are immediately picking it back up.
- Concentrate on keeping your feet “under” you; imagine a wall right in front of you that is moving at the same speed as you, preventing your feet from going far forward.
- Higher cadence does not mean running faster. You are trying to cram in more steps, while maintaining speed.
At the beginning of this higher cadence journey, you will feel that it is cumbersome, and it will take a lot of concentration and effort, but let me assure you, it will be worth it! After you get the hang of it, it will become second nature and you won’t even be thinking about it. And the benefits are so great, I encourage you to take that first step to higher cadence! And yes, I totally meant the pun 😊 Happy Running!