The secret to performance running

Intro:

Did you know that just in our two feet we have 38 muscles and tendons, 214 ligaments, 52 bones, and all wrapped up in this amazing ‘stuff’ called fascia?

We are a fantastically well-put-together machine, designed to do things in ways to optimise our natural gifts.  So, when we are looking to improve our running and we search for ‘the secret to performance running’ we find it in the phenomenon known as the Stretch-Shortening Cycle (SSC).

SSC:

The SSC occurs in the muscles and tendons (and possibly the fascia) of the lower limbs, by contracting quasi-isometrically.  This simply means that they produce the power for the foot to hit and lift almost simultaneously on each strike.  This whole contraction happens in around 0.5 of a second and is one of the key reasons elite runners have such high strike rates (98 steps per min).  Moreover, this contraction can produce nearly 50% of the forward propulsion in running when athletes are strong, fit, and at optimal weight. 

To explain this ‘quasi-isometric muscle action’:

·      Isometric muscle action - the muscle contracts without any joint movement, so it is held static while under load.

·      The quasi (partly/ almost) means we have a sort of static or stiff contraction but only almost so…we still have a limited, but not a great deal of joint action – understandably, not the easiest concept to absorb!

To experience this quasi-isometric contraction, try;

1. Putting the weight on your heels and jumping up and down

2. Put the weight into the balls of your feet (the place you would land if you were skipping) and bounce up and down quickly (see video below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=947ZuH10R_M&t=7s

I came across this thinking when speaking to the late Professor Craig Sharp while doing my postgraduate degree at Brunel University.  Prof Sharp originally came from a veterinary science background and later became a leading figure in Sports Science.  This unique background gave him great insight into the human and animal sciences.

In running it was traditionally thought that muscles lengthen ie. work eccentrically as the foot hits the floor, and muscles shorten ie. work concentrically as the foot pushes off.  However, Prof Sharp pointed out, “recent evidence from human research, and experiments on animals show that muscles contract quasi-isometrically during the propulsive phase of many stretch-shorten – type movements”.

The same ‘air time’ seen in animals can also be seen in elite runners.

Why the balls of your feet?

You would never contemplate doing plyometric work or skipping, bounding, and landing on your heels, right?  This type of strength work is key to increasing tendon stiffness, which is also a key part of the SSC and thus performance running. So, this brings us to foot placement.

Taking the thinking on the SSC to a vision, it is beautiful to watch elite runners, especially in a group (watch the track or triathlon videos), they are like poetry in motion but more importantly, you will not see any bouncing up and down (vertical oscillation) as the quasi-isometric muscle contraction is at play.

The same air-time is seen in humans and animals when running.

We can see the old way of thinking about muscle contraction in running when we look at recreational runners. If they have a lower strike rate (cadence) and hence they are over striding.  Therefore, the foot is on the ground for longer, thus rolling through from the heel and loading through the mid-foot before toeing off, thus producing more of a bounce up and down or side to side. 

Heel striking:

We know the debate on foot strike has raged on now for many a year and I am not saying there is only one way, however, I am saying there is one way to optimally utilise the SSC.

I have read many a paper po-pooing ‘fore-foot’ landing and arguing for mid-foot landing or heel striking or this or that. So much conflicting chatter out there. For example, studies from the IAAF that set up cameras during the 2017 World Championships showed many of the marathon runners were landing towards the rear of the foot (see below). Maybe a little more use of the SSC will see the sub 2hr marathon and not the reliance on carbon shoes or pogo sticks?!

https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-release/2017-world-championships-athletics-biomechani

Nevertheless, I can also show you from the very same 2017 competition that the 10,000m or 5,000m runners are landing on the balls of their feet (forefoot). The same applies to a large percentage of triathletes at a world-class level, with varying degrees from male to female.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C93qwVmBseE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9DkIaW6ZiQ

I don’t have the answer to the question of why they are landing towards the rear of the foot in marathons, I wish I did. Maybe partly it can be explained by the marathon runners’ still very high strike rate and landing predominantly under their center of mass.

The old days:

Historically, we never really saw heel strikers in running, possibly because the only runners were ‘serious’ runners on cinder tracks and later tartan tracks with just spikes or even using racing flats in road running that have little or no support.  Maybe the birth of the recreational runner and the development of the over-engineered running shoe (and over-marketing / overpricing) has facilitated the relatively recent heel-striking phenomenon. I’m not speaking about Vapour flies here, more the air-zoom et al.

It would be interesting to go back and look at the same marathon runners and look at them when they used to run over 5k and 10k on the track. What sort of foot strike did they have then?

So, the take-home messages are whether elite or age grouper;

• The biggest bang for your buck; if you have a low strike rate, to increase the strike rate (cadence), find out how to do this here. 

• Ensure your foot is landing under your center of mass (under your hips)

• Improve your lower limb SSC strength, through plyometric work through skipping, hill training, or traditional bodyweight plyometric work.

Word of caution:

If looking to transition into utilising the SSC by landing more on the balls of your feet as you run, then ensure that progression is done sensibly and gradually or look to get a recognised coach to help.

We will be looking at the strength element of running in our next blog.

JB

How to improve your running

How to improve your running

Whether training for an Ironman or short course triathlon or simply looking to get faster over 5K or 10K, there are some important pieces of the running jigsaw we need to put in place, to become optimal. We will be looking to cover these in this “how to improve your running” series, over the coming weeks.

When looking at a checklist of ways to improve our running, strike rate for me is top of your list.

OPTIMAL RUNNING CADENCE (STRIKE RATE)

In this first article of the series, we look at running cadence or, as I like to refer to it, ‘strike rate’. Both terms refer to the number of steps (or strikes) you take per minute while running. It can be counted on both feet (i.e. 180 steps per minute), or one foot (i.e. 90spm).

The following videos show some of the best in action, either on the track or in triathlon:

Checking in with the best

If we look at the best middle-distance runners or triathletes in the world racing, whether male or female they will have a strike rate of around 98 steps per minute (one foot touching the ground per minute).

When we analyse elite runners concerning their strike rate (SR), it is important to do so while they are ‘racing’ and not pacing or being tactical on the track, or even switched off in a triathlon or you will see a slightly lower cadence from that seen when racing and in-form because when the athlete is not fit or strong again we will see lower SR. This way we can see and analyse the optimum strike rate. Of course, we will get the odd outlier, a very tall or short athlete with a slightly higher or lower cadence, but on average the best hit-and-hold 98!

The following videos show some of the best in action, either on the track or in triathlon:

Female:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKGfcIpaOn4

Male:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C93qwVmBseE&t=334s

Triathletes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBgzMgob5Gw

Age groupers

When we look at age-group athletes, some may have an SR of low 80s, some middle or front-of-pack athletes have up to and around 90+ steps per minute. It is worth asking: What are their injury rates like? Are they over-striding? What is their economy like? Do they oscillate side to side or up and down wasting valuable energy?

Even for this group of athletes working on a higher strike rate will reap the rewards of better economy and lower injury rates and more importantly, age group athletes report back to me that “they feel like a runner” once they up their strike rate.

Why is strike rate so important?

It all starts when we examine our alignment or kinetic chain;

A lower strike rate often means over-striding, that is when our foot is landing outside the ‘optimal strike zone’ and therefore not under our center of mass. As a result, we do not switch on or fire the correct muscle groups. Moreover, as we can see from those runners who ‘over-stride’, they can have a ‘pendulum’ running gate, where they are using primarily their quads and hip flexors to kick the leg forward.

As opposed to the optimal running gate which is more cyclic with the runner primarily using the glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors. These are the biggest, most powerful muscles that can generate maximal forward propulsion/distance per step, making us faster and more economical.

Moreover, when striking within the optimal strike zone (under the center of mass), we can start tapping into the amazing elastic energy with which the human has been naturally gifted (more on this to follow in upcoming blog posts).

When you watch the above videos or look at the still photo below, you can see that coming from the higher strike rate is a greater stride length and the float or hang-time the runners generate is enormously impressive (poetry in motion).

Another impressive element comes from the higher SR when watching the elite runners, especially if you watch live when they are in group formation. Is how beautiful it looks, moreover how very little oscillation there is like you could put a cup of tea on their heads and not spill a drop!

Increasing your running strike rate

Most age-group runners can benefit from increasing their strike rate, either to reduce the risk of injury or improve their running economy.

Try calculating your strike rate by counting one foot hitting the ground for one minute when running at or around your race pace. Some GPS devices offer this reading automatically.

WHAT DID YOU GET?

One can start working on increasing the SR immediately; Try a session like running for 15 seconds (25 steps) - or 30-seconds (49/ 50 steps) say 10 x counting steps and trying to increase to start with, to get a feel for it.

Running with a running partner who already has a high SR and getting into sync with them works well, as this stops you thinking about what you are doing (thus tightening up) and utilizing the best learning sense, visualisation, like a metronome or if on your own using a metronome is also highly effective.

How long does it take?

It will take some time to get used to the higher cadence/ strike rate and initially it can feel like you are taking piddly little steps. It is important to understand this is not an easy fix; it can take a while (possibly up to 6 months) to develop the neural pathways to naturally hold a higher SR overextended endurance (5 – 10k). Importantly, as fatigue sets in your body will want to revert to old habits (lower SR). It is key at this point to mentally focus on something positive and SR is a perfect tool.

Similarly, in ironman running, we can lose focus at times and drift back to a lower cadence. What a great psychological tool, to have something so positive such as SR to focus on and help stay in the moment.

Expected improvements

Just this simple but effective change in your running will naturally start to strengthen your running muscles, tendons, fascia, and ligaments. This in return will increase your distance per step resulting in running faster and more economical running times.

Remember one of the biggest limiting factors in white endurance athletes is a lack of strength…

Until next time when I will take you through the ‘secret to running performance’…

JB