Stride affects speed or pace when you run a race.The components of stride are rate and length. In mathematical terms, stride rate times stride length equals speed. Stride rate refers to frequency, or number of steps you take per second, while length means the distance covered by each stride, measured from heel to heel.
How It Works
To increase your speed, both the length and rate of your stride need to increase. For example, given two runners who take the same number of steps in 20 seconds, the one who takes longer strides will win. If their strides are the same length, the one who takes more steps will win. Of course, a runner will have an additional advantage if he can maintain his stride at maximum effort over a given distance.
Stride frequency is less easy to change than stride length. Frequency depends on where you put your foot down relative to your body. If your foot lands behind your body, it shortens your stride and increases frequency; if you put your foot down in front of your body, it lengthens your stride and decreases frequency. For optimal length, let your foot hit the ground directly under your body. This positioning allows you to reach optimal stride frequency.
Changing the length of your stride changes the way your muscles work while you run, thereby affecting efficiency and speed. Flexibility, strength and leg length are factors that influence stride length. If you try to run faster by lengthening your stride, you may overstride. This means your front heel strikes the ground in front of your body and center of gravity, which interferes with forward momentum and slows you down.
You're doing well if you achieve a stride length that allows you to maintain a rate of 1.5 full strides per second, or 90 per minute. Maximize the time you spend in the air and minimize the time your feet spend on the ground. There are additional factors that affect your final speed in addition to stride and endurance. These include your starting ability, technique and how much force you can apply to the ground with each step.
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