Runners: Ways to lengthen your stride?

Running fast is a little bit like falling forward and catching yourself. Stand up straight with your feet together. Start leaning forward; when you feel like you're falling, you will step out and catch yourself. That's a pretty long stride for me, and that's what it feels like to run with a long stride. On the other hand, I find it hard to take long strides if I'm not running at a fairly high speed. You can see if that makes sense to you.

it sounds like you are a perfect candidate for barefoot style running. note, you don't actually have to run barefoot, but you'll need to ditch the sneakers with a big "supportive" heel. look into minimus style sneakers, like new balance and vibrams. these shoes support a short stride, where you land in the middle or on the balls of you feet, instead of on the heel. it may take a little getting used to, as it will engage more muscles in the legs that have somewhat atrophied due to not being used as much with those padded heel shoes everyone wears.

It is recommended for good form to keep your strides short and quick rather than long. Check out this site: http://www.goodformrunning.com/ they explain it well! Good luck!

It's actually better to have a shorter stride with a quicker turn over in distance running rather than a longer stride, what type of running are you doing?

^Co-sign.

There is an optimum stride length for each individual based on their anatomy. It is not a good idea to try to articially make big changes either way (although erring on the side of shorter strides is much better than overstriding). However, that "optimum stride length" will change as your abilities change. For example, if you do speed intervals, your legs will become stronger and your stride will naturally increase. The main thing is to run in a controlled, relaxed fashion. It is not a good idea to try to consciously lengthen your stride--it is not only inefficient, but there is increased injury risk.

Hill sprints and hill repeats will strengthen your legs and give you a more powerful stride.

Like others said also, if you simply try to run faster your stride will naturally get longer for that pace. You have to be willing to get out of the comfort zone though.

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Turnover is what you are looking for, not length. When you reach to lengthen you stride, you start to heel strike and open yourself up to all sorts of injury. Concentrate on trying to take between 160 and 180 steps per minute (count steps for 10 seconds, multiply by 6 - easiest way). If you are already there, then don't try to make any changes. As you get stronger and more fit, you will run faster but you will not have to lengthen your stride as is being implied. You will cover more ground with each step, but you will stay in the 160-180 steps per minute range. What you will see is a higher heel lift in the back and higher knee lift in the front when you are running faster.

What happens when you reach 160-180 steps per minute? Is it then impossible to ever go faster?

And if you "cover more ground with each step", aren't you, by definition, taking a longer stride?

I think you are using the term "stride length" to refer to gait and form, which is a little different and may be confusing.

Studies done on champion 5K and 10K runners showed that, when they increased from an easy pace to a near max pace, turnover increased by 10%12%, while stride length increased 81%-83%. Increasing speed further (sprint pace) then requires an additional increase in turnover.

Except at rapid speeds, running speed is increased mainly by lengthening the stride. As has been stated earlier, the training that one does to increase speed (tempo runs, intervals, hill running) will result in a "natural" increase in stride length--meaning that more distance is traveled with each step, but form still remains compact and controlled.

And that is where I think the confusion lies. I think today many people interpret "stride length" as being the extent of foot placement in front of the body. By that definition, "lengthening stride" means extending the front foot farther in front of the body's center of gravity--and no, that is not a good thing. But stride length just means the amount of distance covered with each step.

It easy for the recreational runner to focus on a simple number like stride rate, but the real point of the current recommendations to increase stride rate is to reduce vertical loading on the foot by bringing the point of contact closer to the center of mass. Doing that is more important than whether or not one lands on the heel, IMO. The only problem is that our bodies are not made the same, and stride length/stride rate are very individual, so runners need to learn to be "in touch" with their bodies and not just focus on a stride rate number.

What happens when you reach 160-180 steps per minute? Is it then impossible to ever go faster?

Stride rate doesn't equal speed. It's just the optimal number of steps to take.

And if you "cover more ground with each step", aren't you, by definition, taking a longer stride?

Technically yes, but I think most of the people that ask about "lengthening stride" are referring to the process of stepping further out with each step, not propelling themselves further through the air before their foot again makes contact with the ground..

I think you are using the term "stride length" to refer to gait and form, which is a little different and may be confusing.

Yes, you are right. I should have been more clear and I thank you for clearing it up.

Studies done on champion 5K and 10K runners showed that, when they increased from an easy pace to a near max pace, turnover increased by 10%12%, while stride length increased 81%-83%. Increasing speed further (sprint pace) then requires an additional increase in turnover.

160 steps per minute with a 10% increase is 176 steps. Still in the range.

Except at rapid speeds, running speed is increased mainly by lengthening the stride. As has been stated earlier, the training that one does to increase speed (tempo runs, intervals, hill running) will result in a "natural" increase in stride length--meaning that more distance is traveled with each step, but form still remains compact and controlled.

And that is where I think the confusion lies. I think today many people interpret "stride length" as being the extent of foot placement in front of the body. By that definition, "lengthening stride" means extending the front foot farther in front of the body's center of gravity--and no, that is not a good thing. But stride length just means the amount of distance covered with each step.

I concur.

It easy for the recreational runner to focus on a simple number like stride rate, but the real point of the current recommendations to increase stride rate is to reduce vertical loading on the foot by bringing the point of contact closer to the center of mass. Doing that is more important than whether or not one lands on the heel, IMO. The only problem is that our bodies are not made the same, and stride length/stride rate are very individual, so runners need to learn to be "in touch" with their bodies and not just focus on a stride rate number.

Keeping the foot under center mass will naturally bring you into the 160 to 180 range for most of the population. It is an individual thing, but our bodies aren't really all that much different.

Great discussion.

I need to work on this too.. I'm short 5'2 and my husband keeps telling me if I just took bigger steps I would go faster and probably longer..

I'm 5'4". I take 175 to 180 steps per minute. I have a short stride. I'm not slow.

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Why do you want to lengthen your stride? Keep it short and work on cadence!

A short stride isn't a bad thing. I shortened my stride when I had recurring shin splints. It helped a lot! I found that I run slower with a shorter stride. I'm still tweaking my stride, but I'm pain free and I enjoy running again.