How to Increase Stride Length and Running Efficiency

Why would one want to increase their stride length? Running speed depends upon two main variables – stride length and stride rate. To run faster you need to improve one or both. A lot of attention has been placed on increasing stride rate in recent years – and for good reason – raising your stride rate or turnover to around 90 full strides per minute is one of the most efficient ways to improve your running economy. Don’t forget about your stride length. Over striding is the most common form flaw among distance runners, but don’t confuse a long stride length with over striding. Over striding describes a form flaw in which you land on the heel of your lead foot, in front of your center of gravity. You should always try to maximize your stride length – you just need to do that without over striding.

I have long wanted to work on perfecting my stride and stride length. This is a hard thing to do when in the middle of training for a specific race as it takes lots of practice. Since I am cutting my mileage back because of sciatica in my left leg, all the way down to my foot, I have decided to give it a go.

So what exactly is the perfect stride? A stride in running is one step and generally 180 to 200 strides per minute are considered the perfect number. This is way to hard to count so one generally counts only one foot for a minute. Lets say you decide to count your left foot so each time your left foot strikes the ground you would count up one. In longer distance running closer to 90 is considered the best stride rate and in shorter sprinting etc closer to 100 is considered to be better. We will call this lower number turnover rate!
Try running your normal pace sometime counting for one minute, just your right or left foot, and see where you fall naturally.  I did this the other day and found my natural turnover rate was at 82 per minute falling below the 90 that is ideal.

Another aspect of the perfect stride is length and a mid or forefoot foot strike. In other words a heal strike is generally not considered to be ideal. Anytime your foot lands heal first you are actually breaking somewhat in your forward motion as well as putting more strain on your knees and hips.

While counting my strides I paid attention to my foot strike finding, not surprisingly, that I was running with a heal strike except when running uphill. I have actually known this for a long time but never had the patience to work on changing it till now.

Generally the reason for a heal strike is because one is over striding. That’s right I have been taking too long a stride. What’s that you say. “I thought you were working on increasing your stride length?” Well here is the problem. Increasing ones stride length does not mean stretching the legs out father in front of your body! It actually means to take more air. I’m not talking about bouncing up and down while running but I am talking about the distance covered while in the air with both feet off the ground should be greater the longer ones stride is.

So the question is, “How do I accomplish this?” First lets analyze the concept of loading! That is, in order for the muscles to generate power they first have to be loaded. Think of a spring or better yet a rubber band. When you pull back on a rubber band, stretching it, your are loading it. When you release it that is when the power is generated.

If your foot lands on the heal, it has to rotate forward to the mid-foot in order for the loading effect to take place and power to be generated for forward momentum.  If the foot lands, with the toes and forefoot flexed upward (dorsi-flexing), on the mid foot or ball of the foot it takes much less time for the loading effect to take place and more power is generated for forward motion. The foot is on the ground for a shorter period of time sending you forward with more push-off and efficiency.

Think of running with more bend in your knees on the forward motion, keeping your feet directly under your center of gravity not out in front. This may seem counter intuitive but, your step as far as the distance your are swinging your leg forward, will probably be shorter than what you are doing right now. However, if you find that your turnover rate is slower, as I did, it is probably because you are over striding. Remember to try not to have more than a 95 degree angle at your knees on the forward stride.

OK, so if I shorten my leg swing how do I increase my stride length? The answer to this is that you have to generate more power. By working on the proper forefoot or mid-foot strike you will start to generate more power. In the beginning this will take a lot of concentration. I found that by the end of a four mile run I was having trouble concentrating on keeping proper form. I also found that I was working my muscles in a different way than they were used to and they felt a little more tired than normal. I expect as I continue to work on this it will get easier. It is not something that will come to be habit overnight!

There are exercise routines that can also help develop a longer stride. Running specific strength exercises like, Bench Step-ups, Stride Step-ups and One leg squats will help a great deal. In addition, building your explosive strength with plyometric drill or exercises such as, Bounding, Hops, Jumps and Sprints.
I think it is more important to first work on turnover rate and landing on the forefoot than to concentrate on increasing stride length!

Some things to Remember:

Dorsi-flexing your ankle puts your foot into a position that is most efficient at producing a powerful and long stride. Your foot is dorsi-flexed when you raise your toes or pull the front of your foot up towards your shin. The opposite action is plantar-flexion when you point your toes towards the ground. Raising your toes pre-stretches your calf muscles and gets them ready to fire quickly as soon as your foot touches the ground. That results in a long, powerful and smooth stride.

Take shorter steps: What? – take shorter steps to increase your stride length! That sounds crazy! It’s not really. If you try to take long steps to increase your stride length you will end up reaching out in front of your center of gravity and landing on your heel. You will be putting the brakes on with every step you take. You will also be increasing the stress on your ankles, knees, hip and back, increasing your risk of injury. Remember, your steps should be shorter and more compact. You want to increase your air time and distance – not your reach.

Hills: Remember as always your stride length will shorten or elongate depending on whether you are on a flat, uphill or downhill portion. I found that increasing my turnover rate made me have to shorten my stride more than I was used to on the uphill or my heart rate would start climbing rapidly. It is best when starting to practice this style of running that you find as flat a surface as possible and then, as you get more comfortable, take to running a more undulating course.

These are all things I am working on right now. I just started so I’m sure it will take weeks or longer to get fully accustomed to running in this manner, but I am committed. I’ll report back in a later post to let you know how it has worked.

Keep on running!