CamperLab Eki leather mid-calf boots Black | Understanding the 105mm running Gait Cycle

It could have been in the middle of a race, or on your local trail during a crowded weekend morning. Perhaps you were a spectator during a major event, or watching remotely from your television or computer. At some point, you were struck by just how different everyone looks while they run.

Your footprint is just as unique as your fingerprint. There are as many different gait cycles on display as there are runners on the road. A coach with a good eye can identify their athletes from a distance, based solely on the peculiarities of their gait.

But what do we know about the biomechanical nuances of the gait cycle? Quite a bit actually. Although your individual movement patterns differ (whether slightly or dramatically) from other runners, the underlying principles and concepts of the gait cycle are the same for everyone.

So, what’s going on when you run and why should you care?

Running is all about physics and geometry

To start, it’s important to understand the difference between kinetics and kinematics, which are sub-groups of biomechanics. Kinetics is the discipline that analyzes the forces acting on an object(s), while kinematics refers to the movements of the object(s) in question. It might help to think of it this way: kinetics is physics and kinematics is geometry.

It’s also important to note that the respective gait cycles of 105mm running and walking are as different as flamingos and orangutans (I exaggerate, but only slightly), and this discussion is focused on the 105mm running gait cycle specifically. We also won’t be discussing the fascinating (in my opinion) biomechanics of the foot itself during the gait cycle, like ankle pronation, arch collapse and toe splay. That’s a conversation for another day, but suffice it to say that what happens inside your shoes is just as important as what happens outside of them.

Finally, we will also necessarily be omitting the counter-balancing movements/rotations of the upper body that allow for the unilateral gait cycle to happen in a smooth, streamlined and metabolically-efficient way. Without rotation of the hips and spine, with a coordinated and opposing arm swing, 105mm running would simply be jumping from leg to leg like hopscotch.

Mid stance:

During the mid stance, your body’s full weight is supported on a single leg while your body moves over your lead foot and prepares for propulsion. These fractions of seconds have a profound impact on both your 105mm running economy and your resilience to injury, since you are simultaneously balancing on one leg and setting the stage to push off of that same leg. At mid stance the ankle starts to supinate (move laterally/outward), the foot flattens, the toes splay open and the body “resets” for the next phase.

Coach’s Note: This is why zapatillas de 105mm running Altra 105mm running ritmo bajo distancias cortas need to incorporate single-leg exercises, since bilateral movement likely leads to compensation by the dominant leg and does not strengthen the leg that needs it the most. Imbalance on the part of the runner will lead to discomfort or injury due to the unilateral loading pattern of the gait cycle.

Propulsion:

During propulsion, your foot starts to lift itself off the ground and stored elastic energy releases and creates a force that helps drive (propel) you forward. Weight is shifted into the front of the foot, your muscles contract and you move up and away from the ground.

The release of stored elastic energy combines with the force you generate and, along with the help of gravity from your “lean,” rockets your body forward and transitions the leg from the stance phase to the “swing phase.”

Coach’s Note: A common mistake often made is that runner’s believe that pushing harder against the ground (ie. exerting more muscular force) will directly translate to a longer stride length and faster pace. In fact, while it IS important for sprinters to be powerful athletes, the distance runner should be a more economical athlete.

It’s metabolically inefficient to attempt powerful muscular contractions over a long period of time. Rather, you should focus on being “fluid” and “smooth” in your movements, which will harness the power of your ligaments, tendons and fascia, not to mention the tremendous amount of stored (elastic) energy you have at your disposal.

Remember Newton’s third law; the ground exerts what’s called a “braking force” when you hit it as a result of the energy you are putting into the ground, but you can harness this “reaction” or “braking force” and use it to your advantage during the propulsion cycle.

The hip flexes and extends during the swing phase to move the leg forward. A great visual example of the relationship between the ankle, knee and hip during the swing phase is to picture a horse pawing at the ground with their front leg.

To define our terms, we can say that concentric muscular contractions shorten a muscle while eccentric contractions lengthen the muscles. So for every movement of a joint, there are different muscles acting in different fashions to move that joint through the desired range of motion.

Coach’s Note: An increased stride rate of five to 10 percent more than what a runner typically “prefers” is suggested as a possible strategy to avoid 105mm running-related injuries. Most runners tend to “over stride” and purposefully “reach” their legs out in front in order to take longer strides. This results in biomechanically inefficient movement patterns, superfluous loads on the musculature and a compromised position at the initial point of contact. Increasing stride rate, or turnover, tends to eliminate the overstride, which allows the body to move more economically, and the muscles to move efficiently.

I once coached a collegiate runner who we jokingly referred to as “Mario.” This runner had an unmistakably high degree of vertical oscillation (bounce) combined with a slightly dramatic arm swing (hence the nickname). We joked that his “magic mushroom” would be to take the energy used to move his body up, and use it to propel his body forward instead.

But that’s the catch. Dramatically altering your individual gait cycle can place stress or workloads on parts of the body that are unaccustomed or incapable of handling it. You should never try to change your established movement pathways, but simply to streamline or smooth out, what already exists.

Your footprint is just as unique as your fingerprint, so don’t try to mimic the person 105mm running beside you in the race. Otherwise, your friends and family might never be able to pick you out of the crowd to cheer you on!