5 Factors That Affect Your Running Performance

Running can positively impact your mood and your physique. Still, this form of exercise can be hard on the body. Each time your feet push into the pavement you are creating impacting forces throughout your entire body. 

When you’re into performance running you train to push for longer distances and increased speeds. This type of running can particularly leave your body feeling depleted, sore, and injured unless you train and recover accordingly. 

Running doesn’t have to be a risky sport or form of exercise. With some education and modifications, improving your running performance and health is possible.

Let’s look into five of the biggest factors affecting running performance: 

Cadence

Running cadence is the number of steps per minute that you take during your run and is impacted by height. For instance, a tall runner can have a slower cadence because they do not need to take as many steps to achieve the same distance. A shorter runner might require a faster cadence to achieve the same distance. 

A higher cadence can be better for any height as it can decrease the overall impact on your body. If you’re unsure if your cadence is helping or hurting you, a running gait analysis from Versa can help you determine how to improve your running performance. 

Pelvic alignment

For peak running performance and injury prevention, your pelvis should be in a neutral and stable position as you run. This position allows helps to maintain total body control, reducing fatigue and risk of injury, while helping your legs to move through their ideal range of motion. A running gait assessment can determine your ideal pelvic position.

Base of support 

Your base of support and center of gravity should be congruent as you run. This essentially relates to your leg swing as you run and how much of the ground your feet can cover all while keeping you in your best running posture. 

You want to be stable but mobile enough to be agile and quick and often a good pair of shoes can help you. A gait analysis is helpful in determining the right fit of shoe for your feet.

Heel strike

Part of our gait, or how our feet connect with the surface as we walk or run, involves a heel strike. This is the time during movement that the heel strikes the ground.

There is debate over whether a heel strike when you run decreases speed and increases injuries. Since everybody is different, you will want to be assessed to see if being a runner with a heel strike is right for you. 

If you’re unsure if you’re a heel striker but you’re frequently injured or in pain, consider a gait analysis to determine your foot placement to help you avoid injury. 

Vertical displacement

Vertical displacement relates to how much you ‘bounce’ during the push-off phase of your running gait. The more ‘bounce’ and vertical displacement you have the more impact your body will experience. This can also impact running performance as you’re wasting energy on a movement that is not moving you forward. 

Book a gait analysis with Versa Movement Collective

As a runner, it’s hard to assess these factors on your own, especially since you can’t see a full 360 of yourself as you run. If you want a professional to assess and help you improve your running performance, book an appointment  with Versa today, or give us a call at (403) 727-0802.