I work with a lot of guys who are getting into structured running for the first time.
And there is one common theme that helps make running easier for them:
Increased cadence.
I often see guys at 155-160 cadence.
That’s a huge red flag that tells me they’re running slow, sloppy and heavy.
(Your Garmin tracks this automatically. Go check your stats).
For athletes like Mike Donatelli and Blaine Bursey (jacked dudes, former lifters), getting their cadence up to 170-175 made running feel way better on the body.
It also helped them run faster with less effort.
Here’s 2 reasons why:
more steps per minute means less stress on the body with each stride
higher cadence forces the body into more efficient mechanics overall
But increased cadence doesn’t just mean more stepping.
Let me explain.
Video Analysis Of My Own Run Form
This is something I’ve worked on myself.
After Ironman Florida ‘22, I was stuck running at 162 cadence and had not broken the 4 hour mark in the marathon of any of my 3 Ironmans.
I could increase my cadence when I ran faster.
But I couldn’t sustain faster running. And the front of my hips were always killing me.
I spent all of 2023 working on my cadence.
The result at IMFL ‘23?
avg cadence up to 174
15 minute marathon PR (3:49)
I filmed a full video analysis on how I improved. You can watch it here:
Cues To Increase Cadence
#1: More forward lean
#2: More forward knee drive
#3: Changing speed by adjusting power out the back of your stride (not just working harder)
#4: Getting the front foot down faster (with intentional knee bend and under center of mass)
Details on all these are explained in the video.
Reader Question
I got this question in the comments of my YouTube video:
“Nice job on improving your cadence. My only hesitation is looking at my stride analysis I am at low 160's when going at 9 minutes/mile pace, but closer to ideal (180) in the low 170's when running at 6 minutes/mile pace. At 6'1" and my head not bouncing much at all, I didn't think I have an issue. Feel free to share any thoughts on my situation. I too have had a lot of recent hip soreness, so maybe something could be off in my form, shoes, or intensity.” - @dan-312
Here’s my answer:
I see this all the time. 160s when running slow. 175+ when running fast.
To make the next step of development, you want to learn how to change pace by adjusting the power coming out the back of your stride.
Your running form should stay the same whether you are running slow or fast.
When you want to run fast, feel your legs pushing power. Feel your quads, glutes and hamstrings bearing load and propelling your body forward.
Then when you want to run slow, just push less power out the back.
Keep everything else the same.
