Fast Running Blog

I'm trying to get a faster 5k time, and been doing 400's once a week.  I learned about the 180 strides per minute a while ago, and that has helped me quite a bit.  I found on my tempo runs that my stride rate was too fast and elevating my heart rate, so it was super hard to maintain pace.  Once I lowered my stride rate I was able to go longer and feel more comfortable. 

So now when doing fast 400's I'm trying to keep my stride rate down, but notice I can't do the repeat as fast as when I go at a faster stride rate.  My question is, should I use a faster stride rate, so my 400 time is faster, or should I be trying to keep my stride rate at 180 and just try to generate more power in my stride?  I only ask, because the higher stride rate feels pretty comfortable over such a short distance, but I would not be able to sustain a 5k distance with that form.  When I do the repeat at the lower stride rate, I feel like I'm trying very hard to reach speeds I can hit pretty easily with the faster stride.

You need to find what is the most efficient combination of stride rate and power for you.  The 180 is a guideline and the actual implementation is different for everyone.  When we ran the Del Sol as a team a few years ago, it was amazing to see the different strides of each of the guys on the team, no 2 were the same.  As you indicated, power and turnover are the key to pace.  I race and at a rate of almost 200 at times but sometimes feel I am sacrificing my power which lowers my efficiency.  Sorry this isn't a definitive answer but I don't know that there is one.

Seth- my normal, easy pace has 180-185 stride rate.  My tempo rate is 185-190.  My 5k or faster pace is 195-200.  I wouldn't artificially "slow" your rate during a workout.  Aim for a specific speed/split, and let your body run naturally without thinking about stride rate.  And I definitely thinking having a higher stride rate for a 400m versus 5k is very, very normal. 

Thanks for the advice guys!  I guess I'll just go with what my body wants to do.  That's why it's a speed workout right?

Seth:

Stride rate and length both increase with the pace. E.g. for me, 5:20 pace produces a stride rate of about 185, 4:40 pace of about 200. Different runners have different optimal stride rate at different paces. A runner of average height usually will have a hard time sustaining a stride rate of over 190 with natural stride length for a long time, but 180-190 is usually sustainable. There are exceptions, some runners can sustain 200.

The reason you rarely see elites stride less than 180 a minute is simple - you would have to do bounds to run sub-5:00 if it was any less. Try this - put some marks on the road about 6 feet apart and try running hitting one each step. It will be an educational experience. Elite stride length at race pace is around 6 feet. I can easily hit 180 turnover, but am not able to sustain world-class or even national class stride length, my legs get too tired. Somehow we often obsess about elite stride rate, and forget about the stride length :-)

Note that overstriding more often than not fails to produce a long stride. Effective long stride is a result of an explosive push-off. You cannot fake it. You have to be fit.

 Remember that you get no reward for hitting a higher stride rate in a race unless it is backed up by adequate stride length :-) In other words, just run fast naturally, and do not stress about the stride rate.