Leave a Comment:
(10) comments
Jae, I couldn’t help but notice Bekele’s range of motion from the knee. He seems to be using almost all of it, almost locked at footstrike to almost kicking himself in the butt. Nevertheless, the range of his thigh seems very normal compared to other runners.
Reply
I agree, Steve. After sleeping on it I wasn’t confident at all that there was a difference in their stride lengths, so I’ve revised the post to reflect that.
Reply
Of course, if they are running the same speed, the runner with the slower cadence has the longer stride length. I didn’t spend much time/effort looking at it, but to my eye it seems like their cadence was pretty darn close (and hence stride length too).
Reply Yes of course, David. But I don’t feel like either my tidbit or the German broadcast clip give me enough info on their cadence overall, though Bekele’s cadence did seem higher than Kipsang’s coming up to the finish line. At that point, though, the way the camera was swooping around I couldn’t tell if the gap between them was growing or not. This is the sort of thing I’d have a better feeling for if I’d watched the whole broadcast rather than being there on the street. Tradeoffs.
Reply
Running style is an overrated independent variable of running. I rest my case in two great runners who, both, have terrible running styles. Tsegaye Kebede and Paula Radcliff
Reply Hi Marco. This is the first analysis I’ve done in years where I’ve forgotten to give my usual disclaimer that running form is just one of many assets a runner may have and we can’t fully ascribe performance to it. I’ve always known the minute I forgot to say this, someone would leave a comment saying “Paula Radcliffe!” so thank you for that satisfaction. I disagree with you about Tsegaye Kebede though, the way he runs works really well. Anyway, the thing about running form/technique is, who wouldn’t want another asset if they could have it?
Reply
Jae, Wouldn’t it be more important to focus on the relative contact time with the ground, centre of gravity when contacting the ground and how much energy is being lost as they transfer between strides. The relative stride length and mobility differences of each athlete will most likely not allow them to run with similar stride technique. Obviously both techniques are very efficient in their own way.
Reply Ground contact time is definitely something I’d like to know as well, Owain. But as a consequence of my Feldenkrais training, mobility differences or, rather, movement strategy differences are the main thing I focus on. They are within the realm of things runners can make choices about when they can feel what they’re doing and understand their options. For instance, Kipsang could learn to bend his elbows more, move his shoulders more, and differentiate his upper spine, and he would immediately develop a bigger leg action and run somewhat like Bekele. And vice versa, Bekele could lower his hands and his upper body would move less and so would his legs. In my professional experience, Bekele’s strategy is the better one though a number of runners have done very well with Kipsang’s strategy (Desi Linden most clearly, but Meb can sometimes move in similar fashion). But watching my own video and then the broadcast clip made me wonder why…
Reply
Hello Jae – a slightly different request …
Have enjoyed your observations on elite strides – particularly these two as well as Rupp and Kipchoge posts. But as you encourage readers to consider implications for their own stride,I am always left wondering about relevance….let me explain.
This Berlin footage is of runners that are literally running at a pace that is faster than most folks reading here even can hold a 30 second stride for (430-445 pace per mile). I am a 2:41 marathoner – and my cadence / effort / lean / arm action / etc is far different at 7 min vs 6 min vs 5 min pace. So what do these elites look like on video at more “normal” speeds? Is there more insight we could observe or adapt in watching Bekele doing say his warm up at 630 or 7 min pace per mile pace – truly effortless for him but near race pace for us common folks? Thoughts?
Reply That’s a great question, Scott. I think, though, that the question of what pace these runners are running is perhaps less significant than what effort. The overall dynamics I write about hold true for all runners — for instance the relationship between the shoulders and the leg range of motion. In essence, they’re true at every speed. The main aspects of coordination that change with speed are also pretty standard: amount of forward lean, the degree to which trunk action facilitates leg action, the amount of “snap” in the arms and their range of motion. But my sense is that these things are linked to effort, not necessarily speed. In other words, your form and Bekele’s form will go through similar changes as he approaches 2:03 marathon pace and you approach 2:41 marathon pace. From the outside you won’t look exactly the same but you’ll look more similar than if you both ran 7 minute pace. A famous scientist once expressed the view to me that you can’t learn about human evolution and how the gait of running works by looking at elite distance runners because what they’re doing is highly abnormal for our species. I disagree, because you can’t reach a pinnacle of performance as they do by using your body in any other way than how it really works. Or as close to that as any given individual, with their personal movement history and experiences, can get.
Reply