Blog

Cadence, foot strikes and stride length - step by step

Posted by Anthony Luke MD, MPH on April 22, 2022

The Starting Line:  How do cadence and stride length relate?    For beginner runners running with a more frequent shorter stride is often preferred rather then a long stride. A popular concept to think about now is considering your cadence which is how often your foot hits the ground in one minute. Ideally your stride should be close to 170-180 foot strikes per minute so each foot lands 85-90 times ea...

+ more

Work Shoes Slowing You Down?

Posted by Hanna Baker, CO on August 29, 2013

The Starting Line:  Are your work shoes an important key to injury-free training?   Many athletes spend hundreds of dollars per year on high-end running shoes, yet still suffer from footwear-related injuries. What many of those athletes don’t realize, is that the shoes they wear when they are not running may be causing some of those injuries. Whether a runner wears stilettos in meetings, or leather ...

+ more

Barefoot Running Effects on Injuries

Posted by Toran MacLeod PT, PhD on January 14, 2013

The Starting Line:  Can running barefoot help prevent running injuries?   Traditional running shoes have cushioning that allows for the comfortable rearfoot strike pattern present in 80% of runners. This rearfoot strike is associated with an impact spike in the vertical ground reaction force, which creates high loading rates within the leg. Over time, these repetitive loading events may lead to injuries su...

+ more

Plantar Fasciitis: Problems and Solutions

Posted by Anthony Luke MD, MPH on December 5, 2012

The Starting Line:  Why do I have heel pain when I run and what can I do about it?   Plantar fasciitis is the third most common injury in runners. The fibrous insertion of the plantar fascia into the heel (a.k.a. the calcaneus) is stretched by the repetitive stress of running. Tenderness is often located on the inside aspect of the heel where the arch of the foot ends and the heel contacts the ground. This...

+ more