Running Cadence Explained | How To Find Your Run Cadence

[@gtn]

Do you use cadence whilst running? Maybe you have a target too? Maybe you've never used it and have some thoughts? Leave us your comments below!

[@lisapet160]

You can use any metronome app for cadence pacing.

[@RiaanDunckley]

I always suffered from shin splints, until I’ve read somewhere to increase running cadence. Felt awkward for the first week to have a faster leg speed but it worked and running got really easy after the change.

[@meneither3834]

Similar situation here. Increasing my cadence helped my shin splints (didn't make them disappear though.)

[@planekhealer]

Yes, it makes big difference with shin splints pain problem. I also added stretching and massaging the spot in different leg positions (relaxed or stretched). I increased from 160 to 175 at pace 6 min/km.

[@txrnea14]

Seriously, this helps so much with that problem

[@TheAleqzi]

Cool! Shin splints have been a problem of mine, and glad I stumbled upon this comment as I'm getting started on running

[@davidb6961]

I use a metronome app and set it for 165 for my easy runs and 180 for my fast run. I have shortened my stride to keep up with 180 and over time I am beginning to gradually lengthen my stride at this rate. I have improved my 5K times because of using cadence. 👍

[@johnhesketh9563]

Perfect timing. This mornings run was all about increasing cadence. Normally I’m about 160, but was up at 173 today. Lots of work to get this to become the norm

[@skateskape]

I used to listen to music playlists with songs that had like 170-175 bpm on my easy runs and 180 on intervals😋👌🏽

[@mtorressahli]

For me the best thing has been to follow the cadence that allows me to land over my center of gravity. This is, focus on form and let cadence follow. My efficiency numbers (e.g. heartbeats per km) improve when I do that.

[@CH4NNELZERO]

Hey this is the first time I've seen someone mention heartbeats per km ! What an interesting metric. I'm going to start looking at this and seeing how it changes while changing cadence. Thanks.

[@cpi_productionscreatoxx6289]

Tough question. From my experience it's based on your body length in general, and the pace you want to run in special. It mimics cycling in effort terms. Higher Cadence = Higher Heartrate, but less pain impact on your legs for longer distances. In return, slow cadence with long strides(based on power) will render your legs broken way faster then high cadence with short strides. However, naturally I would get more control of my training zones with lower cadence. So for me personally(1,88cm, 80kg, 44), it's ranging between 162-174, for regeneration(160-162)/base endurance(162-164)/tempo endurance(165-167)/anaerobic(168-174)/VO2Max(>174). In general I would recommend to rookies raising their cadence, as this will have a huge impact on your pacing with the same effort. A cadence of 180 I would never recommend to anyone bigger than 1,80cm. It's just physically illogical to pace that high, because as a big person you would naturally have way longer strides, and the energy consumption would be way over board @180.

[@Cloppa2000]

Many thanks for this. I'm new to running and 6' 2" and trying to increase cadence sent my HR way up!! What you said makes good sense. Now I'm concentrating on getting fitter at whatever cadence feels most comfortable for my speed and keeps my HR down. Increasing cadence can come later (if I ever get fast enough to warrant it!) 👍🏻

[@joefish6546]

I discovered I love to run to drum and bass, which has a typically high BPM for electronic dance music. Current favorite is a London based DNB artist called Mikal who has a fantastic album called Metalworks at around 174 BPM. Highly recommend for anyone looking for something to lift their cadence and their spirits.

[@joefish6546]

Actually, I listen to a live version that is 174 bpm. The album seems to be 171 bpm! Sorry!

[@simonkempnerguitar]

I am a pro musician and always check in with my metronome app during my runs (I always set it to 180bpm before heading out) and see if I'm near or on that "holy grail" of running cadence :) definitely helped a lot!

[@SurrendertotheSound]

I NEVER subscribe to any channel. I subscribed to this one.

[@jamiegracie2458]

I've just recently started paying attention. I was

[@srinivasa2419]

Google fit has a "paced walking" activity which runs a metronome in your headphones helping you maintain your cadence we can use it for running too

[@line2zee]

I run naturally at 180-185 no matter what pace. It what feels natrual for me. I have the same with or without music as well.

[@mincehogan9508]

same kinda find it damn easy aswell, hope this is normal though? :) never really understood all the fuss to be honest.

[@fernandosanchez6953]

I didn't understand cadence before, Im at 169 spm at easy run THANK YOU!🤗

[@jonb9194]

The hip flexors and hamstrings need to be strengthened for higher cadence, as they are the main "horizontal" muscles in the stride for non-sprinting running. The calfs and quads are primarily the "vertical" muscles. I've worked my way up to doing high cadence 100m repeats at around 230 SPM. Ground contact time is maximized, and air time and vertical oscillation is minimized. This is not the most efficient way to run, but really works the hip flexors and hamstrings, and is very easy on the calfs, quads, and knee impact.

[@oliverchalkley1187]

Finally someone that doesn't just say 180 irrelevant of target speed!

[@gl4989]

180-185 seems to be my average cadence during training sessions. 190+ during races

[@rapssss]

With faster pace like 5 min/km and faster my cadence is 180+(around 181 but always hitting 180). For slower paces like easy recovery runs(around 8-9 min/km) I am really not hitting even 160(usually 155-158). Some commenters may say it's bad but I've run for months like this with no issues and if I try to hit 160+ I immediately make my run faster which is not the point of easy/recovery runs. For me cadence is dependent on the run speed.

[@Bensonbadger]

After running marathons and competing in triathlons for years I finally got a smart watch and irritatingly my average cadence was 165. So I set about trying to up this in a slow and structured manner because the Internet told me 180 was key to form! I ran 15 to 20km 3 or 4 times a week and compared the data over a 7 month period. I finally got my average cadence up to 175. But its something that still feels unnatural to me. I can't daydream while running like this. The results- I ran just as quick with my pace being roughly the same depending on incline more than anything else and my average heart rate stayed exactly the same, again depending on incline.......what have I achieved? I'm not sure. Maybe on a road race or a track where repetitive mechanics are more easily maintained, cadence plays a bigger part in efficiency, but I'll leave counting while going around in circles to others I think.

[@PearlHarborization]

Thank you very much for your explanation.

[@sebbyh9764]

Perfect timing of your video, thanks

[@thibod07]

Thank you for sharing! Using a metronome and doing drills is what helped me to improve my cadence. It took me around two years to keep my cadence consistently above 180 in training and above 185 in races. Now I am working on my mobility to improve my stride length and I find this change to be even harder to do. You have a lovely accent. Have a nice day.

[@heatherfell_oly]

Mobility is sadly something that takes time but you'll get there.

[@thibod07]

@@heatherfell_oly Thanks! As I am getting older in trying to improve my mobility I manage to keep what I already have. Running has it's way to make my hips so rigid. One way to work on my hips mobility and leg speeds with success is to run 400 meters intervals down-hills of about 3% grade landing softly and minimizing my time on the ground. My cadence when I do those five intervals is on average 196 steps per minutes, I use a gps combined with a foot pod to record my cadence and look at it after the training session as I try to free my mind when my legs are moving that quickly. :-) :-) . I tried yoga but it is really not for me to improve my mobility it does wonder for my breathing. Running is such a versatile exercise to do it is like playing piano to a musician it gives all the basic skills required to do any other sports. Even the sinking legs for swimming. :-) :-)

[@hughbriz]

I am new to running but tend to run at about 180, and usually listen to music at that pace which keeps things fairly consistent. It feels pretty natural, and stride length increases if I go faster. This may have something to do with cycling for several years where riding at about 90rpm also seems normal

[@THX-wc2jo]

I was in the high 140's when I started paying attention to cadence a couple years ago - now up to 160-165 which seems to be natural cadence for me for tempo run (I'm 6'1").

[@pookiewood]

This is where I'm at. 6'1 and 160 is good to get me 8-9ish per mile. I keep Taylor Swift -Shake it off in my head. I knew this felt right for ru ning and then the other day just happened to look up cadence and BPM and found out I was on to something. 🤣🤣

[@CH4NNELZERO]

I'm trying to stick to zone 2 heart rate running (a.k.a. permanent easy day!) and have lots of questions about what is the correct cadence. If I stick to 180 spm my stride rate is so tiny that I feel silly. So maybe that's the wrong thing to do .. It was interesting to hear you pros have much lower cadence on your easy days.

[@heatherfell_oly]

I would say don't get too hung up on it but awareness is a good first step.

[@klaasdeboer8106]

At the moment I am doing a fun project, which is running at a variety of cadences using balboa ballroom jazz playlists from youtube, ,

[@bikeanddogtripsvirtualcycling]

i fall naturally in to the 174 to 178 spm marker no matter how much i try to change things. I do recall checking Emma Pooley's cadence from (i think) the 2019 Bath Half Marathon - it was the same year that you also ran the race, Heather. From what I recall, her cadence was showing the mid to high 190s SPM and im pretty sure without going back to check that she topped 200 SPM a few times. I vaguely remember watching a short documentary on Flo Jo (Florence Griffith Joyner) which mentioned that she had the lowest or one of the lowest ground contact times of any runner in history (so i am assuming that her run cadence will have topped Emma's even by agood margin)

[@heatherfell_oly]

Yes Emma does have a super high cadence but she has a shorter leg and of course is a fast runner, two significant factors.

[@closmasmas9080]

In my first year of high school I was at around 165 for my easy days. Now I’m closer to 175

[@edwardroberts739]

This was useful as I am six foot three and my cadence is at 150 for a slow run (6min/km) ... I have tried all sorts of things to improve it but when I do I start running faster, and I am already struggling to run slowly and long. I think I'll only worry about my cadence when running faster and instead focus on trying to run slower. I am not an advanced runner.

[@shaunywhu13]

All my runs from speed, easy, hills and racing average 185. At times during these sessions it can peak over 200. I just find this my comfy rhythm.

[@Laudrengen]

What lol. How tall are you :p

[@BoneThugsNL]

Running for 10 years 158 spm 😅

[@alexm1841]

I’m 6’3 and my cadence is around 160. No heel strike, luckily

[@stephenjaguar69]

Great advice -thanks Heather.

[@9034833838]

Never thought about it but went to my smartwatch companion app just now. Average Cadence 178 over last 3 months. 5k average cadence 181. 10k averages 178. And they are straight lines Wait am I actually good at pacing myself and just so bad genetically that I still run slow as a slug?

[@Cloppa2000]

As an absolute beginner to running at 57yrs and having just done 60 MAF runs I tried to increase my cadence from 144 to 160 and found even raising it to 148 increased my HR to where it would go over my MAF rate! So now at least until I get fitter I'm sticking to what feels the most relaxed cadence which turns out to be around 136-140 for me at the slow pace I presently have to run at. I'm 6; 2" and 220lb. Do you think the cadence that is easiest on the Heart Rate is actually quite a good guide to what we should be doing? Or maybe just in the early stages of training? Many thanks.

[@lalitaamos2854]

Thanks for mentioning cadence, fitness level, and heart rate. I'm a new runner and my cadence is just over 140 spm and increasing.

[@inalorusso]

Thank you guys for your videos.. always helping me to improve my trainings.

[@klaasdeboer8106]

I am picking up running again, barefoot as allways, listening to the radio the song "staying alive" from the bee gees came along and I adapted to the beat, it is fast, but very much possible, I googled it and it was 209 bpm, now i found a playlist with classic jazz music at 200 210, I wonder if while training more my cadence will become slower?

[@MrJimbo327]

I tend to run at 160 spm, but my knees are shot and my stride is short. Takes me forever, but I get there.

[@parrotbrand2782]

When it is uphill, your cadence naturally increase and stride becomes shorter.. when going downhill i feel more tired and less efficient running small steps. So i make big strides and have low cadence.

[@jonasharestad7664]

I am 183 cm, cadence during half marathon races are typically 185-190 spm. I don’t understand how people have like 160 spm. Does low cadence correlate with how strong you are in your legs (how much you squat)? Because if i run 160 spm it feels like i simulate running at the moon or another place with lower gravity acceleration (or equvivalently i simulate i am stronger in my legs so i fly higher up for each stride).

[@patrick7228]

Is there a positive correlation between higher cadence and running faster? If so, it would seem cadence can only follow fitness. Anyone could get to 180 doing strides more than likely, but 5k, 10k? Not unless you are fit enough to maintain that.

[@DiscoDougify]

Mine has been consistently around 160 give or take for years. I've tried all manner of things to improve my cadence from running drills, exercises to running shoes. Just can't seem to improve it.

[@jayt3972]

Listen to metronome. Make sure your steps matches the beat.

[@xdened]

Great video! Was worried my cadence was too low on easy runs (usually about 162) but seems it's actually alright!

[@heatherfell_oly]

As long as easy is easy, that is more important in my mind.

[@kozakhanda]

started at the back end of jan after 20 years. cad was below 160,now 165+ my speed increased tho a vid on perhaps height gait speed cadence could be useful as in like if you're let's say 6ft and do 1k in 5min your cadence would be around 1xx. or 1m+ gait + 170 cadence should get you xx km/h. i mean a shorter person might have higher cadence but would be slower than someone with big gait... when i started i could only "run" about 3min before stopping but only yesterday i did under 24min on 5k

[@jasperherr8694]

I am someone who believes there're 2 types of runners in this world. Runners have higher % increase in stride than cadence and the other would be the higher % increase in cadence than stride when they run fast. Thats why asics created metaspeed edge and sky.

[@hunt_trap_fish]

So I'm training for my first ever olympic distance triathlon. I'm pretty excited, except I've never been a natural distance runner (insert Gimli quote). So, in order to be more efficient, do I shorten up my stride and try to increase my cadence? I tend to have a really heavy, longer stride, really slow mile times, and shin splints...

[@sydneytrain4064]

Yes....let your cadence set you free 😀😀

[@richardkennard5456]

Oh dang at the age of 66 any run Cadence will do. Very good video once again thanks for the information. No excuses Swim Bike Run

[@ChrClausen]

How about ground contact balance? My Garmin measures that I am about 0.5% to the right. Is that something to worry about?

[@nicolasmaalouf6910]

Hello, I run like 4 times per week (usually 10k in 55-58mins) but i only have 170 cadence and cant reach 180 why?(my pace,hbpm.. I am doing all the bases correctly)

[@johnleneganpreparedpeople]

Great video and awesome content!

[@shreysharma7160]

This video helped me alot Thank u sm 😂

[@T818-z5d]

Is there any video for slow runners like 8 min/km? How much to lift the back leg, cadence etc? I am struggling with lifting my leg after it leaves the ground. If I try to lift them up it feels like I am jumping on the ground and there's more pressure on the knee, shin. Also I feel quite sleepy after running (other than that i dont necessarily feel tired) even if its a short run. Any suggestions on this?

[@robg109]

I do review it but don't try to change it. Flat fast road 5k to 10k 183bpm. Longer z2 stuff 173bpm. Don't think it's worth looking at for off road, hilly, technical stuff

[@hungryjimbo]

I use the Nike APP. I jogged 15.50 km in 1 hour and 37 minutes. It said the cadence was 1147. How can this information help me? Is this good or bad cadence?

[@jasperherr8694]

Your cadence looks funny. Generally, Metres Ran divided by Stride Length = Steps. Cadence = Steps divided by Minutes Ran. For example: 5km ran divided by 0.95m stride length = 5263 steps. 5263 steps divided by 30 minutes = 175 steps per minute.

[@yiannis_christodoulou]

Great advice

[@katyward1895]

Mines averaging around 185spm

[@hencocronje2091]

My cadence is around 180 ave. I’ve found that it is slightly more when getting off the bike directly into a run. Comrades down run 162, probably all the walking😂

[@heatherfell_oly]

Downhill is also likely to make stride length longer and then cadence lower.

[@hundhundkatt]

Sorry for a silly question, but is it bad that my steps will get shorter while my feet get faster, eventually maybe making my times slower? I find it hard to take my regular, longer steps and move my feet fast. I am not a great runner yet!

[@hundhundkatt]

Ok I watched the whole video and it answered my question well

[@heatherfell_oly]

@@hundhundkatt Phew, glad I answered it.

[@dashramirez6605]

How to last long at the run on the sprint distance

[@rulgebantolina1957]

My cadence per minute is 168-174. Is it good?

[@jasperherr8694]

It depends what kind of run. If you were on an easy run, I think it's pretty good. But if it's a fast run, it might not be that good.

[@filosvyz]

I run 160-170 naturally... Ddidnt even realized that people actually train to hit 180 or more

[@Bmxmusikian]

Why?

[@leslie7922]

I'm about 178

[@chinothedreamgiver1629]

I used a treadmill To build my cadence. 🙂

[@ericniedzielski5259]

I’m a tall guy at 6’3” and used to run at like 150 spam with shoes and I’ve worked to get my easy pace (9:00 minute mile) to 160-162 spm, and experimenting with barefoot running 160 seems to be natural for me. However doing some strides at 7:30-8:00 minute pace, my cadence easily goes up to 168-170 spm

[@ericniedzielski5259]

About 190 cm tall

[@anttikaunisto9552]

Eric Niedzielski I’m 188cm and also have very low cadence at 150-155 spm when doing easy running. Just yesterday I was running at 4min/km and still only averaging at 164 spm. I’m thinking I should work to get my cadence up as well, although I think it just normal that tall runners have low cadence. Do you find running at 160ish has improved your easy runs/technique?

[@LXXXRY]

I’m new to running at 6’4”, found my average spm on slow runs is between 155-160, have been experimenting with shorter stride lengths and found this really useful for increasing spm and overall pace. Challenge is to keep heart rate low for my zone 2 runs but definitely going to try doing some fast skipping exercises to get that spm up ☝️

[@ericniedzielski5259]

Antti Kaunisto yes, running w a quicker cadence, even tho it’s just a tad bit faster feels a lot smoother and easier. But that was barefoot running, when I run w shoes my cadence automatically slows down and is harder to keep up unless I run faster than easy. So I’ve just been switching to barefoot 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@simedinson984]

Yea I did a run at about 3.3 a k and 164 AVG and I am 193 cm also struggle with shin splints alot so trying to get it up not sure how thou as increasing speed does nothing for it

[@ishanr8697]

Hmm, my slow runs are around 170 to 180 SPM, my intervals about 185-195 and my 5k (parkrun) cadence is around 190 -205. Is that too high?

[@filosvyz]

I listen to slow sad songs while running and my cadence is still 160 or more lol

[@Makka6666]

Drum and Bass! www.mixcloud.com/Makkattack/liquid-vibes-vol-4/

[@serenacurler3483]

The cadence of her speech is high. Eek!