If You Want to Speed Up Your Runs, It’s Time to Analyze Your Gait

Running is one of the most natural things in the world. You put one foot in front of the other and dash from Point A to Point B. As kids, we started running shortly after we learned to walk, and this ability is literally ingrained in our evolutionary DNA. But what may not be quite as intuitive is your running gait—and the optimal way for your feet to hit the ground as you run.  

In fact, when most new runners start logging miles and feeling that endorphin rush, gait and proper running form are often the furthest things from their mind. That includes Becs Gentry, a Peloton Tread instructor. 

“I didn’t necessarily think about my gait at first—I only started to pay attention to it when I felt the odd injury or prolonged soreness,” she says. “Then I started to have a look at how my foot was landing on the ground with every step.” That’s when she realized just how important her gait was. “Having a good footfall and good foot position enables your body to feel like the run is more doable, fluid, and enjoyable.”

So what’s your gait supposed to look like—and how can you improve it? To find out, we spoke to Becs and David Hryvniak, DO, an associate professor at the University of Virginia’s Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and a running medicine specialist at UVA Runner's Clinic. Ahead, we’ll break down everything you need to know about your running gait, from understanding its various phases to learning a few simple tweaks, so you can run faster, more efficiently, and safely.

What Is Running Gait? 

Running gait is the cycle your foot completes every time you take a step during a run. This pattern is “a critical piece of how we move as humans and athletes,” says Dr. Hyrvniak. “How we interact with the ground affects our athletic performance, efficiency, and the loads our body absorbs during an activity.”

And it’s equally important for both amateur runners and advanced athletes to consider running gait. After all, the repetitive nature of running means that you may be landing incorrectly every time you hit the ground, and over time, that could do serious damage to your body, causing shin splints, stress fractures, patellofemoral syndrome, and more. Landing and pushing off on the wrong part of your foot will also slow you down.

“Unlike sports where athletes are trained to hone their skills, like their jump shot, balance bar routine or putting stroke, many runners and athletes never get formalized instruction on how to run,” says Dr. Hyrvniak, who co-authored a recent study on gait and exercise-related lower leg pain (ERLLP) in the Journal of Biomechanics. “Given this, it can be an important variable that we can modify to affect both athletic performance and injury risk.” The key is to learn right from wrong in your gait—and figure out how to get on the correct path.

The 3 Phases of Your Running Gait

A single stride may take a second or less, but there’s a lot going on when your foot hits the ground and propels itself (and you) forward. While there are three main components to your running gait, there are a few subphases you should know about too.

Stance

During the stance phase (the first half of any running gait cycle), your foot is in contact with the ground. Here’s what the phase encompasses.

Swing

Starting with “toe off,” the swing phase describes the time when your foot is fully off the ground. Your knee and hip flex further, your ankle bends upward to clear the ground, and as you move forward, the majority of your leg will be under your body.

Float

You’re flying! At least for a millisecond, anyway. During the float phase, neither foot is touching the ground. This is what separates running from walking, when at least one foot is always in contact with the ground. According to research published in 2018, high-performance runners spend 11 percent longer in this phase than recreational runners.

At this point, the other foot comes forward, hits the ground, and starts the cycle all over again.

What Is a Gait Analysis?

Gait analysis is an evaluation of the way you run (or walk). By examining the mechanics in each stride, you can figure out whether or not you’re running optimally. In the most in-depth types of gait analysis, every tiny, technical motion is taken into account.

Is your foot landing in the right spot to absorb shock and keep your body aligned? Are your feet rolling (or pronating) too much or too little? Are you over-rotating your pelvis or trunk? Are your arms swinging properly to facilitate forward motion? How long is your stride? How strong is your core? How flexible are your tendons? Those are just a few of the questions that gait analysis can answer.

How to Analyze Your Running Gait

While having your gait examined by a trained professional will provide the most comprehensive analysis, it’s not the only way to get some insight into your running style. These are some options you can choose from.

Clinical Analysis

For a top-tier analysis, or if you’re recovering from an injury, try a running clinic like UVA’s or a professional office (think: physiologists, physical therapists, and certified running coaches). Here, your run will be recorded, then analyzed in slow motion. “Another more time-intensive and expensive option involves 3D motion-capture technology with a force plate treadmill,” Dr. Hryvniak says. “This is often used in research studies or high-level analysis.” These types of analyses will generally take between two and four hours.

Video Analysis at a Running Shoe Store

Many stores that sell running shoes—from specialty stores to more general retailers—offer gait analysis, often for free. They’ll record you running on a treadmill for a few minutes and then analyze what’s happening as you run, in less than an hour. “This will give you a good idea of how your foot is striking on the ground and what shoe might work for you to support your footfall and give you the right energy return,” Becs says.

Utilizing Smart Technology

In Dr. Hryvniak’s recent study, which explored the benefits of outdoor gait training after an injury, researchers used foot-pod sensors to gather information on participants’ running gait and help them change how they made contact with the ground in real time. “We found this feedback can help decrease contact time with the ground, increase cadence, and, more importantly, decrease symptoms in athletes with lower leg pain,” Dr. Hryvniak says.

Your smartwatch can also help. “Many of the GPS watches today can give some information regarding cadence and other gait information,” he notes. “While these options aren’t as accurate as a standard gait analysis, they can be helpful tools to use in the ‘real world.’”

Tips for Improving Your Running Gait 

Everyone’s gait is inherently different, but certain things can benefit everyone. Just remember to be patient with your progress. You’ve likely been running the same way for a while—maybe forever—and it takes time to break out of old patterns and form new habits. Here’s where you should put your focus, no matter your stage or style of running.

Optimize Your Cadence

“There is evidence that increasing cadence can naturally shorten our stride, improve our foot strike, and lessen the forces our joints absorb with each foot strike,” Dr. Hryvniak says. In short, the higher the cadence (aka step rate), the less time your foot spends on the ground, the less pressure you’ll be putting on your body, and the faster you will go.

The goal is often trying to get to 180 foot strikes with both feet in one minute. The easiest way to start modifying this, says Dr. Hryvniak, is to count your foot strikes in one minute while out on a run. You can also use a running watch, foot pods, or even a simple metronome app to get feedback on cadence. 

Improve Strength and Flexibility

Chances are, your legs, core, and hips aren’t as strong as you think they are. Here’s a test: Try balancing on one leg. Dr. Hryvniak sees many runners who have trouble with this, so he works on “lower-quarter stability,” stabilizing the foot and the hip to help the whole kinetic chain.

“One easy way to work on lower-quarter stability and strength in the foot is toe yoga. In these exercises, you engage the foot’s intrinsic muscles, which are often weak and neglected,” he says. “Then, up at the hip, work on gluteal and core strength training, including squats, band work, and single-legged work to simulate that running posture.”

He adds that most runners also need to work on their hip flexor flexibility to help open up their hips and allow for a full stride. And don’t forget about your ankles and calves—if you increase their flexibility, they’ll be able to absorb more force during running.

Common Running Gait Mistakes

We all make mistakes when running, especially when our bodies get tired, so it’s likely you’re making one of the missteps below. Lucky for you, we have some easy fixes. A word of caution, though: Experts recommend making one adjustment at a time and seeing how that affects your workouts, rather than trying everything all at once.

The Mistake: Overstriding

One of the most common gait-related mistakes, overstriding occurs when a runner’s front foot lands too far forward, rather than under the hip. This creates a “braking force,” decreasing your speed. Since you generally land on your heels when you overstride, the force to your knees, hips, ankles, and shins also tends to be greater.

The Fix: Increase your cadence. According to Dr. Hryvniak, this “can facilitate a shorter stride that is under [your] center of gravity and help decrease ground reaction forces.” Your body will feel better in the long run, and you’ll go faster in the moment.

The Mistake: Striking with Your Heel

Overstriders often land on their heels, though that’s not always the case. Still, any type of heel striking tends to be a problem because it “sends a lot more shock reverberations through your body than is actually necessary,” Becs says.

The Fix: “Focus on landing on your midfoot to front foot,” she advises. “The squishy part of your foot has more cushion, and the shoes you wear are probably designed to have a little more cushioning in that area as well.” And this isn’t just about comfort. “This will also give you more spring in your step,” Becs adds. “The push-off from there means you have less surface area of your foot on the floor with each step, so you can pick up your foot quicker. That, in turn, means you’re going to have better cadence and speed. It’s all a rolling rhythm, and it’s fantastic.”

The Mistake: Vertical Displacement

Are you bouncing up and down while running? “Wasted vertical movement does not facilitate the forward motion of running, does not lead to more efficient running, and often increases the forces our lower body feels as well,” Dr. Hryvniak says. Plus, it expends more energy, so you’ll tire out faster.

The Fix: Increase your cadence, stabilize your running gait through strength and stability training, and increase your joint and muscle flexibility. (See the exercises noted above by Dr. Hryvniak.) You can also try leaning forward slightly from your ankles to aid your forward momentum. All of these strategies can help decrease your bounciness.

The Mistake: Not Recognizing Gait Changes When You’re Tired

Fatigue can lead to poor form or cause you to lapse back into bad habits. “I’ll notice when my legs are tired and my gait changes,” explains Becs. “For example, if my glutes are tired, my knee will knock in and hit my other knee, or I won’t pick up my feet quick enough and I’ll hit my calf.”

The Fix: Be aware of it in the moment, and later on, build up your muscles. “When [those mistakes] happen, I get a little notification in my brain that I need to do more strength training to support my mileage,” Becs says. “To keep my gait in really good alignment for all of these miles, I need to do more to keep my glutes strong.”

The Takeaway

Thinking about the biomechanics of your running gait may seem daunting, but it really boils down to taking what you’re probably already doing and tweaking it ever so slightly. By optimizing your running form with shorter strides, strengthening your leg muscles, and increasing your flexibility, you can protect your body from damage and become a better, faster, more efficient runner. Remember: Just a few small changes can make an enormous difference.