Strides: Everything you need to know about this running drill
The word ‘stride’ can seem quite confusing in the context of running. First, there’s stride length, which is an aspect of running form. Stride length refers to the distance covered between the spot where one foot first hits the ground and the spot where that same foot hits the ground again, for a second time.
Then, there are strides, which is a type of running drill – and the basis of this guide. Strides refer to a short burst of acceleration, during which time you exaggerate your running form. You can tack them onto various types of run – from easy outings to pre-race warm-ups – and are a simple but effective way to level-up your running performance. In fact, most of the best training plans for runners have strides plugged into them.
We spoke with two expert running coaches at OneTrack Club – a running community that provides personalised coaching to thousands of everyday athletes, both virtually and in-person – to find out what strides are, why they’re important and how to slot them into your training routine.
What are strides?
Strides are an uncomplicated way to add some punch to your training, without fatiguing your body. When running strides, the aim is to accelerate from an easy pace to a faster pace – but not an all-out sprint – by increasing your stride length while maintaining a quick cadence. After holding this faster speed for up to 15 seconds, in a controlled manner, you then slow down to a walk to catch your breath before going again.
To get the most benefit, it’s common to do a small number of strides (say, five repetitions) at a time.
Why are strides important?
Although straightforward to execute, strides bring a wealth of rewards for runners.
‘Strides are a great tool that covers several bases,’ says Anthony Fletcher, co-founder and CEO of OneTrack Club and a sports scientist specialising in exercise physiology, biomechanics, strength and mobility and fitness education. ‘On one side, you have the neuromuscular practice of running fast. Although it sounds simple, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
‘On another side, with strides, you have the physiological benefits of turning over energy at high rates,’ adds Fletcher, who coaches beginner runners up to Olympic athletes. ‘After a long, easy session, it’s great to then do your harder efforts that use a different fuel source and exert more force through the muscles.’
As noted by Michael Wilson, a OneTrack Club running coach and middle-distance athlete specialising in the 1500m and mile, you’d also be wise to do some strides ahead of a higher-intensity session or race. ‘Strides are a great way of priming your body for a workout, whether that’s the night before a session or five minutes before a hard effort,’ he says. ‘Strides keep your fast-twitch muscle fibres firing and really allow you to focus on exaggerating and improving your running technique without causing unwanted fatigue.’
When should you add strides to your training?
Although Wilson and Fletcher say that you can add strides to many of the runs on your training plan, the time at which you do them is important.
‘Strides can be added to almost any kind of run,’ confirms Fletcher. ‘Timing is key, though. Strides are probably not needed before an easy run, as the session is not going to involve much intensity and, really, the warm-up should mimic the demands of the run itself. By contrast, post-easy run is a great time to do strides, as you’ve gained all the benefits of the easy run and can now put your foot down to keep in touch with speed. Again, if you don’t use it, you lose it.’
Fletcher adds that doing some strides before an interval session ‘makes sense from a physiological standpoint’, since, in this instance, the strides more closely reflect what’s involved in the main session. ‘We potentiate the tendon and muscle complexes and prime the aerobic system for the session ahead.’
Wilson, who is a sub-4-minute miler and training partner to Jake Wightman, the 2022 world champion over 1500m, likes to prepare for a hard session or race by completing some strides the night before. ‘Following an easy run, doing a set of four to six strides of 60-100m gives me a spring in my step and confidence that my legs are ready to run hard the following day,’ he says.
Wilson sees strides as a good opportunity to test out new running shoes, too – especially race day shoes and spikes. That way, as Wilson says, you can ‘acclimatise your lower legs’ to these new shoes in a regulated manner, then ‘gradually progress to full sessions and races without any risk of injury’.
In addition, if you’re new to running and looking to build some speed sessions into your training, then strides are a great entry point. ‘Strides are essential for conditioning your body, particularly your muscles and tendons, to run at a faster pace,’ says Wilson. ‘They will also help to reduce the risk of nasty DOMS after your first initial speed workouts.’
What’s the best way to run strides?
The night before a session or race and after an easy run, Wilson tries to complete his strides on a surface that mirrors the one he’ll encounter for the hard effort. ‘For example, if I was racing cross-country the following day, I would complete strides on grass in my cross-country spikes,’ he says.
Wilson would also tick off some strides five minutes before a race itself. ‘I would use this as a means of priming my body so that the race effort isn’t such a jolt to the system. By completing, again, around four to six strides of 60-100m strides in my racing shoes, slightly quicker than race pace, I’m reducing my risk of injury and giving myself the chance to feel at my best when the gun goes off.’
When it comes to technique, it’s important to moderate your effort when doing strides so that you don’t needlessly overdo it. ‘The concept of strides is not to exhaust yourself but to practice running fast,’ says Fletcher. ‘It’s easy to turn strides into a sprint interval session, which creates more fatigue than enhancement. Short bursts of work (the harder the work, the shorter the burst) with ample recovery is essential to mitigate fatigue and achieve the benefits.’
So how does this look in practice? According to Fletcher, a great starting point is running strides lasting 5-15 seconds and following each one with 1-2 minutes of recovery.
How can strides benefit your running performance?
According to Wilson, strides help to improve your running mechanics – allowing you to focus on key aspects of running form like your knee drive and arm lift – and reduce your risk of injury. ‘By gradually adding increased speed to your strides, it will be less of a shock to the system when you ask your body to work at a higher intensity come session or race day,’ he says.
Doing strides also, quite simply, improves your running efficiency. ‘By running at a faster pace several times a week, your neuromuscular system adapts to running at a quicker tempo with more efficient technique,’ adds Wilson.
The importance of adaption is echoed by Fletcher, who says that strides can help the mind – and therefore the body – to become more familiar with faster speeds. ‘The brain loves creating blueprints for movements,’ he says. ‘The more you do a particular movement, the more the brain refines the blueprint to make it more economical and hard-wired. This includes the muscles that should contract, how hard to contract them and when they should contract.
‘Although we take movement for granted, the brain is having to control so much data to refine what needs to be done,’ continues Fletcher. ‘Strides are a teaching tool for the brain. If you want to run fast, you need to have a well-established blueprint.’
OneTrack Club is a community for people who run, with a multidisciplinary coaching team providing in-person and virtual coaching to help people unlock their physical potential for sporting challenges, longevity and more. Founded in 2016, OneTrack Club offers various services including personal training, technical coaching, physiotherapy, physiological testing, biomechanics assessments, nutritional coaching and sports psychology.
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