Watch the starting line before any distance event on the track, a cross country meet, or even road race. You'll see nervous runners milling about, shaking out their legs, taking deep breaths, staring off into space.
And of course, there will be athletes taking off well before the gun sounds, at first at a lope, then gradually picking up steam, before briefly hitting what looks to be near mile-race-pace velocity, at which point they'll let off the gas and trot back to the line.
You probably know these little pseudo-sprints as "strides." You probably do them on occasion yourself! But do you know why so many runners do them?
To learn more about strides and their importance to any training system, we turned to Daniel Winn, a Brooklyn-based writer and coach, who oversees the distance and middle distance programs at Poly Prep Country Day School. Prior to becoming a coach, Daniel was the University of Oregon school record-holder in the mile (very briefly) and as a professional runner, posted PRs of 3:56.73 for the mile and 3:37.56 for the 1500m, and was a multiple-time U.S. championship finalist.
"I've never met a pro runner who doesn't do strides regularly," says Winn. Unlike plenty of other tools in the professional runner's arsenal --
altitude tents, double threshold sessions, professional massages,
dedicated nutritionists, the ability to test blood lactate levels, etc. --
strides are totally feasible for runners of any level to incorporate
into their routines. And per Winn, they can do a whole lot of good.
If you aren't already regularly doing strides, you should probably start! Here's what you need to know.
But first Winn wants to be clear about one thing. "I would just
like to say I do not like when people call them 'striders' -- I just want to be on record about that."
Winn, pictured above mid-race, presumably did pre-race strides before this race.
What are strides?
Winn likes to describe strides as "fast but relaxed running, for a short period of time." He recommends each stride being about 10-20 seconds in duration, or 50--100 meters in length, depending on how you prefer to measure them. And they shouldn't be run at an all-out effort.
"Not letting them turn into a workout is key," explains Winn. "They should max out at 800m to mile race pace, probably erring more toward mile pace."
Compare this description to spiked-up, all-out sprint efforts, which improve your
top-end speed, but are extremely hard on the body and require ample
recovery.
Why should you do strides?
"Strides are the least taxing way to get the body comfortable at faster paces," says Winn. Without causing extra training fatigue, strides help you improve your form and efficiency as a runner, which helps you become more comfortable at a variety of quicker paces.
This concept has obvious direct implications for racing, but improved running efficiency can help your training, too. And that may actually be the bigger benefit of strides.
"If the fastest pace you go
in a week of training is during your staple 5x1000m workout," describes Winn, "it
makes it harder to run that workout faster over time, because your body
isn't getting good at running any faster from a technical standpoint." But when you add strides into the equation, "as you get aerobically fitter
it becomes easier for your form to handle the increased pace of your
reps, and keep up with your aerobic fitness."
Strides help raise the ceiling on how quickly you can train. And from a racing standpoint, the more comfortable race pace feels, the more relaxed you'll be able to stay as the race progresses.
How often should you do strides?
Athletes training under Winn at Poly Prep tend to to strides once or twice per week: after one easy run, and again the day before a big workout or race. On stride days, Winn's athletes typically run anywhere between two and eight strides, with -- Winn stresses -- "comfortable, un-rushed rest between each strides... roughly two minutes."
How should runners do strides?
"Not letting them turn into anything close to a workout is key," notes Winn.
Runners should ease into each stride, accelerating gradually by increasing cadence and then -- as they near 800m to mile pace -- opening up their stride a little. The whole time, Winn says to focus on maintaining a relaxed face, relaxed shoulders, and smooth form, "then a nice
gradual deceleration rather than slamming on the breaks."
Winn disagrees with the common suggestion that strides train your kick. "I think the whole point of strides is to make fast paces feel more controlled and improve how you handle them technically. They're more targeted toward improving your form on the third lap of a mile than how you're going to finish the last 200m." Hence, when doing strides: staying relaxed and feeling calm at brisk paces -- not straining to see how fast you can run for 100m.
