Strides

Let’s talk about strides. What are they? Why should you do them? When should you do them?

Strides are short bouts of fast running where you begin at about 50% of your maximum speed and then gradually increase your speed to about 90%. After a few seconds of running at 90%, you gradually decrease your speed back down to complete the stride.

Uphill strides are a great tool to help improve running economy by practicing quick leg turnover and proper running form without tiring yourself out, like you might in a full on interval session. Therefore, you can do strides multiple times per week.

Strides are usually done at the end of an easy run, or after a warm up before an interval session.

Generally the gradient for uphill strides is around 4-8% so that you can maintain fast leg turnover. However, there are also benefits for doing steeper hill strides, as well as flat strides, so your coach may specify what type of terrain to perform your strides on.

I recommend implementing strides 1-3 times per week. Do 4 x 20 or 30 seconds, with an easy jog back down the hill to recover. Try to focus on one specific running form for each stride, like pumping your arms, driving your knees forward, or keeping good upper body posture.