Understanding the significance of stride angle is crucial for optimizing running performance. With many endurance sports relying on running as part of the game, it's only fitting to speak on the importance of increasing stride angle. The stride angle, referring to the angle formed between the front foot and the center of mass during each step, plays a pivotal role in running efficiency and injury prevention.

A proper stride angle contributes to a more effective and energy-conserving running gait, helping athletes achieve better speed and endurance. The best part about improving your running mechanics and efficiency is that you get faster without becoming more aerobically or anaerobically fit. However, you still get faster! Bob Prichard, the President of Somax Sports and a sports coach specializing in microfiber reduction and motion analysis, explained this research years ago (Prichard, B. n.d.).

By focusing on maintaining an appropriate stride angle, runners can enhance their biomechanics and reduce the risk of injuries. Most running injuries typically result from improper mechanics. An optimal stride angle promotes a balanced distribution of forces across the body, preventing excessive stress on specific joints and muscles. This balanced distribution is essential for minimizing the likelihood of overuse injuries and improving overall durability, allowing athletes to sustain their training regimens and reach their performance goals.

All these aspects of stride angle and proper mechanics are tied into the argument that simply getting more fit isn't always the answer to improvement. The running world is often caught up in fancy training methods and the quest for a secret sauce to improvement. This is a simple solution to improving paces as well as personal bests, and perhaps the most important aspect is staying healthy.

If all this information isn't enough to make an athlete question the benefit of having a greater stride angle and better mechanics, then perhaps more light can be shed by considering Bob Prichard's research as stated in the "Elite Runner Program."

Over a fifteen-year span, Somax videotaped and analyzed more than 4,500 runners. In a short period, they were able to show each runner how their injury and performance problems were a result of their stride mechanics. For instance, runners with a lot of over stride often had chondromalacia or softening and pain under the kneecap. Runners who bounced up and down a lot often had stress fractures in the pelvis. Runners with toe lift had shin splints. Runners with more than 2-3 degrees of crossover had chronic running injuries to their feet, knees, and hips (Prichard, B. n.d.).

The founders of Ultra K thrive on thinking outside the box when it comes to improving performance, especially in a safe and healthy way. That's why including information such as stride angle is so important to our "why" of providing a safety net of reliability.

Prichard , B. (n.d.). http://www.somaxsports.com/eliterunner.php. Elite Runner Program . http://www.somaxsports.com/eliterunner.php