Running is a single-leg activity which means that only one foot is ever in contact with the ground and one side of the body at a time is absorbing the ground impacts. This is why it is important for runners to ensure that both lower limbs are strong enough and have the capacity to handle the requirements of the movement.

• Runners must be aware that pace varies over the duration of a run, often due to race pace strategy, fatigue, or environmental factors such as wind, gradient, and surface. 
• Running speed is a direct product of runner’s feet turnover – i.e. cadence (number of steps taken per unit time) and their step length (distance covered from one foot-ground contact to the next). 

Cadence and step length are equally important for runners and how fast they are able to run. this is due to their relationship with speed and the effect they have on running economy and injury predisposition.

Speed = Cadence x Step Length, which means that an increase in speed requires a runner to either increase their cadence/step length or both!

Strength and resistance training is an important, but still undervalued, component of an endurance runner’s training program. Strength training has been shown not only to improve running efficiency and economy, pace, and race performance, but also protect runners from running injuries. This is due to its ability to make tendons stiffer, springier as well as improve joint stability. 

Additionally, strength training can also help to build leg strength and increase leg stiffness. As a result, improvements in endurance capabilities of a runner ca be achieved too! Interestingly, being stronger has also been found to promote post-run recovery process through aiding the conversion of metabolic waste into energy. Therefore, with all training types, it is important that the runner builds a solid foundation of strength training via fundamental loaded movements. The best way to do so is by starting to incorporate strength training into running via loaded double- and single-leg fundamental movements (e.g. squats, lunges, step-ups, hamstring raise/glute bridge) and then gradually introducing plyometric and ballistic (rebound) exercises.