The Most Effective Cadence Coach

The Stride Boost insert sits in the heel of your shoes to act as a silent cadence coach for every step of your run. The Stride Boost was developed to mimic the sensation of running barefoot, while maintaining the support and comfort of a modern running shoe, to encourage an increased cadence while you run.

It works by utilizing negative sensory feedback (aversive conditioning) to leverage your bodies natural habitual responses, automatically discouraging over-striding and promoting a healthy cadence.

If you over-stride with Stride Boost, you’ll feel a nudge from the insert and your body will automatically correct it’s stride by quickening your cadence.

Cadence: What Is It And Why Does It Matter?

Cadence is also referred to as stride rate, and it’s a major factor in a healthy running style. Cadence is the rate at which your feet strike the ground during a run, or simply “foot strikes per minute”. A meta analysis has shown that a healthy cadence may be associated with lower rates of running related injuries (1) and others claim a faster cadence is key for better performance.

When a runner has a lower cadence, or fewer strides per minute, they are taking longer strides to maintain speed. These longer strides mean the feet are striking the ground too far in front of the runner, resulting in excessive impact forces, and are considered over-strides.

By increasing cadence, and taking more strides per minute, smaller strides are sufficient to maintain the same speed. These quicker strides bring the foot’s point of contact with the ground closer to underneath the runners center of mass, thus reducing the braking and impact forces on the body (2,3).

The Dangers Of Over-Striding

Over-striding is when a runners foot strikes the ground too far forward in front of their bodies, as opposed to beneath their center of mass, resulting in excessive braking forces on the knees and hips.

Many runners are not properly trained on healthy running form. This lack of training coupled with overly cushioned running shoes can enable poor running habits.

The effects of over-striding have been linked to injury mechanisms among runners (4), in part because of excessive braking forces and impact loading on the knees and hips (2,3). Over striding increases the force absorbed by your knees by ~34% (3) with every step, which really adds up over the course of a multi-mile run.

Over-striding can be corrected and prevented by increasing your cadence.

Injury Reduction

A higher cadence that prevents over-striding has been associated with lower rates of running related injuries. The following injuries are examples of what may be mitigated by quickening cadence:

• Shin splints
• Runner’s knee (IT band and Patellofemoral pain)
• Heel spurs
• Plantar fascitis
• Tibial stress fractures

Whether you’re new to the sport or you’re a seasoned runner, now is the time to increase your cadence, stop over-striding, and run healthier!

Want To Research On Your Own?

Head to “The Science” page to checkout the sources referenced above for more detailed information on the foundation of Stride Boost’s development.