I've been diving into distance running lately.

Very new. I grew up sprinting. My idea of distance was the 200m for my short pegs.

But running is running. Or so I thought...

Turns out that efficient distance running is completely different to sprinting.

Sprinting generally rewards long strides, the fewest usually winning the 100m. World-class sprint coaches teach longer strides.

But distance running tends to reward high cadence.

(Running cadence is the number of times your foot hits the ground per minute).

Benefits of high cadence:

• 🏃 You are more efficient as there's less vertical movement of your body. Think less exertion per stride. More energy.

• 💪 Less injury risk as you won't overstride, hit the wrong part of your foot and add strain on the body.
  

If you've got a watch that can track it, a good cadence to strive for is 180.

Audio cues can help. Use a metronome app (set to 180BPM) or search Spotify for "180BPM" playlists.

Particularly under fatigue, if I can focus on increasing my cadence, it stops me running like a gremlin.