I’ve had my running gait analysed this week. It’s not something I’ve ever really subscribed to as I think your body moves in the way it sees fit and, unless you’re in pain or injured regularly, you should leave well alone. But I went along to the Saucony Stride Lab anyway as it sounded very high tech and not like the shop-floor treadmill analysis I have had before.
The whole approach was a lot more holistic than I’ve previously seen; the first 20 minutes I just sat in a chair and chatted to the analyst about my running experience, what I’m doing now, what I plan to do and any set-backs I’ve had. So before I even got on to the treadmill he knew what sort of runner I was. The filming set-up was three cameras to look at my side, back and feet, so he could get a good overall look at how my whole body works when I run (which was another plus – the body is a kinetic chain and you need to focus on the whole to find out where your movements stem from).
Looking at my gait in slow motion and pause, we found that I pretty much run in a well-balanced way, but have a slight pronation that might cause problems in longer runs (and it does – ITB is an initialism I am way too familiar with in the lead-up to a marathon). It also seems I stride out slightly too far, so could be a little more efficient energy-wise there. What I really liked about it though, was that I wasn’t told “wear supportive shoes” or “you’re a neutral/pronator/over-pronator”. There were no labels, we just looked at what I do and how I might deal with set-backs and preventing problems. I came away feeling quite empowered and like I understand my running just that little bit more. It’s changed my mind completely about gait analysis – if you’re a runner, go and get it done!
Find out more here.