The fastest and, consequently, the greatest runners in the world (after all, any competitive race of any distance is about fastest time, i.e. speed, and that’s why these runners are considered the greatest because they are the fastest), do a few things in common when they run. Those are also the very things that separate Gold from Silver medals, and give us World Records and record breaking performances across all distances from 100m to marathons, and even ultra distances.

If you’re interested in some of the research that produced these findings, please scroll down this page for a brief list of references.

Let’s go over these characteristics in detail:

1. Have Short Ground Contact Time

Studies have shown that the fastest runners have an exceptionally short ground contact time, and we are talking fractions of a second, hundredth of a second to be precise. This is faster than an average person can blink. Consequently, this one characteristic automatically means several other very important things:

a) There is no push off

Literally, because research showed that this type of action does not physically happen. Additionally, if you think about it, use common sense and consider the timeframe within which it’s supposed to happen, it becomes clear that there is simply no time for this type of action to happen during that hundredth of a second.

b) No heel striking

This is always a highly debated topic. However, what is not debatable is this – when you land on the heel of your foot, in order to continue running at all, you need to roll forward through your entire foot to reach your forefoot, because the forefoot is the final destination for all runners without any exceptions. It takes precious time to roll from your heel to your forefoot, so it makes sense that none of the fastest runners of any distance land on their heel.

c) No leg extension

No hip extension, no knee extension, no triple extension, as there is simply no time to extend legs if you want to be fast. This applies to all distances and more so to sprint ones. Additionally, research gives us data that shows that faster and more economical runners produce less leg extension at the end of the support phase.

d) Better running economy

It should come as no surprise that research shows that the above mentioned things have significant correlation with better running economy.

2. Land on Forefoot

How you land is part of your running form (what others see), and your running form is the result of your overall running technique (what you do). All great runners display good running form, which means their running technique is top level. It is important to clarify that forefoot is a large padded area that starts with your toes and ends where your foot’s arch begins. Landing on forefoot is also connected to shorter time on support, i.e. shorter ground contact time.

3. Have Higher Cadence

Higher than average cadence allows for faster change of support in order to keep moving forward. While the fastest runners do spend more time airborne, just like everyone else they need to land to keep moving. High cadence is also connected to shorter ground contact time.

4. Bounce Less

Thanks to research we know that faster runners move up and down less than others. This characteristic can also be seen in video analysis of any of their videos freely available online. Movement in vertical directions takes away from movement in horizontal direction, it also carries a higher energy cost. Reducing the bounce serves speed and economy.

5. Have High Angle of Falling

This measurement is unique to the Pose Method. In layman terms, it is referred to as the ‘forward lean’, however, compared to the forward lean, the Angle of Falling can be measured (as the term suggests) and used for technique and speed analysis. The Angle of Falling allows to calculate the current and estimate the potential speed of a runner. The fastest runners in the world (sprinters and runners of all other distances including the marathon and ultra distances) have higher Angle of Falling then the runners behind them.

All of these factors are intrinsically connected. You cannot change one without affecting (positively or negatively) the other. Biomechanics.