Exploring running styles in the field through cadence and duty factor modulation

Anouk Nijs*, Melvyn Roerdink, Peter Jan Beek

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

According to the dual-axis model, running styles can be defined by cadence and duty factor, variables that have been associated with running performance, economy and injury risk. To guide runners in exploring different running styles, effective instructions to modulate cadence and duty factor are needed. Such instructions have been established for treadmill running, but not for overground running, during which speed can be varied. In this study, five participants completed eight field training sessions over a 4-week training period with acoustic instructions to modulate cadence, duty factor, and, in combination, running style. Instructions were provided via audio files. Running data were collected with sports watches. Participants’ experiences with guided-exploration training were evaluated with the user experience questionnaire. Data analysis revealed acoustic pacing and verbal instructions to be effective in respectively modulating cadence and duty factor, albeit with co-varying effects on speed and the non-targeted variable (i.e. duty factor or cadence). Combining acoustic pacing and verbal instructions mitigated these co-varying effects considerably, allowing for running-style modulations in intended directions (particularly towards the styles with increased cadence and increased duty factor). User experience of this form of guided-exploration training was overall positive, but could be improved in terms of autonomy (dependability). In conclusion, combining acoustic pacing and verbal instructions for running-style modulation is effective in overground running.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0295423
Pages (from-to)1-13
Number of pages13
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume18
Issue number12
Early online date7 Dec 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO; https://www.nwo.nl/) under Grant P16–28 (Project 3). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There was no additional internal or external funding received for this study.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright: © 2023 Nijs et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding

Funding: This work was supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO; https://www.nwo.nl/) under Grant P16–28 (Project 3). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There was no additional internal or external funding received for this study.

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