Running cadence, explained

Cadence is one of the few bits of running form you can actually measure, which is exactly why it gets over-thought. It’s simply how many steps you take per minute. A slightly quicker cadence can make you smoother and reduce some injury-linked forces — but the famous “180 steps per minute” target is a misread of the research, and chasing it blindly does more harm than good. Here’s the honest version.

What cadence is, and the 180 myth

Cadence is your step rate: total steps (both feet) per minute. The number “180” comes from a coach counting elite runners at race pace decades ago — and elites at race pace are a bad template for you on an easy run. Cadence varies with height, leg length, and crucially with speed: everyone’s cadence rises as they run faster and drops as they slow down. There is no single correct number. Most recreational runners land somewhere around 160–175 at easy pace, and that’s fine.

Why a quicker cadence can help

The reason cadence gets attention is overstriding — reaching your foot out too far ahead of your body, landing heel-first on a straight leg, effectively braking with every step. Overstriding sends a sharp impact up through the knee and hip. Taking slightly quicker, shorter steps tends to bring your foot down closer underneath you, softening that impact and smoothing your stride. So the real goal isn’t a magic number — it’s not overstriding, and a small cadence bump is often the easiest way to fix it.

How to adjust it (gently)

If your cadence is very low and you’re a heel-slapping overstrider, nudging it up can help — but do it in small doses:

• Check your current cadence on an easy run (most watches show it, or count steps for 30 seconds and multiply by four).
• Aim to raise it by about 5%, no more. A jump straight to 180 will feel awful and change nothing good.
• Think “lighter, quicker, quieter” rather than forcing it. A metronome or a song at the right tempo helps.
• Let it settle over weeks. Form changes are slow, and forcing them creates new problems.

If your cadence is already reasonable and you’re running comfortably and injury-free, leave it alone. Not every metric needs optimising.

Keep it in proportion

Cadence is a small, sometimes-useful lever, not a secret. Far more of your progress comes from the boring fundamentals — easy running, consistency, and recovering enough to keep training — than from any tweak to your step rate. Fix a genuine overstride, then stop staring at the number and go run. And the run that matters most is the one your body’s actually ready for today, which is the call Liftrun makes for you each morning — leaving you free to just run, form and all.

General guidance, not medical advice. Persistent pain warrants a professional, not a form tweak.