Running Efficiency

I was reading the other night that the most efficient running style is associated with exactly 180 strides per minute. Apparently, almost all athletes run at this cadence regardless of distance and therefore speed. The faster runners just take longer strides.

Anyway, I thought I better check it out. So on this mornings run I discovered I take 158 strides per minute. So it looks like I'm not an athlete. Darn am I surprised.

So now what to do about it? It is suggested that most runners would benefit by taking slightly shorter steps and increasing cadence but if I take shorter steps I'll be running backwards. Also, efficiency is not all its cracked up to be. Efficient runners use less calories, which is pants! Inefficiency rules - as do cream cakes.

**UPDATE 14/01/07**

Thought I ought to provide a link to a more informed opinion on running cadence. The endurance coach
records cadence as the number of times 1 foot hits the ground in a minute ie. half the figure I quoted above, and on his site he details a few training exercises to help increase your cadence. Must admit that non of them involve listening to music with the target bpm.