JP Gloria

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JP Gloria Hey it's JP! I am a physical therapist and performance coach that specializes with running.

10/25/2026

Is the record holder pronating? Yes. So is every elite you’ve watched, to some degree. That was never the problem.

Two things get called pronation: how your foot moves when you run, and how it looks standing still, which is what a shoe store measures. Most of the research measured the second one.

927 new runners tracked for a year in neutral shoes: pronated-type feet were not injured more than neutral feet (Nielsen 2014). Across 21 prospective studies, runners who went on to get shin pain had slightly more pronated feet on average, effect size 0.28, which is small, and no link showed up for foot, ankle, or bone stress injuries (Neal 2014).

Measured in motion, the evidence is mixed. One college team: shin pain went with more and longer rolling in, 24 runners (Becker 2018). A pooled analysis of female recreational runners: the injured ones pronated less (Vannatta 2020). That doesn’t mean more is protective. It means the belief that more pronation causes injury doesn’t hold up consistently.

The better question is whether how much you pronate, or for how long, actually changes your injury risk. The research can’t give you that number yet. No single form variable predicts injury well. The most consistent predictor of a running injury is a previous one (van Poppel 2021).

If you’ve been told you overpronate, what were you told to do about it?

Elite Form Breakdown, Part 8.

Refs: Nielsen RO et al. Br J Sports Med 2014;48:440. Neal BS et al. J Foot Ankle Res 2014;7:55. Becker J et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2018;50:2092. Vannatta CN et al. Clin Biomech 2020;75:104991. van Poppel D et al. J Sport Health Sci 2021;10:14.

10/21/2026

Pronation is next in the series. Before that, the video where I said it’s normal.

Watch Kelvin Kiptum running the marathon world record in Chicago 2023. As the foot lands and loads, it rolls in. That’s pronation. It’s part of how the foot absorbs load and sets up the push-off, and you’ll see it in every elite you watch, to some degree.

The question was never whether it happens. It’s how much, for how long, and whether it changes your injury risk. Sunday is what the research actually says about that.

Footage: Chicago Marathon broadcast.

10/18/2026

Does cadence change with pace? Yes. Here’s how much.

Here is Kejelcha running in 3 clips:
Last km of 5000m in 2024: at 3:57 min/mile, 192 steps per minute

Half marathon world record at 4:20 min/mile, 185 steps per minute

Warming up before the Valencia Half Marathon: exact pace unknown, 172 steps per minute

There is a difference of 20 steps per minute from a jog to the end of a 5k.

The research gives the same direction.

20 elites tracked through a 100 km world championship: cadence rose about 5 steps per minute for every 2 mph of speed (Burns 2019).

256 Garmin users across 16,000 hours of running: same slope (van Oeveren 2019).

Across normal training paces, cadence rises a few percent while stride length rises about 28% (Cavanagh & Kram 1989).

The bigger difference is between runners.

In that same 100 km race, at the same pace, cadence ranged from 155 to 203.

Pace moves it a few steps. The runner moves it a few dozen.

So your easy run cadence should be lower than your race cadence.

But don’t copy an elite’s number. Your range is most likely different from theirs.

Elite Form Breakdown, Part 7. Pronation is next. For real this time.

Refs: Burns GT et al. J Appl Physiol 2019;126:462. van Oeveren BT et al. J Sports Sci 2019;37:1996. Cavanagh PR, Kram R. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1989;21:467.

Counts are mine from 60 fps footage, give or take a couple of steps.

10/14/2026

What are the common denominators in running technique here?

People are always quick to try to find differences in running technique.

However, it is also important to consider the common patterns seen.

If you see a common pattern in running technique for elite runners, it may be something to consider more closely.

Here we have a front view of 2 incredible runners, both on the Chicago course.

Jacob Kiplimo (on the left): Here he is winning the 2025 Chicago Marathon in 2:02:23. He ran Chicago again this past Sunday.

Kelvin Kiptum (on the right): Here he is running 2:00:35 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, the world record at the time.

While this discussion is more geared toward running technique, remember that there are many more variables to consider when looking at performance.

For example, Jacob Kiplimo was starting to fatigue at this point, while Kiptum was speeding up.

Keep in mind that this is for educational purposes only. This does not replace medical advice.

10/11/2026

180 was an observation... then, it became a rule.

Coach Jack Daniels counted elite runners' cadences at the 1984 Olympics and found nearly all were at 180 or above. They were racing. That observation turned into a target for everyone, at every pace.

Kejelcha ran the fastest half marathon ever at about 185 steps/min. That's 4:20/mile, 2.0 metres per step. If you tried to hold that pace you'd be sprinting, with a shorter step and a faster turnover. Same speed, different cadence. 185 isn't a target. It's what 4:20 min/mile looks like for him.

The research says the same thing. 14 runners, same speed, five cadences each. 12 had a clear most efficient (lowest oxygen cost) cadence, and they ranged from about 160 to 187. Average 170 (Lieberman 2015). Leg length didn't clearly explain the spread in that group, but it was 12 runners, so hold that loosely.

Does cadence matter? As a tool, yes. In 45 recreational runners, 5 to 10% above their own preferred cadence reduced energy absorbed at the knee, reduced braking, and at 10% reduced hip adduction (Heiderscheit 2011). A percent above your own number, measured in one session. Not a jump to 180.

One nuance for the careful readers: most runners self-select a bit below their most efficient cadence, so nudging up helps a lot of people. But when the optimum was measured, it landed around 170 to 175, not 180 (de Ruiter 2014).

Cadence can be a dial, but rarely a target. If nothing hurts, you're probably fine.

Elite Form Breakdown, Part 6. Pronation next, unless the comments send me somewhere better.

Refs: Lieberman DE et al. J Exp Biol 2015;218:3406. Heiderscheit BC et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011;43:296. de Ruiter CJ et al. Eur J Sport Sci 2014;14:251.

10/07/2026

Two of the fastest marathoners in history.

Chicago is this Sunday. Kiptum's 2:00:35 came on that course three years ago.

Left: Eliud Kipchoge, INEOS 1:59 Challenge, 1:59:40. Last km, about 2:46/km. Not record-eligible, still one of the fastest marathons ever covered on foot.

Right: Kelvin Kiptum, Chicago 2023, 2:00:35. Around 38 km, about 2:48/km. The official world record until Sabastian Sawe ran 1:59:30 in London in April 2026.

Same pace. Different bodies. Watch how similar they are.

By midstance the foot is under the hip and the pelvis stays level. The trunk moves, but in rhythm with the stride, not fighting it. Those are foundational to the movement, and they're the same in both men.

The differences are small. Kiptum's cadence is a touch higher here, probably because he was moving quicker at this point in the race. He shows a little more side-to-side movement. Kipchoge shows a little more motion at the ankle. There's more if you go frame by frame, and depending on the runner and the context, those details can be useful. For most runners they're not the thing to focus on. Two of the fastest men ever, and the foundations are the same.

Footage: broadcast. Educational only, not medical advice.

10/04/2026

Braking is half the spring.

After the overstriding video, a couple of you pointed out that braking isn't something to eliminate. Correct. At a steady pace every step brakes, then pushes, and the two have to balance or you'd be speeding up or slowing down.

The braking half of stance is the loading half. The Achilles and the arch stretch and store energy, then give it back in the second half. Efficient running runs on that storage and release.

Same study as the overstriding video: shorter steps meant less braking, but the cadence with the least braking cost the most oxygen. Higher cadence cut braking and raised the cost of swinging the leg. The sweet spot was in the middle, around 170 steps/min on average, and it varied by runner (Lieberman 2015).

So why does braking get blamed? One prospective study followed 65 women through a half marathon build. The third who braked hardest were injured at roughly 8x the rate of the third who braked least (Napier 2018). One cohort, wide uncertainty, and training load still explains more injuries than any form variable, including this one.

Goal isn't zero braking. Goal is not extra. Landing far out in front is what adds extra.

Don't try to remove it. Don't overdo it. Don't overthink it.

Elite Form Breakdown, Part 5. Pronation was next on my list, but your comments keep turning into better videos than my plans. Keep them coming.

Refs: Lieberman DE et al. J Exp Biol 2015;218:3406. Napier C et al. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2018;28:2164. Davis IS et al. Br J Sports Med 2016;50:887 (loading rate did predict injury in a larger cohort).

09/30/2026

Touch down in front. Load under. That's just how running is.

After the last video, a lot of you said the same thing: he touches down in front, but he doesn't load there. And that is correct.

At the instant of contact there's almost no force on the foot.

By midstance the body is stacked over it, vertical force peaks, and the knee, Achilles, and shin take their biggest loads of the stride.

Landing still matters. It tells me how force is being set up through the leg, and landing further out means more braking on the way to midstance.

But if you look at one frame of your stride, maybe look more at midstance.

Elite Form Breakdown, Part 4. Next: why braking isn't the enemy. Ask your questions below!

09/27/2026

Most elite marathoners heel strike. That doesn't mean you should.

After the Kejelcha forefoot video, one of you pointed out that most elites heel strike and that some research says it's more efficient. Both true.

At the 2017 World Championships marathon, at least 54% of men and 67% of women were rearfoot strikers at every checkpoint (Hanley 2019). In the lab, the heel strike burned a smaller share of carbohydrate at easy pace (Gruber 2013).

Here's what the same study found next. When habitual heel strikers were made to forefoot strike, their oxygen cost went up 5.5%. When habitual forefoot strikers ran their own pattern, they were just as economical as the heel strikers running theirs.

The most efficient strike is usually the one you already use. Kejelcha's forefoot is probably right for him. The heel strike is probably right for most of the elite field. Switching is what costs you, at least at first.

Elite Form Breakdown, Part 3. Next: the pronation happening as he runs. Other form questions, put them below.

09/23/2026

Landing in front of the body does not mean overstriding.

Kejelcha lands in front of his body.
Usain Bolt does at top speed.
So do you.
At a steady pace, landing under your center of mass isn't possible.

The only time it happens is when you're accelerating.

What the research measured is how far ahead of the hip the foot lands.

In one study, the further ahead it landed, the more braking each step produced.

Shortening that distance helped.

Nobody got to zero.

So "land closer to your body" is a reasonable cue. However, the goal of actually landing under the body is NOT possible.

Elite Form Breakdown, Part 2. Next: heel striking, and whether it's actually more efficient. Other misconceptions you want covered, put them below.

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