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Stride vs. Cadence Runner: What’s the Difference?

How to Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses

How to Use the Insight to Prepare for Your Next Race

Jon Mott set his marathon PR—a 2:17:20—on the famously flat and speedy course of the Berlin Marathon in 2022. Then, a few months later, he traveled to Boston for 26.2, feeling equally confident in his training, but was punished by the repeated hills and fell well short of his goal.

So what happened in Boston?

“At no point was I able to lock into my rhythm,” says Mott, a three-time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and run coach at Runnersfix . “There was no flow to the race, I guess you can say, and it just really beat me up.”

Over time, Mott came to see a pattern in his contrasting performances. On flat, rhythmic courses, he could open up his stride and cruise, letting his powerful gait carry him through the finish line with little interruption.…