CHANGES IN STEP LENGTH AND WIDTH DURING TREADMILL RUNNING

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure a runner’s step length and width during thirty-minutes of treadmill running. The step kinematics for sixteen subjects, ten experienced and six inexperienced treadmill runners, were acquired and analyzed. Four LED markers were positioned on the front tips of the toe boxes and heel counters on both the right and left shoes at the same level. The positions of the four markers were captured by a Visualeyez system for ten seconds at the beginning of the 5th and 30 thminutes. The results showed that the subjects seemed to increase their step length backward in their toe-off position after thirty-minutes of treadmill running. The maximum range of movement, defined as the product of the maximum step length and the maximum step width, was 66% and 30% of their height for the subjects during thirty-minutes of running.