Running
Full running gait analysis from ordinary phone video. Measure what the leg, hip and trunk do at initial contact, midstance and push-off, compare each value with evidence-informed reference ranges, and hand the runner a report they can act on.
- Phases
- Initial Contact · Midstance · Push-Off
Measurements supported
18 measurements, grouped by the phase of the movement they are taken in. 16 of them link to a reference article that explains what the measurement means and what good looks like.
Initial Contact
2Angle of the foot's sole line vs. the ground at initial contact.
−5° to +5° (heel-strike to midfoot)
See the course →One 4-click drawing (hip → knee, knee → ankle) yields two angles at the same frame.
Knee 160°–170° included (≈10°–20° of bend) · Stride 4°–8° forward of vertical
See the course →Midstance
8Interior knee angle between thigh (hip → knee) and shank (knee → ankle) at midstance (180° = a straight leg; smaller = more flexed).
130°–140° included (≈40°–50° of flexion)
See the course →Angle between the tibia midline and the calcaneus midline at maximum pronation (≈ midstance).
5° to 8° eversion (calcaneus rolls inward relative to tibia)
See the course →Angle of the hip line (PSIS-to-PSIS) vs. horizontal during single-leg stance.
0° to 5° (contralateral hip drops slightly)
See the course →Lateral tilt of the trunk (neck → mid-pelvis line) vs. vertical, measured during single-leg stance from the posterior view.
0° to 5° (slight lean toward the stance leg is normal — compensates for contralateral drop)
See the course →Frontal-plane angle between thigh (hip → knee centre) and shank (knee centre → ankle).
−5° to +5° (close to neutral; positive = valgus/inward)
See the course →Angle of the foot's long axis (heel → 2nd toe) vs. line of progression at midstance.
−5° to +10° (slight out-toe is normal; in-toe is the larger flag)
See the course →Angle of the trunk (shoulder → hip line) from the image vertical, measured from the side view at midstance.
Lean 4°–8° forward · Head −8° to +12° (0° = ear/shoulder/hip stacked; + head forward, − head held back).
See the course →Elbow-flexion angle — the interior angle at the elbow between the upper arm (shoulder → elbow) and the forearm (elbow → wrist), measured from the side view at midstance.
≈ 80° – 100° elbow flexion; much straighter (> ~110°) or over-bent (< ~70°) wastes swing efficiency.
See the course →Push-Off
3Angle between the trunk line (shoulder → hip) and the thigh vector (greater trochanter → lateral epicondyle of the knee) at toe-off.
10° – 20° of extension (thigh trailing behind the pelvis); negative = still ahead of it
See the course →Angle of the pelvis (PSIS → ASIS line) from the image horizontal, measured from the side view at toe-off.
Under 10° anterior is normal; 10°–20° is worth watching; over 20° is excessive (Powers Running Assessment).
See the course →How far the foot opens past a neutral 90° angle with the shank, at toe-off.
20° – 30° of plantarflexion past neutral
See the course →Running Dynamics
5Mark a window (start frame → end frame), count every foot contact inside it; the tool reports steps per minute.
165–185 steps/min
See the course →Calibrate the clip with the Scale tool, then draw the foot-to-foot span (lead foot → trailing foot) at initial contact.
Displayed in real-world cm; classified as % of standing height — ~50–70 %H is a balanced step at easy-to-moderate speeds.
See the course →How far the centre of mass rises and falls on each stride, in cm — measured automatically from pose and scaled to the athlete's height.
≈ 6–9 cm (lower is generally more economical).
See the course →≈ 200–280 ms (lower = stiffer, more elastic contact; higher can signal overstriding or low cadence).
≈ 80–150 ms in running (0 in walking — there's no aerial phase).
A typical session
The same five steps every time, which is what makes one session comparable with the next.
- 1
Capture
Film the athlete on a phone, from the lateral, posterior and anterior views the measurements need. Tag every clip with its view and the right tools appear. Slow-motion capture at 120 or 240 fps is worth it for the timing measurements.
- 2
Pin the phases
Pin the frames for initial contact, midstance and push-off. Pinning the phases is what makes one session comparable with the next, and with everybody else you have measured.
- 3
Measure
Work through the 18 measurements this pack declares. Each one carries its own on-screen guide: where to click, what the landmarks are, and the mistakes to avoid.
- 4
Interpret
Every value is compared with evidence-informed reference ranges and placed in a band, from inside the range to worth attention. Findings are patterns that may affect performance or loading, offered alongside your judgement rather than in place of it.
- 5
Report
Produce the athlete's report: the measurements, what they mean, the frames they came from, and what to work on. Share it as a private link or a PDF.
Sample findings
A few of the patterns this pack can surface. These are patterns that may affect performance or loading, put next to your judgement rather than in place of it. They are not diagnoses.
Trendelenburg Sign
Several measurements line up here: your hip drops and your upper body leans to compensate.
Overstride Pattern
Your foot is landing well ahead of your body with a straight knee, so every step brakes before it drives.
Hip Extension Restriction
Your leg isn't travelling far behind you, and the flexibility screen agrees.
Borderline Overstride
Foot lands modestly ahead of the body — 8°–11° forward of vertical.
Stiff Knee at IC
Knee is locked or nearly locked at touch-down.
Stiff Midstance
Knee bend at midstance is well below the loading range.
What the report contains
The report is generated from the session itself, so it holds only what was measured. For this pack that is:
- Summary
- The headline for this session in a few lines: what was measured, what sits inside its reference range, and what is worth a conversation.
- Domain scores
- A 0 to 100 score for foot, knee, hip, dynamics, upper body and mobility, plus an overall figure, so a re-test months later is a like-for-like comparison.
- Every measurement, with its range
- All 18 measurements the pack declares, each with the value taken, the evidence-informed reference range it is compared with, and where in that range it sits.
- Left and right compared
- Side pairs are compared measurement by measurement, and a difference wide enough to matter is called out rather than left for the reader to spot.
- Patterns across measurements
- Where several measurements agree, they are named as one pattern instead of repeated as separate findings.
- The frames the numbers came from
- Each measurement is shown on the frame it was taken from, with the lines drawn on, so the athlete can see what was measured and a second analyst can check it.
- What to work on
- Findings carry the cues and drills the pack pairs with them, written for the athlete rather than for the file.
- Shoe shortlist
- Foot strike, pronation and joint paths turn into a shortlist of shoe characteristics to try. Nothing is suggested from a measurement that was not taken.
- The underlying numbers
- The raw values, frame numbers and capture settings behind every figure, for the analyst's own records.
Suitable professionals
Running analysis is used by people who already make these judgements and want the numbers alongside them.
- Running coaches
- Physiotherapists and sports therapists
- Podiatrists
- Sports medicine clinicians
- Specialist running shops fitting shoes
- Strength and conditioning coaches
Get certified
Measuring well is a skill of its own. The academy takes you through capture, the phases, every measurement and how to turn findings into a plan, then grades you on it and issues a certificate you can show. Self-paced, and the same reference library sits behind it.
Everything on this page is read from the Running pack that MoveIQ ships, so it stays in step with the app as the pack grows.