Gait cycle

Also known as: stride cycle

One complete sequence of movement from a foot's strike to that same foot's next strike.

Why it matters

Every running metric — cadence, contact time, flight time, stride length — is measured somewhere inside the gait cycle, so understanding its phases makes every other term easier to interpret.

What it means

The gait cycle has a stance phase (foot on ground: initial contact, midstance, toe-off) and a swing phase (foot airborne: early swing, midswing, terminal swing). Running differs from walking by adding a flight phase with no foot in contact with the ground at all — this is the key biomechanical difference between a walk and a run, regardless of speed.