Have you ever wondered how runners come to find their running style? While physical attributes are the most obvious indicator, new research out of France suggests personality traits may be involved, too.
Human biomechanics specialists based out of Volodalen SportLab in France have found a connection between running style and personality type, according to a new study published in Plos One. The research team used 80 adult volunteers; participants were asked to complete three 50-metre running tests, where the team evaluated biomechanic factors such as ground contact time, flight time, step frequency, leg stiffness and more. Their personalities were also assessed using the well-known (though not scientifucally-backed) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which grouped participants into one of four categories: thinking-feeling, sensing-intuition, judging-perceiving and extraversion-introversion.
In evaluating the runners’ individual styles against their MBTI findings, the team found an interesting connection: those who fell into the “sensing and intuition” category were strongly linked to particular running styles. Those leaning on the “sensing” side displayed a more “grounded” running style, noted by prolonged ground contact time and shorter flight time, among other factors. Conversely, those characterized more by “intuition” were found to have a more “dynamic and elastic” running style, characterized by shorter ground contact time and higher leg stiffness than their counterparts.
The study explains, “These results suggest that runners with sensing and intuition personality traits differ in their ability to use their lower limb structures as springs. Intuition runners appeared to rely more in the stretch-shortening cycle to energetically optimize their running style, while sensing runners seemed to optimize running economy by promoting more forward progression than vertical oscillations.”
This study certainly indicates that our personalities and how we move may be deeply connected and underscores the need for further research in this area.
