More about step rate / cadence:

Step rate, or cadence, is a key factor that clinicians will consider when analyzing a runner's form.

While there is no ideal step rate, many clinicians have identified 170-180 as a target step rate, which is higher than that of most recreational runners (150-160 steps per minute).

Increasing step rate will prevent over-striding (landing your foot far in front of the rest of your body), which places excessive stress on the hip and knee.

Heiderscheit 2011 showed that a 5% increase in step rate can reduce shock absorption at the knee by 20%.

Boyer and Derrick 2015 found that an increase in step rate also increases step width, which may decrease stressors on our lateral leg structures, such as the IT band.

Edwards et al. 2009 showed that "reducing stride length [by 10%] decreased the probability of a tibial stress fracture by 3% to 6%".

This Run Cadence app offers runners real-time feedback of their cadence.

To calculate your cadence on your own, simply count the number of times your right foot contacts the ground in 30 seconds and multiply that number by 4.

Here is a Spotify Playlist filled with songs ~180 bpm, and I list some additional 180 bpm songs below:

Hip-Hop

• Eminem — Lose Yourself
• Kanye West — All Falls Down, Gold Digger
• Flobots — Rise

Rock

• Foo Fighters — Monkey Wrench, The Pretender, Best of You
• Good Charlotte — The Anthem
• Linkin Park — Don't Stay
• Trapt — Headstrong
• Papa Roach — Last Resort
• Incubus — Drive
• Deep Purple — Highway Star

Pop

• Coldplay — Yellow
• Taylor Swift — Our Song
• Katy Perry — Roar
• Gym Class Heroes — Stereo Hearts