This weekend at the Kingston Road Runners Limestone half marathon, we will be conducting a gait analysis study. We are working with Adam Clansey, a post-doctorate biomechanist at Queen’s university, and some of the folks from C-Motion, a company based in Kingston that develops hi-tech gait analysis systems and other systems for human research for university labs all over the world.
The goal of the study is to see how the fatigue of running a half marathon affects a runner’s biomechanics. We will be pre-testing runners on the Saturday before the race, or the morning of the race, and then re-testing them shortly after they are finished. We will be bringing our 3D Gait analysis equipment and setting it up in the Brew Pub courtyard (thanks Brew Pub) so that we are close to the finish line.
The findings of this study will be of interest to biomechanics researchers who study the cause of injuries, and also to runners themselves. We’re pretty excited to see how it goes, and more than a little nervous about setting up our equipment in an outdoor courtyard!!!
Runners who volunteer will be provided with a comprehensive report describing their gait in all 3 planes. We’re looking forward to this weekend!