Although running and walking provide the same function for each individual person, no two persons gait cycles are the same. Just like ones’ own personal DNA, our gait is a macroscopic picture of the near microscopic complexities that make it. Some of these differences include:  weight distribution, center of gravity, anatomical variance in bone structure and muscle tendon pull, and joint range of motion just to name a few. But as mentioned in the title, a component of the running gait cycle that is similar between all runners is the “double float”.

The double float phenomenon (both feet in the air at the same time) occurs during the swing phase of a two phase gait cycle. The other phase (contact phase) makes up the remaining 40% of the total cycle. In other words, the double float can be seen in the runner between toe-off of one foot and heel-contact of the opposite foot and accounts for only 30% of the total swing phase, a very small portion of the total gait cycle.

It may first be observed anywhere from 1.5 – 4 years old or presumably when the child begins running. This explains the anti-gravity photo I recently snapped of my 2 year old son as he ran with his Grandpa Merrill (Dr. Merrill, just days after the Akron marathon) in the Cleveland Metro parks and appears to be running 6 inches above the ground.