Project Dasein is an exploration of being authentically engaged in the world.  It is an effort to understand the unique forces which act upon us and the forces that we exert on the world.  The primary tool of Project Dasein is the Force Portrait.  Force Portraits are a projection of the forces we experience at the center of our bodies in a moment of time.  They are brief windows into the project of the self, where our past experiences and future possibilities are revealed.  Force Portraits show us that not only is every individual unique, but every moment in the life of every individual is unique.  We see the effects of our past personal life experiences, while also being presented with a decision on how we will choose our future.  As the authors of our lives, what story will we write?

The true scope of Project Dasein is extremely broad, however we have chosen to begin our exploration with running.  Running is one of the most primal and dynamic of human actions.  It is part of what defines us as human beings and has led to our survival and success as a species.  As we run we feel the solid earth beneath our feet and the wind, rain and sun on our faces.  We move through the world and become entangled with it through direct visceral experience.  As a strenuous activity, running pushes us to our limits and helps us explore our own strengths and weaknesses.  Running is an expression of who we are as embodied beings.

We begin by placing a sensor on the runner’s sacrum.  The sacrum is located near the body’s center of mass and is sometimes referred to as the “hub” of the body.  It is the central anchor of the body’s internal connective tissue structure.  As we run, we store and release elastic strain energy in our fascia and other connective tissues, allowing us to move far more efficiently than if we relied on muscle force alone.  All of the forces we experience as we run are translated through the body’s center; both external forces such as wind resistance and ground reaction force, as well as internal forces generated within our bodies by our muscles and connective tissue.  Research shows that the pelvic region is perhaps the most important area of the body to observe in running for injury prevention and performance enhancement.  Many knee, ankle, and back injuries are the result of hip muscle weakness or poor hip mobility.  Indicators of risk and performance factors may be detected by analysis of the forces acting on the sacrum.

Our two main goals are to reduce the risk of running related injuries and to improve running performance.  50% to 80% of runners are injured every year.  An injured runner cannot train, and thus cannot improve performance.  So the top priority is to identify issues in the running form that may increase the risk of injury.  Our second goal is to help runners improve their speed and endurance.

We start by understanding the running gait cycle.

Running begins by launching the body forward.  We push down and back onto the ground, and since for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction the ground thus pushes us upwards and forwards.  We experience a force that launches us into our run.  The Launching phase ends at the instant known as toe-off as the foot leaves the ground.

Once the launching foot has left the ground we enter the flying phase where there is no contact with the ground.  In flight the only external forces acting on us are gravity pulling down and air resistance pushing backwards.  We also feel some internal forces acting in this phase as the arms and legs swing.  Flying ends in the instant known as “initial contact” when the landing foot first touches the ground.

The Landing phase begins as the foot touches the ground and begins to load weight.  For most runners the foot lands in front of the body’s center of mass.  This typically results in a braking force that pushes backwards against the runner.  Some amount of deceleration here is inevitable, but we can work to minimize braking in order to become more efficient runners by not expending extra effort to overcome excessive braking forces.  The landing phase comes to an end as the foot moves under the runner and forces push mainly upwards.

The largest forces experienced in running typically occur in the stabilizing phase as the stance leg absorbs the full weight of the runner.  There are also significant lateral forces as the runner stabilizes the sideways forces on a single leg.  The magnitude of forces in this phase depends on factors such as leg stiffness, hip strength, angle of knee flexion, and vertical oscillation.  As the force of impact is stabilized, the stance leg then moves into the launching phase and the entire gait cycle is repeated.

Force Portraits are a visualization of the forces that we experience at our center of mass over a period of time.  It is important to understand the forces in action through the running gait cycle in order to identify potential causes of injury and learn how we can run more efficiently. These forces are three dimensional, but we often project to a two dimensional image so we can view from the side, rear or top of the pattern.  Force portraits give us a wealth of information about how our bodies are moving, risk factors that may lead to injury, and what we might do to become better runners.

We begin understanding the Force Portrait by first looking at the big picture of our running pattern.  The full force portrait is three dimensional, showing side to side lateral forces, up and down vertical forces, and forward backward forces in the direction of running.  We look at the average peak force in each direction and determine the size of box that would fit the forces.  This measurement we call “Volume”, and it captures the total size of all forces combined.  If the Force Portrait could be summarized with a single metric, it would be Volume.

Of course the dynamic forces experienced while running are far too complex to reduce to a single number.  Volume gives us a good idea of total size of the box a Force Portrait fits within, but it is important to look at each dimension of the box in order to understand its general shape.  The dimensions of the box the Force Portrait fits into are the “Magnitudes” of force in each direction.  Here we see magnitude of side to side lateral, up and down vertical, and forward backward running direction forces.  Multiplying these three Magnitudes gives us the Volume metric.

The Volume and three Magnitudes give us the big picture size and shape of the complete Force Portrait.  We now separate the full gait cycle into left and right steps.  Each magnitude is measured independently for each leg, then compared.  This gives us a symmetry score in each of the three directions.  Symmetry is critically important in running.  Asymmetries may lead to injury over time, or may be useful indicators of progress when recovering after injury.  Ideally a runner should be as close to 100% symmetrical as possible in each direction.

Another important metric is cadence, which is the number of steps per minute.  Cadence is the timing measurement of the gait cycle.  It has a direct influence on the forces visualized by the Force Portrait.  For instance to increase cadence while running at a constant velocity the stride length must decrease.  Decreasing the stride length usually causes the foot to land more underneath the runner which leads to a smaller braking force.  It can be very valuable to pay attention to running cadence and how it affects the Force Portrait.

These metrics give us a rough outline of the force portrait.  This is already a lot of useful information, but we are only scratching the surface!  The metrics above tell us the size and shape of the box a Force Portrait fits into, both in space and time.  However the interplay of forces is very complicated and unique for every individual.  Even for the same runner, each run is different, and within a single run the forces change as we fatigue or move onto different surfaces.  The basic metrics of the force portrait are similar to measuring the height and width of a tree.  It is useful information, but doesn’t capture the branching structure, leaf shape, or other aspects that make one tree different from another.   Each individual has a unique body with a unique shape, unique strengths and weaknesses, unique mobility, unique training history and a unique running form.  Terrain also effects the force portrait.  Are you running on a concrete path?  A rubber track?  Bark mulch trail?  Forest trail with tree roots, puddles, and rocks? A treadmill?  A new pair of shoes?  A runner does not exist in in a vacuum.  We are interacting with the world, and the world is interacting with us.  By learning to understand the patterns created by the complex interplay of force while running we unlock the true power of the Force Portrait.

It is important to remember that we are each at different places along the path of our personal journey.  There is no “perfect” way to run, and there are many different philosophies of running.  Techniques that may work well for some people may not be appropriate for others.  We change aspects of our running form at different speeds.  We change over time as we age and depending on our training regimen and personal life circumstances.  All these factors are reflected in our Force Portraits.  However we are all human beings with human bodies, so there are also many similarities which we all share.  

The Force Portrait becomes truly valuable as we learn to understand the meaning of its shape.  Over the course of many years, coaches, clinicians, and researchers have observed countless runners and have identified certain features of the running form which may lead to injury or may lead to improved performance.  As a visualization of the forces experienced by a runner, the Force Portrait contains within it the signatures of these features.  The continuing mission of Project Dasein is to explore the indicators of running form as revealed by the Force Portrait and share this knowledge with the world.

--Cooper Boydston

‍