Ground Contact Time
The length of time a foot stays in contact with the ground during each step of running or sprinting.
GCT stands for Ground Contact Time.
Definition
Ground contact time is how long the foot remains on the ground during the stance phase of each running step, usually measured in milliseconds. It is one of the most-studied running-form metrics because the ground is the only place a runner can apply force to move forward.
Faster running is generally associated with shorter ground contact times, as elite sprinters apply very large forces in brief windows, whereas endurance runners show longer contacts at slower paces. Ground contact time interacts with cadence and stride length and is described here purely as a performance metric, not a diagnostic or medical measure.
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Movement patterns
- AccelerationThe athletic pattern of building speed from a standing or slow start by driving large horizontal forces into the ground to project the body forward.
- BackpedalControlled backward locomotion performed while facing forward, staying low and pushing off the balls of the feet in short strides to stay reactive and keep play in view.
- Change of DirectionA planned redirection of the body from one movement vector to another, requiring an athlete to decelerate existing momentum and reaccelerate along a new line between two known points.
- CutA sharp, frequently reactive plant-and-redirect performed in a single decisive foot contact to evade an opponent or abruptly alter a line of travel.
- DecelerationThe athletic pattern of actively braking and absorbing momentum to slow or stop under control, producing eccentric forces that oppose the direction of travel.
Muscle groups
Techniques
- The cricket driveCricket's foundational attacking stroke, played straight down the ground or through the off side — the cover, straight and on drive, and the length that makes each one available.
- Pace bowlingWhat fast bowling is actually for — how speed reduces a batter's reaction time, what the short ball and the yorker each achieve, and how a pace attack uses length as its main variable.
- Forward and back defenceThe two strokes a batter survives with — the forward defensive and the back defensive — when each is the right choice, and why a defensive stroke is a decision about length rather than intent.
- The sweepThe stroke that turns a good-length spinning delivery into a scoring opportunity — the conventional sweep, the slog sweep and the reverse sweep, and the LBW risk each one accepts.
- Flat, slice and kick servesThe three serves and what actually separates them — the contact point on the ball and the toss that makes it possible — plus what each one does to the ball after it bounces.
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- 2026-09-01
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