From Fatigue to Performance: Understanding Running Economy and Gait Mechanics
July 11 @ 9:00 am – 10:00 am
COMPLETE THE RSVP FORM BELOW TO SAVE YOUR SPOT. LIMITED TO 75 LIVE PARTICIPANTS
Learn how gait mechanics, movement efficiency, and running economy influence fatigue, performance, and injury risk—and discover practical strategies you can immediately apply in training and clinical practice.
How does fatigue change movement, performance, and injury risk—and what can we do about it as sports medicine clinicians?
Join us on Saturday July 11th from 9-10 am at the Spooner Sports Institute to learn more.
Running economy is one of the most studied markers of endurance performance and provides valuable insight into how fatigue influences athletic movement. As fatigue accumulates during training and competition, athletes often experience measurable changes in biomechanics, movement efficiency, and physiological performance. This presentation will explore the current evidence surrounding fatigue-induced changes in running economy and gait mechanics as a model for understanding broader fatigue-related adaptations in sport.
Attendees will learn from sports physiologists and gain a deeper understanding of how fatigue affects movement efficiency and performance, which biomechanical metrics appear most sensitive to performance decline, and how lessons learned from endurance runners can be applied across athletic populations to inform training and rehabilitation.
After this session, attendees will be able to:
- Explain the key factors that influence running economy
- Identify common gait mechanics associated with increased energy cost
- Recognize movement patterns that may contribute to fatigue and injury
- Apply practical coaching and clinical strategies to improve running efficiency
- Translate current evidence into real-world athlete care
Who Should Attend?
Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers, Physical Therapist Assistants, Sports Medicine Physicians, Running Coaches, Strength & Conditioning Professionals, Students Interested in Sports Medicine
Athletic Trainers: Better understand the relationship between biomechanics, workload, fatigue, and injury risk.
Strength & Conditioning Professionals + Running Coaches: Gain practical insights to help athletes move more efficiently and perform at a higher level.
Approved for: 1 Cat A Con Ed for ATs, Cat B for PTs
Meet the Speakers
Alexa Lobato: Alexa Lobato, MS, is the Head Performance Physiologist at Human Powered Health. Prior to joining Human Powered Health in 2024, she worked in collegiate and professional sports, including Major League Soccer, before founding Optimum Athletics, a mobile human performance assessment company born from her passion for making comprehensive, data-driven performance testing more accessible. Her experience spans everyone from beginner youth athletes to elite competitors and active adults, with a background that bridges research, rehabilitation, and performance.
Outside of work, Alexa has always been drawn to strength training, with the weight room serving as the foundation of her own fitness journey. Since moving to Arizona and joining Human Powered Health, she has developed a growing appreciation for endurance sports. As both a strength athlete and beginner endurance athlete, she values the unique challenges and rewards that different forms of physical activity provide and believes movement is a powerful tool.
Carson Gantzer: Carson Gantzer, CSCS is a Performance Physiologist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist at Human Powered Health with experience working with general population and athletes ranging from youth soccer players to professional combat sport athletes. Prior to joining Human Powered Health, Carson was a strength and conditioning coach for professional fighters and Olympic-level wrestlers and served as a lecturer at South Mountain Community College, teaching courses on exercise physiology, cardiovascular exercise, and resistance training. During his master’s studies at Arizona State University, he conducted research on neuromuscular fatigue and injury prevention in youth soccer players. Outside of work, he is an avid runner and cyclist and continues to support professional combat sport athletes with strength and conditioning.