Ground Contact Time (GCT)

Ground Contact Time (GCT) is the duration of time that one of your feet is in contact with the ground on each stride when running.

GCT is closely related to cadence and vertical oscillation (VO). The goal is lower your GCT (spend less time on the ground and more time in flight), while keeping your VO as low as possible. In general, your GCT should be below 300 milliseconds, and ideally in the 200 to 175 millisecond range.     

Recording and monitoring GCT requires specific sensors, such as the Garmin HRM-Run heart rate monitor (when used with a GCT capable watch, like the Forerunner 935), or the Stryd footpod.

Find it in SportTracks

In workouts that included GCT-capable equipment, it can be added as an overlay metric on the chart in the Workout Detail page: