Sorry about hijacking the thread with backpacking.
Regarding mechanics, I've been thinking about the lifting the foot concept.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/threads/does-“lifting-the-foot”-make-us-slower.13399/
I never quite found lifting the foot to be all that useful. I think that for recreational runners, that landing and propulsion are more important.
How one lands determines the impact, interaction with the running surface, affects friction, gait, cadence, stride length, the plant for propulsion, the starting point for the next step. There's only so much one can do if one lands wrong, until the next landing.
Propulsion also impacts friction, stride length, cadence, muscle activation, gait, the next landing, speed.
The rest seems reflexive?
I've been finding with glute activated running, that I want to take longer steps. Otherwise, I feel that I'm cutting reach stride too short, mincing my steps, that I'm not stretching my legs out long enough, limiting the amount of power my glutes can generate if I don't extend my legs. (Edit: extend the hips is probably a more accurate description.)
If I take longer steps, that affects my landing. I'm feeling more impact. I think partly, because I have about 20lbs of belly fat to lose
However, I'm going to work more on the landing, when taking longer steps.
I also found this to be an interesting post on stride length and cadence. I can definitely feel myself switching to the shorter stride length, faster cadence gait, when I get tired from the longer glute activated strides. Probably just need more time and training, and weight loss!
http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2010/11/speed-stride-length-x-stride-frequency.html
Has anyone checked out Magness's book?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0615942946/