Practical realization of model-based dynamic legged behaviors is substantially more challenging than statically stable behaviors due to their heavy dependence on second-order system dynamics. This problem is further aggravated by the difficulty of accurately measuring or estimating dynamic parameters such as spring and damping constants for associated models and the fact that such parameters are prone to change in time due to heavy use and associated material fatigue. In this paper, we present an on-line, model-based adaptive control method for running with a planar spring-mass hopper based on a once-per-step parameter correction scheme. Our method can be used both as a system identification tool to determine possibly time-varying spring and damping constants of a miscalibrated system, or as an adaptive controller that can eliminate steady-state tracking errors through appropriate adjustments on dynamic system parameters. We present systematic simulation studies to show that our method can successfully accomplish both of these tasks. © 2011 IEEE.