It’s a running thing

If I’m honest I have always had a love hate relationship with running. It’s essentially an act of self abuse with a sense of great achievement and wellbeing on completion. I’d be lying if I said I relish the thought of putting my trainers on and going out for a hill run to indeed put myself through an hour or so’s pain and suffering. There are days when it does seem more appealing when the sun is shinning and it’s not raining sideways but then there are equally days when it’s mentally tough to get out the door. As a trainer over the years people have said to me “ Oh I hate running, I can’t do it”. The truth is yes you can, most of us if we’ve been lucky enough to be gifted with the ability can and should. It’s one of the most rewarding forms of exercise there is, it’s what we’ve been doing for an eternity since we stood up, it’s what we as bipedal cross patterning humans do best and are designed to do. The only thing that’s really stopping you is your head, get that right and you can achieve anything. This year my brother is raising money for Sue Ryder aiming to complete 2020 km in 2020, he’s off to a good start but has been struggling with his body not his mind, that’s all set but a few niggles are creeping in. So having said you only need your head sorted, you do need to make sure the body is also run ready. But that’s the easy part. Running gait is a demanding movement and does require certain elements of preparation. Let’s start with the feet, strong feet are very important as you use the windlass system, under the foot, to propel yourself as you push off your MTP joint, the ball of the foot. Trainers that are too built up hinder this system and make that all important part of your run gait obsolete. So take time to chose the right shoe and strengthen your feet to ensure the best possible action. Then we look at the hips, hip strength and stability means the knees don’t get a battering when you run, the knee is a hinge joint and so essentially it only moves in the Sagittal plane forwards and backwards, weak hips that cannot stabilize the femur cause knee valgus (collapsing inwards) causing pain. So an exercise plan of bridges, clams and banded work will help strengthen the glutes, stabilizing the hips. Remember you are only ever on one leg whilst running so proprioception and dynamic single leg movements mean your brain is well trained to cope with the impact of running, ensuring that simultaneous flexion and extension at the joints is well achieved. Alongside strength and stabilization flexibility is your last friend, always have a foam roller! Hip extension is imperative in running so quads and hip flexors must be flexible enough to allow for the glutes to drive your hips into extension, if they aren’t you will end up with dysfunction and pain. So stretch the hips and the quads, tight hamstrings also cause issues and knock on back pain so ensure they are as flexible as you can achieve. Finally the lower limb, so calf strength and ankle flexibility are also very important in getting you out on the road and hills pain free. 

So once you’ve prepped your body and your mind get yourself out there and appreciate what a gift it is to be able to run. An hours peace on a Sunday morning is priceless and when you get back and it’s all over you’ll feel amazing. 

This photo of me running up the slate mine in snowdon after a 5hr race with sideways rain and gale force winds always makes me smile because my god at the time it was awful but at the same time it was just brilliant!