Runners Prehab Rx: Runner's Injury Complex & Master Training Elements

Chronic, repetitive, over-use injuries plague, and all too often end, a distance runner’s competitive athletic career. These common and related injuries are all tied to the same fundamental reality:  Foundation or Base Fitness leads to peripheral fitness atrophy over time due to neglect combined with monomaniacal training directed at developing the ability to do one thing (running straight ahead with the occasional left turn!) exceedingly well.

To attain maximal peak performance abilities as a distance runner you must be able to training consistently over many years with minimal unscheduled downtime.  To ensure this prospect, the distance runner must create/keep/maintain general fitness capabilities and they must train fitness capabilities to counter act the one dimensional aspects of distance running.  The primary areas of the Distance Runner Rx are functional flexibility, functional strength, and functional dynamic movement training.  These three elements should be addressed in this order of priority and scaled to properly meet the demands of their specific event. An outline of each area of need is found below with elements in the recommended order of progression whether viewed in a chronic or acute light.

Finally, “Not Running” is a critical and vital part of an elite athlete’s training.

Not Running:

As a part of the training plan, Not Running accomplishes many valuable tasks for the highly trained and highly motivated athlete. Most significant include the following:

1)       allow blood values to normalize ref Ferritin & immune system reserves

2)       allow bone micro trauma to heal and super compensate fully from heavy training

3)       allow modest but critical increases in minimal body fat stores to allow a full hormonal recovery & reserve

4)       allow regeneration of mental reserves and energies to maximize capabilities