There are no two ways around it: Running and injury go together like bacon and eggs. According to the 2017 We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back, roughly 75 percent of runners have had some sort of sport-related injury over the past 12 months, and 50 percent of those injured have had to stop their training for more than a four-day period.
Any increase in mileage means a greater demand on a runner’s body—whether you're a first-time marathoner or an experienced runner starting up a new training cycle. “Being a new runner is a terrific and exhilarating opportunity, but also carries some risk,” says Jordan Metzl, M.D., a sports medicine physician in New York City. “The rate of injury is at least twice as high for beginners.”
So, how do you stave off injury, and ideally, stay off the bench? By following some simple strategies and integrating a few key movements into your routine. Here, Metzl and Runner’s World Coach Jess Movold offer their expert tips for avoiding injury this training cycle.
1. Educate Yourself
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to training, cautions Metzl, but everyone should start by learning the basics about common running injuries, mental toughness, and the importance of finding the right footwear and gear. From there, you can build a solid foundation of strength and running endurance.
“Education is of paramount importance,” he says. “While everyone has the opportunity to become a runner, it takes many years to understand a runner’s body when it comes to the ins and outs of training. You can’t rush that process.”
This means you should take the opportunity to chat with other runners and experts. Remember: there’s no such thing as a silly question.
2. Become A Good Body Listener
The constant motion of marathon training requires constant body awareness. “We want people to be strong throughout their training cycle,” Metzl says. “We want you to understand when an ache and pain is more serious and when you have to get it checked out.”
Incorporating a dynamic warmup into your routine will help get you in sync with how your body feels when it’s good and ready to roll, and on the flip side, recognize when something might be wrong.
To adequately loosen up the body and prepare it for effort, Coach Jess suggests the following dynamic warmup movements. The key word here is "dynamic." Save the static stretches for after the workout.
Hamstring Sweep
From standing, step left heel forward, toes up. Send hips back and slightly bend right knee as you hinge forward from the waist. Reach fingertips toward heel, and sweep your arms forward slowly as you stand back up. Repeat on right leg; alternate every few seconds.
Bodyweight Squat
Start standing with your feet about hip-width apart. Engage your core, keep your back straight, and look straight ahead. Send hips back and bend knees to squat down, shifting your weight into your heels. Keep your chest lifted. Return to stand and repeat.
Knee Pull
Start standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Maintain a tight core. Draw left knee up toward your chest. Grab the knee with both hands and gently pull it in tight. Release and return to stand. Repeat with the right leg.
High Knees
Stand with feet together. Start to run in place, drawing the knees high to hip level and pumping your arms. Continue to repeat.
3. Build Your Base
You don’t wake up one day, decide you’re going to run a race, and magically excel. All runners, from rookies to veterans, have to start somewhere.
“The newer you are to marathon training, the longer it takes to build that base,” says Metzl. “Three or four months could not be enough, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Depending on where you’re at, it could take as long as six or seven months to get race ready. Building a base requires slowly ramping up mileage as well as functional strength training in order to “get used to the sensation of being uncomfortable,” says Metzl.
Part of base-building includes strengthening your posterior chain and core, and thus your running stride. Here are a few of Coach Jess’ favorite moves to help you do so.
Dumbbell Floor Press
Lie faceup, feet on the floor with knees bent, holding two dumbbells with palms facing away at chest-level. Press the dumbbells up over your chest until arms are straight. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Forward Lunge
Stand with your feet together. Take a big step forward with right leg and bend both knees to drop down into a lunge, lowering until left knee almost touches the ground. Push through right heel to return to stand for one rep. Repeat on opposite side. Continue to alternate.
Dumbbell Deadlift
Start standing holding two dumbbells, palms facing in, with feet hip-width apart. Hinge at the hips and, maintaining a very slight bend in the knees, lower the dumbbells down until they reach just below the knees, and you feel a slight pull in the hamstrings. Thrust the hips forward to raise back to start for one rep. Repeat.
V-Up
Lie faceup. Inhale, then keeping arms and legs straight, exhale as you lift both torso and legs up so body forms a V. Keep chest lifted. Lower back to starting position with control and repeat.
Bird Dog
Start on all fours, with wrists under shoulders, knees under hips. Extend right arm straight out so it’s parallel to the ground. At the same time, kick the right leg back so your thigh is parallel to the ground. Hold for a breath, then draw left knee to right elbow. Repeat, then switch sides.
4. Make Time for Mobility
Although exercises such as foam rolling and stretching can feel extra at times, they provide your body with vital TLC for the muscles, joints, and ligaments that take a beating over the course of weeks and months of long distance training.
ASICS Cooling Seamless Capri Nutrition - Weight Loss to help correct common imbalances and keep you from having to visit Dr. Metzl’s office.
Adductor Rock Back Stretch
Start in a tabletop position on all fours with shoulders directly over wrists and knees directly under hips. Extend your left leg out to the side, so that your toes are pointing straight ahead. Then, tuck the toes of your right foot underneath. Lower your glutes down toward your heel. Return to start; repeat on opposite side. Be sure to keep your spine straight and your shoulders down throughout the movement so as not to allow any tension to radiate throughout your body, says Coach Jess.
Standing Figure-4
Start standing and shift all your weight onto your left leg. Rest your right ankle on left knee, send hips back, and bend left knee to perform a single-leg squat. Hold this position for a few seconds. Return to start; repeat with left leg. To help stabilize, Coach Jess suggests pressing the big toe of your standing leg firmly into the ground, and imagine you’re putting your raised leg onto a tabletop.
5. Evaluate Your Stride Mechanics
Just like a fingerprint, everyone has unique stride. While it’s totally fine for yours to look different from your friends’, there are certain mechanics everyone is aiming for from an efficiency standpoint.
Ideally, shoulders are stacked over the core, hips are over the knees, feet are landing below the center of mass, and you’re maintaining a slight forward lean, Coach Jess says. By honing in on proper form, you can avoid injury, be more efficient, and continue running longer. Connect with a run coach or expert to evaluate your stride, and see where you can make smart, easy tweaks.
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Published: Jul 2, 2019
Published: Jul 2, 2019
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Emily Abbate is a freelance writer, certified fitness trainer, and host of the podcast Hurdle. You can find her moderate in GQ, Shape, Runner’s World, ASICS Cool Tank.
