Running clinic - What would you ask?

[Wahine]

Hi ladies!

I'm giving a running clinic tomorrow for the general population. The topic is Dynamic Warm-up, Running form drills and Injury Prevention.

I've given talks for each sub topic before and there is a lot of overlap between them, so I feel pretty good about pulling all 3 together without turning it into a rushed presentation.

My question is, what things would you ask at a talk like this? Ideas on things you'd like to see or hear about?

I'm a little bored with the presentation to be honest. Though it's always very well received. So I'm looking for ideas to make it a little different this time around and I'm hoping your feed back might make a light bulb go off.

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

[Catrin]

Personally I would ask about how to deal with tight heel cords and what to do after a run when that happens. You might already do that but wanted to mention it.

[Wahine]

Personally I would ask about how to deal with tight heel cords and what to do after a run when that happens. You might already do that but wanted to mention it.

This is something I usually talk about in an injury prevention talk. The talk I'm giving is part of a monthly series put on by our local running shop. Last month the speaker was another PT in town and he covered a lot of topics like stretching, stability exercises, dynamic warm-up... but he did so very superficially. There was very little that people at the clinic could walk away with and start using immediately to help their running. There were also a lot of questions about dynamic warm-up. That's my main reason for choosing this as my primary topic. Running form ties in nicely with that. I didn't actually plan on speaking about injury prevention beyond those categories. Mostly because it's a lot of stuff to try to get into one hour. But the shop changed the title of my talk (without my input) to include injury prevention. I would put dealing with tight heel cords after running in that group and that leads to a discussion of stretching and self treatment of trigger points which is another 1 hour discussion.

I will have a little talk about heel cords/calves and use it as a way to introduce stretching and trigger point work. Maybe I can use it as a teaser for another talk later.

Thanks for your feedback.

[OakLeaf]

Well I want to know how the H### Prisca Jeptoo can win a race looking like that.

But that's probably not what you wanted to know.

[Wahine]

Actually, that is a really fun way for me to introduce my topic! Thanks for the idea!

[OakLeaf]

Seriously, one of my biggest problems is leaning forward at the waist. I would think a lot of people have issues with their lumbar spine being locked in flexion, either from being sedentary or cycling or doing that whole 90s suck and tuck. I think some tips on mobilizing and warming up the lumbar area, and sensing posture while running, could be welcome.

[Wahine]

Yup, that's a biggie. I would say that type of form fault and lack of control of the pelvis when the leg is loaded are the 2 most common major form faults I see and probably account for 80% of the runners I work with.

[VeganBikeChick]

Also how to balance your form lengthwise. I'm much stronger/more dominant on my left side and always favor it when I run.

[Wahine]

Also how to balance your form lengthwise. I'm much stronger/more dominant on my left side and always favor it when I run.

I'm not 100% sure that I understand the question. Are you referring to stride length and that you have a longer stride on one side than the other?

[VeganBikeChick]

Just how to even out your stride, I guess. My left leg always is far more sore than my right and I know it's because I lead with it and favor it.

[GLC1968]

You may already address this, but my husband, who is a beginner runner (very recently!) has lately been asking about the best things to do for recovery after the run. Should he use compression tights, should he ice, should he take something, how sore should he be, yadda, yadda, yadda. It may not be directly about injury prevention, but it does lend itself to being properly ready for the next run.

[Wahine]

In my internet wanderings today I came across this interesting blog complete with video of Priscah Jeptoo. It's an interesting view on aspects of running form.

It's interesting to watch how different the form is between the top 3 finishers. The second one by far has the tidiest form. Third place has all her stride out in front with what some would call insufficient hip extension at push-off. Just goes to show that form isn't everything!

[OakLeaf]

That was interesting, thanks for the link!