Spring forward to your next running event

Recently at the White House physiotherapy clinic we have been treating lots of runners building up to a spring event, and wanting to get on top of any aches and pains early. We have the Sheffield half marathon and London marathon in April, and these two are the most common events our patients are entered for.

We have a team of physiotherapist’s who bring along many years of experience in running and treating running injuries. We asked Steve Canning for his advice when preparing ahead to your big event. He is himself building up towards a personal best attempt at the 2017 London marathon, with 2:45:29 to beat.

Here are Steve’s top tips:

• RUN TOGETHER - Try and do some of your weekly mileage with a running friend, or join a club. This will help keep you motivated to get out running, and keep a good pace up while you are out. It’s always easier to run with someone, and help pace it together, especially when it comes to your higher mileage efforts.

• DON’T KEEP RUNNING THROUGH AN INJURY - We are all susceptible to a few aches and pains, especially when demanding more from our body. If you try to ignore any symptoms, they probably won’t just go away, but catch up with you eventually. Seek some early professional advice from a physiotherapist. Our aim is to try and keep you on target for your event, and there are a number of ways we can help to treat and advise you on to ensure to get to the start line.

• KEEP STRETCHING INTERESTING – Go on, admit it, static stretches aren’t the most interesting part of running. They are still advised following a run (although not before) to maintain tissue length and flexibility. There are more interesting ways of doing them though - how about trying a yoga class (or even finding some Yoga stretches on Youtube), or using a foam roller to mix it up a bit?

• TREAT YOURSELF – After weeks and weeks of continuous running, your muscles might need a treat. Why not pay us a visit for a sports massage, to give you muscles a new lease of life?

• MIX IT UP A BIT – There are so many options when it comes to running. Give your body a bit of variety. Consider planning ahead, and getting in some interval runs, hills runs, longer runs and recovery runs. Don’t always head out on the same routes. Trying varying where you run – find some nice scenic routes, discover a new part of town, get yourself muddy, run on a track. The options are endless.

Good luck in your Winter and Spring running over the next few months.