Stephen Kirk – Physiotherapist at our Harrogate and Leeds clinics has taken on the challenge of doing the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in May 2024. Many of our patients attend physiotherapy as they encounter injuries whilst training for long endurance events like the marathon. Stephen is going to complete a monthly blog to update us on his progress and on how he is trying to avoid becoming injured.
February 2024
I have finally decided to try and do the Leeds Marathon in May 2024 having been procrastinating as to whether to sign up or not for several months. The main reason it took me so long to commit to doing it was I didn’t know whether my body would allow me to do it without being injured. I am 45 years old now and my last (and only) marathon was in 2005. I have been regularly running for the last 5 years but this has been purely to keep my weight down and provide some simple stress relief. Most weeks I would normally only run around 10 miles so it’s a really big jump to get my body in shape and marathon ready without flaring up some historic injuries.
I have been managing a chronic Achilles tendinopathy problem for the last 3 years as well as a recurring ITB issue. I know that a significant increase in running, if not done in a structured way would definitely flare these 2 injuries up. In order to ensure they don’t flare up here are some considerations when preparing for a big event such as a marathon:
- Start training for the event a long way ahead of it. I started my training 5 months before the marathon so as to spread out the stress on my body as much as possible. A lot of marathon training plans suggest training for approximately 3-4 months before the event. My recommendation is to make it as long and as gradual as possible.
- Don’t just run. A common mistake is to think that you simply have to run in order to get better at running. Doing a varied training regime helps your body to spread the stresses on it and therefore prevents overuse injuries. Do some cycling, swimming or cross training to mix up your training.
- Get stronger. Most running injuries are from the major muscle groups not being strong enough to cope with the loads placed on them by running multiple miles. A regular leg strengthening programme can prevent this from happening. Research shows that simply doing x 2 15-minute strengthening sessions a week can significantly reduce your risk of injury.
- Consider your nutrition and hydration when training. Most of the time when I run I don’t really consider what I eat or drink before or after but with the increased stress on your body when you run means this is definitely something to consider.
- Sleep more. Sleep is so important in so many ways and is really important to allow our bodies to heal and recover from physical and mental stresses. I am consciously going to bed earlier most nights to try and increase how long I sleep for.
- Have the right kit. When you take part in extreme sports having the right kit is vital as it could be this that stops you from completing an event. I have invested in some new Hoka trainers which I have to say are the most comfortable running trainers I have ever had.
The plan so far is reaping dividends (fingers crossed) To date (I have written this on 8/2/24, 3 months prior to the marathon) I have significantly upped my mileage and the legs are feeling good. I am up to regularly running just over 20 miles a week and have completed a 12 mile run comfortably. I will update this blog in a few weeks to keep you informed on my progress as well as some further physiotherapy tips on improving your performance and preventing injuries.