I was lucky enough to help out at the Table Rock Ultra in Morganton, NC.
I love helping out at these races. The participants are extremely friendly and I enjoy helping the runner’s that have spend so much time performing for the event.
Here Are 5 Take Home Points
1) Strength Training
I greeted the runners that came to my tent and asked them if they had anything they wanted me to work on.
Then I asked if they had injuries.
During treatment, I would ask them if they had a strength routine.
I looked back at my notes from the race…
It was 100% conclusive.
The injured runners did not strength train.
The uninjured runners did.
It was that simple.
2) Resiliance
I loved hearing the stories of runners that had a very difficult previous year with injuries or training troubles.
It was wonderful to hear their stories about their return to running or their new records.
The common theme was simply smarter training and strengthening.
3) Hamstrings
I often discuss the importance of hamstrings.
But of the injured runner’s that I saw, the most egregious deficit was a hamstring weakness.
If you don’t have strong hamstrings, you won’t be able to stabilize your pelvis and push your body forward.
Which becomes a problem if you can’t do that when you try to run.
Fix this problem with this exercise.
4) Smoothness
The top runner’s didn’t stumble across the line.
They looked like they had just finished a light jog in the park.
They had a smoothness.
This is something that’s qualitative, not quantitative. You’re Garmin can’t tell you if you’re smooth.
But if running can feel easy, it can probably feel smooth too.
If you practice hard running too much, you’re gait will probably look like it’s hard.
5) the calf muscle
Everyone wanted their calf muscles worked on.
Not because they were injured, but because they were just fatigued and beat.
Endurance training requires a great deal of calf strength and endurance.
Test it out by attempting 25 calf raises on each leg.
If you can’t do this, you might be at risk for an injury.
summary
I had a great time. The ultra community was a very wonderful group of runners. And I love learning from each new case.