RUNNERS AT THE CORK CITY HALF MARATHON IN BLARNEY

What a great day out. While some people were a little reluctant to be stretched before a race (thanks to poor stretching techniques causing injury previously) we managed a few calf stretches beforehand. The big demand was after the race when quads, calves and knees were screaming at people thanks to the fabulous 6 mile stretch of hill in the first half of the race. Most runners were very tight along the lateral line - or along the side of their thigh where the IT band is. What I have found is that in a huge amount of runners, it's not the actual IT band that causes problems, its the lateral hamstring, the vastus lateralis, TFL and the ITB just glueing together as a result of lots of running and not enough stretching.Tightness in one can contribute to tightness in all the others as all these closely connected bodies are linked through the fascia. This results in the ITB pulling up at its insertion point on the outside of the knee. Having been there....big ouch! Most runners described the lateral stretch as having a long waiting itch - scratched! Others said that it really hit a spot they have been trying to reach for a long time - either with a stretch or with manual 'digging' with their fingers or those of a massage therapist. It was very satisfying to hear this as I suffered with this complaint for so long and as a result of immense pain since a marathon late last year, I am only running my first marathon of the year in November (having been treated for the first time in July- I have been pain free since).
Another issue that some runners might identify with - I did lots of upper body stretches. Runners were complaining of shoulder pain, pain behind the shoulder blade and up into the back of the head. This is a classic complaint of runners who run with forward chin (or their chin leading the run rather than the forehead). Pilates or yoga classes can often help with posture issues - alternatively, more medical evidence is now emerging regarding the benefits of chi running which is a hugely efficient method of running for long distance runners. So, I am off myself to run a half marathon next weekend in Dublin and hopefully to get a stretch with some colleagues. Ill be posting shortly with some news on a client with a tear inside her hip joint and chronic hip and thigh pain for the last 3 years following a road traffic accident. Fiona Bron ;)