2012 Austin Marathon Training: Will You Remain Injury-Free?

Somewhere in the midst of the 100+ degree temperatures in Central Texas, runners are finding inspiration to begin the journey that is marathon training. For many, it is time to start training for the Livestrong Austin Marathon in February 2012.

Many will decide to participate in the Austin Distance Challenge, a series of 5 races that lead up to the Austin Marathon. 

Sadly, the start of marathon training in Austin also means that there will be an unfortunate rise in running injuries over the course of the next 6 months. Anywhere from 60 to 90% of runners will sustain an injury while training for a marathon – depending on which studies you read. 'Tis the season to be injured, fa-la-la-la-la … la-la-la-la.

The frustrating part is that many of these injuries could be prevented. Injury does not have to be the accepted reality of marathon training. Most injuries can be directly related to poorly developed training programs. Many Austin-area training programs are no different from the accepted norm and continue to emphasize aspects of run training that increase the risk of injury - regardless of the sports medicine and science evidence to the contrary.

Over the years, I have told many people that you can tell what month it is in Austin based on the types of running injuries that appear in my office. September and October tend to be the months of the “new runner” injuries – those sustained because they are unable to adapt to the initial demands of training. November and December tend to be the months that the more experienced runner addresses issues that they know may further impact their training in the months ahead. January is the month in which the longer runs – and poor progression of them – tend to produce their own spate of injuries.

Let’s face it though – there isn’t a lack of science-based training information out there. It has been readily available for two decades. One practical example of a sports sciences-based approach to run training is RunSmart, and there are plenty more. But as they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink – or, worse yet, you can lead a group training program or ten to injury-free running, but you can’t make them utilize the strategies required to attain it.

Unfortunately, this is a sad reflection on the reality that is experienced in Austin (and countless other communities) every fall and spring. What will make it worse is that once these people are injured, a coach will then shuffle them off to a practitioner that will apply countless irrelevant treatment approaches, tell them to run in the pool, and then after weeks of rehab, tell them to just get back to training slowly without addressing the most important issue at stake: the training program that put them there in the first place.

How many runners need to be injured before coaches accept responsibility and CHANGE their training programs to address the source of the vast majority of these problems? When will this insanity stop?

Photo credits: Wikipedia