The right kind of self treatment can help you knock out this annoying injury. 

Experiencing persistent pain and stiffness in the bottom of the heel or foot? The cause of this either sharp or dull discomfort could be plantar fasciitis, inflammation of the thick tissue, or fascia, that runs along the bottom of the foot. Common among distance runners with chronically tight hamstrings, back, calves and Achilles tendons, or those who run in shoes without proper arch support, the condition may also be caused by a muscular imbalance in the hips or pelvis. This imbalance can cause slight compensations in the stride that place more stress on one leg than the other, according to San Diego-based running coach Jon Clemens, who has a master’s degree in exercise physiology. While correcting the imbalance permanently requires a strength program that focuses on balance, calf- and pelvis-strengthening drills, said Clemens, treatment to temporarily relieve the inflammation can be performed easily at home.

RELATED: The Five Most Troublesome Running Injuries

In addition to stopping or reducing running, Clemens recommends completing this daily regime until the pain subsides.

1. Stretch the fascia. Prop your toes up against a wall, keeping your arch and heel flat so the toes stretch. Hold for a count of 10. Repeat 10 times three or four times per day.

2. Roll a frozen water bottle under the arch. “Stretch first then roll out the arch for 10 minutes; you don’t want to stretch the tendon when it’s ice cold,” Clemens said.

3. Freeze a golf ball and massage the fascia. Roll the frozen golf ball under the foot, starting from the front and working your way back. Put good pressure on each spot—the medial, center and lateral positions—for 15 seconds before moving to the next area. Then, roll the ball back and forth over the entire foot.

4. Foam roll all muscles on the body above the plantar. “Even tight shoulders can cause the condition, as your arm swing can throw off proper hip alignment and footstrike,” Clemens said.

5. Bump your arch. “Get a commercial insole with an arch bump to push on the plantar and keep it from flexing—it doesn’t matter if you’re an under or overpronator; the plantar needs to be supported and strengthened,” Clemens advised. “Wear the support in all shoes, if possible.”

This piece first appeared in the March issue of Competitor magazine. 

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Learn how you can run fewer miles without sacrificing speed.

When Meghan Kennihan, a personal trainer for more than 10 years and USATF and RRCA-certified distance running coach, attempted to lower her marathon PR by seven minutes to earn an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, she suffered from a stress fracture. It’s an all too recognizable story—Kennihan, who peaked around 70 or so miles when she won the inaugural Illinois Marathon, attempted to log 100-mile weeks to obtain the qualifier, and her body couldn’t sustain the new stress.

“Obviously my body can’t handle that type of mileage,” Kennihan said. “For the most part now, I’m in the 35 to 40-mile weekly range, but peak out at 48 or so, but I run just as fast doing what I do now than when I was running 60 to 70 miles a week.”

RELATED: Land Softly And Carry Less Injury Risk

To recover from her injury and maintain sanity, Kennihan took up triathlon. The multi-sport discipline not only helped her overuse injury, but also increased her cardiovascular fitness without the pounding of additional miles. To build a more balanced musculature, Kennihan performs strength training exercises four or five times a week. She teaches a weight-bearing strength class called Strong in the Chicago area that’s not for weenies: students complete multiple repetitions of a dynamic exercise—five minutes of squats while holding weights, for example—and perform plyometric drills between exercises with the only rest coming from switching to different weights. When she’s not taxing students with her militant demands, Kennihan lifts weights and performs kettlebell workouts.

When Kennihan does run, it’s always with a purpose. Her runs are composed of quality miles that include some element of faster running—intervals, tempo, fast finish, etc.—and she’s ditched recovery miles for the elliptical, swimming or cycling.

The performance-enhancing secret here: cardiovascular strength training. Getting the heart rate up by executing exercises that work several muscles groups at once for several minutes or multiple repetitions with proper form is the key.

RELATED: Better Squatting For Better Running

“Those new to strength work should perform these types of workouts using only their body weight once or twice a week. Intermediate and advanced can do two to three times a week with weights,” Kennihan advised. “It also depends on where a runner is in the training cycle—during a build-up to a race, strength work two or three times a week is ideal. During race week, no strength workouts. And the strength work vary: one day they’ll do legs, one day upper body, one day plyometric stuff. When I say build muscle for runners, they shouldn’t be completing five or six reps with heavier weights, but toning for endurance.”

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Here’s a look at how pro runners fuel before, during and after a race. 

Kara Goucher

The 2007 world champs bronze medalist and 33-year-old Nike Oregon Track Club runner spends the week leading up to a marathon hydrating and building carb stores with plain white foods. Here’s what she ate before, during and after taking third at the 2012 U.S. Olympic marathon trials:

Pre-Race Dinner

• Rolls, rice, chicken and grilled vegetables

Race-Day Breakfast

• Banana, instant apple-cinnamon oatmeal, a couple of cups of coffee

Race Fuel

• Nutrilite ROC2O mix of 8 grams of carbs per 8 ounces (she took four ounces per water bottle)

Post-Race

• Sports drink and water
• Three hours after: club sandwich

Post-Race Treat

• Nachos

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It’s got high-quality protein, simple sugars, vitamins and minerals, and will help you replace fluids. 

Refueling properly after a half-marathon is one of the best things you can do to speed recovery. During a distance running event, your working muscles depend on carbohydrates as the primary source of fuel, and fat as a secondary source. Replacing the sugar, or carbs, you burned during the race as soon as you can tolerate something in your stomach—ideally within 30 minutes of finishing—will help resupply your energy stores.

“You want something with a decent amount of carbs and a small amount of quality protein,” recommends Clete McLeod, sports nutritionist and director of strength and conditioning at Southern Illinois University. “Chocolate milk is a great refueling source. It’s high-quality protein, simple sugars, vitamins and minerals, and you’re replacing fluids.”

Consumption amount should depend on your weight, how much time you spent running and how fit you are—well trained, experienced runners tend to burn fewer calories while running because their bodies are more efficient, said McLeod. Choosing between full-fat, low-fat or fat-free chocolate milk is a largely individual choice because research about which is preferable for runners is mixed. “The absence of too much fat would help speed the absorption of nutrients,” McLeod hypothesizes. “But, if calories are what we’re trying to replace, the fat content is going to help.” McLeod recommends that his athletes drink low-fat milk.

Recovery should be a part of a much bigger nutrition strategy, McLeod cautions. Athletes who eat smart and ingest an appropriate-for-them amount of fluids and fuel before, during and after a race are putting themselves ahead of the recovery curve.

RELATED — Expert Advice: What’s the best way to refuel after a half marathon?

This piece first appeared in the April 2012 issue of Competitor magazine. 

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Patient progression is key to staying healthy. 

Making an intelligent comeback to running after taking time off due to injury requires a gradual approach that some runners might find frustrating, but ask yourself this: Would you rather make slow, pain-free progress toward building a healthy running base, or jump back into running and possibly experience a setback that leads to prolonged pain or re-injury?

Your re-entry to running plan should be formed strategically from the following five factors:

1. 1. The severity of your injury—a stress fracture or injury that required surgery differs vastly from tendonitis.
2. 2. How long you were sidelined from running.
3. 3. Your fitness level prior to getting injured.
4. 4. How many years of experience you have as a runner.
5. 5. Whether you could cross-train during your layoff.

According to DeeAnn Dougherty, a Portland-based physical therapist and RRCA and USATF-certified distance running coach, the worst thing a runner can do post-injury is doing too much too soon—particularly, increasing distance and speed simultaneously. “It’s about being really conservative, always opting for less than more, and avoiding pain. It helps to have a coach or medical professional help with the return to run in order to set parameters.”

RELATED: Can’t Run? You Can Still Train!

Dougherty suggests that runners be able to walk for 30 minutes pain-free before returning to running post-injury. Depending, of course, on the aforementioned five factors, Dougherty’s rules of thumb can be applied: For two weeks off, start back with 50 percent of previous weekly mileage; for four weeks, start back at 30 percent; for six to eight weeks or longer, start with a walk/jog. “After a 10-minute walk to warm up, jog for 100 meters then walk 100m for four laps on a track—jog the straights and walk the curves—followed by a 10-minute walk. Add one lap each time—a max of every other day—for up to eight laps, then gradually increase the running and decrease the walking until you’re running two miles straight.”

In this case, all running is easy and Dougherty recommends straying from hills and any speed work until you’re back to running 75-80 percent of your mileage prior to the injury. San Marcos, Calif.-based Jenn Gill, an RRCA-certified coach, recommends that runners build their base to a consistent 20 miles per week before incorporating any speed elements. “If you can’t run the miles, you can’t run them fast,” she says. “You can probably throw in some strides if you’ve been running pain-free for four weeks, depending on how experienced you are.”

If you feel pain while running during your comeback, stop running. Go back to walking until all pain subsides.

Discovering the root of what caused the injury should also be a priority, as this knowledge can prevent re-injury. “Is it a strength, biomechanics or flexibility issue,” Gill says, “was it a training error, or is it your shoes?”

If you’re mobile during your layoff from running, cross-training on the bike or elliptical, combined with functional strength training, foam rolling and stretching will do wonders for your sanity and fitness level. During your down time, get into a routine that includes a dynamic warm-up, 10-15 minutes of core work and functional strength exercises such as squats, lunges, clams, planks and superman (see sidebar), followed by some yoga poses—the bridge and pigeon pose are great for runners. Building muscular as well as tendon, joint and ligament strength will only help your running form and economy when you resume running. Just make sure to keep up the strength and stretching when you start running again.

“If there’s nothing else you do strength-wise, you have to work your core because it’s your center and that’s where all of your power comes from,” Gill says. “If it’s not strong, when you get tired, your running form will change because your core will collapse.”

Three Key Core Exercises for Runners On The Mend

Clam Shell:

Lie on your side with your head resting on your arm that’s extended on the ground. Bend your knees at a 90-degree angle and stack your hips on top of each other. Keeping your feet together, lift your top leg up and down, like a clamshell opening. Repeat for 10-15 reps and switch sides. Work up to three sets.

Superman:

Lie on your stomach with legs straight and arms extended over your head. Lift arms and legs up simultaneously, about ½-inch off the ground. Hold the position for 10-30 seconds, then lower and repeat 5-10 times.

Modified Superman:

Following the same form as above, bend your legs and push them toward the sky when you lift.

RELATED VIDEO: 60-second Strengthening & Injury Prevention Exercises on Competitor.com

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The trailblazer has nothing to lose as he guns for another Olympic medal. 

Mebrahtom Keflezighi’s a nice guy, but he’s got teeth. Sharpening them was a prerequisite for any post-collegiate elite runner hoping to reverse the abysmal state of U.S. distance running in 2000. Keflezighi, known affectionately by family and fans as Meb, proved that American men could compete on a world-class level again.

“When Joe Vigil and I put the Mammoth Track Club together [in 2001], we had Meb and Deena [Kastor] as our leaders,” says Bob Larsen, Keflezighi’s coach for the past 18 years and the now-retired cross-country and track and field coach at UCLA. “They showed the path. People got confident again and said, ‘If they can train really hard at altitude, compete internationally and win Olympic medals, so can we.’ That growth is still taking place.”

Over the last four years, the Olympic marathon silver medalist has thrived on shocking people—Keflezighi’s risen from the doldrums of a career-jeopardizing injury, cheated retirement and redefined the capabilities of a 37-year-old elite runner.

“Talented doesn’t win, but hard work does,” says the Eritrean-born Keflezighi, who moved to San Diego with his family in 1987 and became a naturalized citizen in 1998. “I like to under promise and over deliver—it’s my thing. I let the legs do the talking, not my lips.”

Keflezighi surprised everyone in January when he became the oldest Olympic marathon trials champion in U.S. history, a feat he accomplished just 69 days after finishing sixth at the ING New York City Marathon in a then-personal best 2:09:13 (he shaved five seconds off that time at the marathon trials). Although he pulled off a similar tour de force in 2004, when he earned silver at the Athens Games and finished second in New York 70 days later, he was eight years younger then, and the years of repetitive training stress coupled with the unpredictable and often-cruel nature of the marathon made the attempt a risky endeavor.

“The marathon is a race of attrition and sometimes you’re going to make some mistakes,” says Keflezighi, who left a Breathe Right nose strip in his left racing flat during the 2011 New York City Marathon, causing a blister that became severely infected. The accident forced him to take three weeks off from training, threatening his chances of making his third Olympic team. Watching the Olympic marathon on the couch at his Mammoth Lakes, Calif., home with his wife and three young daughters wasn’t in the game plan for Keflezighi, who did just that for the Beijing Games.

At the 2008 Olympic marathon trials in New York—a coming-of-age race for young bucks such as Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein, and a changing-of-the-guard event for veterans such as Alan Culpepper and Khalid Khannouchi—Keflezighi suffered from a fractured pelvis, a potentially career-ending diagnosis that kept him out of the Olympics.

“I saw him crawl on all fours in the hotel room after [the 2008 Olympic marathon trials], and it was scary—I’d never seen Meb that way,” recalls Yordanos, Meb’s wife. “I said to him, ‘We both have our degrees and we can find another way to make a living.’ We prayed really hard and talked a lot. Meb told me that he’d been given a talent and needed to fulfill his purpose. Since then, we’ve never had that discussion again.”

Keflezighi crawled his way back to health, seeing a host of sports medicine doctors and experts, and enduring intensive therapy. “He’s the best I’ve seen at dealing with injuries,” says Larsen. “It’s so boring to run in the swimming pool and to get massage therapy and do all this extra stuff without knowing, at that age, if he’d be able to come back. I’ve never seen that amount of dedication when [Meb] didn’t need it. He already had the silver medal and a huge career. I told him nobody would blame him if he wanted to hang it up.”

The persistence paid off. Keflezighi’s comeback race was the 2009 New York City Marathon. Part poetic justice and all vindication, he became the first American to win the race in 27 years, an effort that earned him an appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and atop a float at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Keflezighi says his upbringing helps him push through the pain, and his family inspires him to put it all on the line. Helping Keflezighi succeed is a family affair—Meb’s brother, Merhawi, is his manager, and Yordanos quit her job as a premier client manager for Bank of America in 2006, when the couple decided to start a family and move from San Diego to Mammoth Lakes, Calif., so Meb could live and train full time at altitude. She cares for the children, manages the schedules and even researches the competition and racecourses Meb will face. “I’m the one who’s usually stressed—is [Meb] getting his therapy, is he sleeping?” reveals Yordanos. “He’s the one who relaxes me. There’s such a quiet, strong confidence about him; he has a spiritually calm side to him.”

Sacrificing to attain greatness is a Keflezighi family motto. Russom Keflezighi, Meb’s father, who supported rebels fighting for independence in Eritrea in the early 80s, fled the family’s war-torn village when Meb was 5 years old to seek a better life for his wife and 11 children. He walked 100 miles to the Sudanese border, working his way to Italy, where the family eventually reunited and lived for a short time before immigrating to the U.S.

Larsen jokes that he offered a UCLA distance running scholarship—funds he usually reserved for sprinters and throwers—to Meb because of his family. “I was so impressed with them; 10 brothers and sisters who were great, hardworking students. You could see that the family was really special. They were tough, and living in a small place.”

The kindly, soft-spoken Larsen’s eyes twinkle like a proud grandfather when he speaks of Keflezighi. Their mutual loyalty, respect and deep understanding of one another puts them on the same page; these days, Keflezighi tells Larsen what he needs in terms of training and Larsen controls the reigns, only tugging them lightly to prevent overtraining.

Keflezighi remains characteristically tight-lipped about his preparation for the Olympic marathon this summer, but will say that 15- and 16-mile tempo runs have given him confidence before all of his previous marathons, except the 2012 trials, when an 11-mile tempo had to suffice. “I think the theory that you need 10, 12 or eight weeks of build-up is overrated; 41 days worked for the trials,” he says, laughing. We’ll just have to wait until August to see what his legs will tell us.

This piece first appeared in the April 2012 of Competitor magazine. 

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Anything a runner can do to speed repair is always a good thing, right?

Reputed to ease inflammation, reduce soreness and the feeling of “dead” legs after a hard workout or long run, ice baths remain the go-to way to stave off extended soreness and inflammation. If rapid recovery is the body’s way of proving it’s adapting well to training, then anything a runner can do to speed repair, such as sit in an ice bath, is always a good thing, right?

Maybe not. A 2007 study showed that a 50-degree F soak after a hard 90-minute run showed that runners felt less sore in the days after, but the ice baths didn’t lower the runners’ levels of creatine kinase, a marker of exercise-induced muscle damage. Other studies show additional mixed results.

Steve Magness, assistant coach for the Nike Oregon Project and the Science of Running blogger, explained: “Ice creates a short-term change in muscle tension, which could be a good thing if you need it. The downside is that the ice bath decreases damage or inflammatory activity and markers—which might seem like a good thing, but, over time, if you consistently decrease damage, you’re consistently decreasing the signal for adaptation. This means less of a training effect over time.”

Save the frigid soaks for when you’re really beat up or run down, and not just as a habitual post-workout or long run recovery step. Magness also recommended soaking if you need to the night after a hard workout, not directly after completion.

This piece first appeared in the February 2012 issue of Competitor Magazine. 

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Company connects athletes and events with eco-friendly goals.

For Bruce Rayner, 54, the founder and chief clean officer of Athletes For a Fit Planet, becoming a spokesperson, resource and strategist for environmentally supportive athletic events and companies was a second career that married his passion for completing and improving endurance events.

“I was at a half-Ironman in 2007 and I had my disposable plastic bottle after the race and was looking for a recycling bin and there was nothing—just trash piled high in a bin,” recalls Rayner. “It was then that I realized there was an opportunity there.”

Rayner, who worked as an editor and manager of magazines and newspapers for 20 years, had launched a website in the early 2000s about greening electronics, and applied the knowledge he’d learned from that endeavor to launching Athletes for a Fit Planet, or FitPlanet, in 2008. Rayner suggests envisioning a Venn diagram when explaining the mission of FitPlanet: The three overlapping circles connect athletes, events and companies with environment-preserving intentions.

“When it comes down to it, it’s about the [race] participants,” says Rayner. “It’s about providing athletes opportunities to participate in environmentally responsible events.”

On afitplanet.com, athletes can find such events, learn about topics such as carbon footprint impact, discover companies who produce green products, and take the EcoPledge, which participants sign to show they’re serious about embracing green practices. The list of pledges currently totals almost 5,000 individuals, and Rayner communicates with these athletes via an e-newsletter that informs participants of new developments, cool green products and, of course, events that support the cause. Events can also promise to go green—FitPlanet’s pledge of sustainability ($100 cost) gives events access to 30 environmentally friendly criteria that they can work toward, as well as access to a green businesses page and a web-based how-to-green guide. “This is the first step toward certification to the Council for Responsible Sport standard,” says Rayner. “We look at this as a continued improvement process—maybe year one, the event will introduce recycling, and in year two, introduce composting.”

The Council for Responsible Sport (CRS) established the sports industry standard for event green certification, and provides resources and educational information that encourages people to adopt eco-friendly habits.

Rayner and his small global team of sustainability consultants can be hired by events to help orchestrate the CRS certification process; to date, they’ve assisted acclaimed races such as the Beach to Beacon 10K, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series, as well as triathlons, golf tournaments and the Special Olympics. In 2008, Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) deputy director Angela Huff met Rayner at the Road Runners Club of America convention and the two started brainstorming ways to green the famous Washington D.C. event.

“[Rayner] helped us tremendously during the first certification process in 2009,” recalls Huff. “We did conference calls and worked intensely with the vendors and partners and got them on board. We came up with a program and, with Bruce’s expertise, we put it in the right direction.”

Huff reveals that Rayner worked with her to ensure that the race followed CRS’ certification process worksheet; MCM achieved CRS silver certification in 2009, and applied for certification renewal—a requirement every two years—in October 2011 on her own.

“With some races, we work with them for a year and then they’re off on their own, and that’s great because they’ve internalized it and have taken ownership,” says Rayner.

It’s exactly what Huff and her MCM colleagues did, and, although CRS recently altered their certification requirements, Huff would like to strive for gold certification in the future. “I have to be honest, it’s not cheap—sometimes we have to pay a little extra to get it done, but it’s worth it,” Huff notes. “When we started this process, we sent out a survey to our runners to ensure we were on the right track, and they were ecstatic to hear we wanted to be a green event; they were very supportive.”

Remaining vocal about their green initiatives and asking for support from vendors, sponsors and the local community helps the MCM cause tremendously. Communicating openly about the green mission has resulted in support such as in-kind cash donations, compostable cups from sports drink sponsor Gatorade, electric cars for race week operations from Nissan, and recycling programs developed with help from Arlington and Rosslyn counties.

“I tell people not to give up,” says Huff. “It’s a challenging thing to do. Educating your vendors, sponsors and runners is a key thing to do. Try to get everyone on board.”

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Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon provides unique race experience.

At the Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon in Dundee Hills, Ore., a marathon’s distance from Portland and one of the state’s premier wine regions, viticulture and distance running collide to create an intimate celebration of athleticism and enological artistry. The third annual half marathon, slated for July 15, will feature a post-race runners-only food area and a brand new racecourse. Every year, race architect Chris Nagy maps a new course on Google maps, drives or walks the area, then hires a company to measure the course using bike calibration; she does this to ensure that every winery that wants to participate in the race gets the chance.

“I pick about 10 wineries each year so everybody can get some exposure,” says Nagy, a stay-at-home mother who serves on the Dundee Hills Wine Board. “It’s not a certified course because I want runners to experience Oregon wine terrain. We’re opening up fences and I try to make at least 50 percent of the run in vineyards.”

A mix of asphalt, dirt, grass and gravel each year, runners should expect to traverse an undulating course sometimes with tight turns and steep grades. “It’s the hilliest half marathon we’ve ever done,” says 2011 race winner Renee Knapp, 32, of Eugene, Ore. Knapp’s fiancée, Joshua Gordon, 37, was the men’s race winner. “It was very hilly but I loved it. You’re among all the grape vines and, despite how hilly it was, it was really rewarding because the views were just breathtaking.”

“I always say you won’t run your best time, but you’ll have the best time,” remarks Nagy about the challenging course.

Nagy, who formerly ran the direct-to-consumer marketing for one of the local wineries, is a runner who uses her local connections to organize a challenging event and authentic Oregon wine experience for oenophiles. “I was sick of going to races and feeling like I didn’t get everything for the money I put up,” Nagy says. “Let’s not lose money, but let’s make sure runners are getting brand-name shirts, Reidel glasses, fantastic swag bags and free wine tastings.”

Registration, which costs $75, provides the chance for runners to donate to nonprofits such as the Dundee Civic Association or the Newfoundland Rescue Foundation. The event includes a post-race celebration that includes free wine tastings from 35 local vineyards, music and food such as strawberries, cheese, baguettes and artisan pizza. Because the race grows each year, thanks mostly to word of mouth, the event Facebook page and website, not all of the nearly 1,100 runners (1,500 are allowed to register) who finished last year’s race were able to sample the variety of gourmet foods the fleetest finishers did. Knapp did have to wait to receive her finisher’s technical shirt in the mail; however, as there weren’t enough shirts to give out on race day.

Nagy’s taking these growing pains in stride, though, and diligently sends out an e-mail to all race finishers, asking how she can improve the race next year. She implements changes quickly, such as the new runners-only food zone and bringing in additional port-a-potties. Every year after the event wraps, Nagy personally walks the course, picking up each gel packet and scrap of trash, to preserve the beauty of the area and ensure the local vineyards will keep participating for years to come.

“I remember coming up to the top of one of the hills and literally my breath was taken away by the view,” recalls Knapp. “You could see Mt. Hood and several other mountains; it was so clear that you could see five miles away. Just running through the wineries was amazing.”

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Dr. John Post says muscular injury patterns can be graded according to a 1-3 scale.

If you’ve ever felt a sharp pain in a muscle—let’s use the hamstrings as an example—that’s caused you to cut a run short, you probably wondered: Did I just pull a muscle or, worse, tear it?

Made up of three muscles, known as the biceps femoris, semimebranosus and semitendinosus, the hamstrings originate at the sit bones and run down the back of the thigh to just below the knee joint. These muscles aid in extension of the hip and provide front flexion power at the knees. Frequently the source of pain and injury for sprinters, middle- and long-distance runners, the hamstrings incur pulls or tears, like all muscles, when they’re stressed past a capacity they can handle. Muscular injuries occur in runners who are fatigued, have muscular imbalances and poor conditioning, when the muscles are too tight, or a combination of these issues.

According to Dr. John Post, medical director of Training Bible, orthopedic surgeon and triathlete, muscular injury patterns can be graded according to a 1-3 scale: Grade one is a pulled muscle, grade two is a partial tear of the muscle substrate, and grade three is a complete tear that may require surgery. Using the hamstring example, if pain in the back of the thigh is accompanied by swelling, bruising and decreased strength of knee flexion, you’ve definitely suffered from a pull and possibly a tear. In this instance, Dr. Post would examine the limb for bruising, areas of tenderness and for a possible gap along the course of the muscle—this happens in serious cases when the muscle has been torn off its bony origin.

Of course, treatment options depend on the severity of the injury. Dr. Post usually recommends: For the first 48 hours, try to elevate the leg or affected area. No running, short-term crutches and rest so the hamstring, or other muscle, can heal. Icing the affected area several times a day can help with swelling and alleviating some pain. Wrap the area with a straight-leg brace or an ace bandage to keep swelling and bleeding to a minimum during the day, and remove the brace or bandage before going to sleep at night. Again, surgery isn’t recommended unless the runner has pulled off the attachment of the muscle from the pelvis or has suffered a complete tear of the muscle belly.

“At some point, the services of the local physical therapist may be of benefit to help mobilize the extremity, recover strength and develop a plan which minimizes the potential for re-injury,” Dr. Post said. “Depending upon the degree of the tear, the level of swelling, any history or previous hamstring injury, athletes can be back to slow running in a matter of weeks, where those who’ve required surgical repair can take six months or more to be back to full strength. If a runner doesn’t follow instructions, they can suffer from a recurrent hamstring tear that can lead to a permanently injured muscle that never provides full function again. Fortunately, this is a rare occurrence, as most get back to their original sport even if it takes time.”

As a precaution, Dr. Post advises athletes to have a trusted source to turn to before an injury occurs. “If they’ve taken the time to figure this out, then when a problem pops up, they have at least some direction and can get back to training and racing with the least time out.”

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2012 Boston Marathon Race Coverage On Competitor.com

Last year’s third-place finisher leads a Kenyan sweep at this year’s race. 

BOSTON — Sharon Cherop, Jemima Sumgong and Georgina Rono completed a Kenyan sweep of the podium at the hazy, humid Boston Marathon on Monday morning.

Cherop was first across the finish line on Boylston Street in 2 hours, 31 minutes and 50 seconds, as Sumgong followed closely in 2:31:52 to claim runner-up honors. Rono took third in 2:33:09 as finish-time temperatures climbed toward the upper 80s.

As temperatures rose rapidly from 69 degrees at the start in Hopkinton to the mid-80s at the halfway point in Wellesley, the women played it smart and ran conservatively through the first half of the race, with no true leader asserting herself until the large lead pack slimmed to single digits around the 20K mark.

“I was very hot. The heat and humidity affects us a lot, and the fluid stations helped a lot,” said Sumgong, 27, who trains in Kapsabet in the Nandi Hills in Kenya, where temperatures have hovered in the 60s and 70s recently. “I’m not from a very humid area, and this was my first time running in it, so it was very hard.”

Cherop and Rono echoed Sumgong’s sentiments about the conditions after the race; the toll the weather took on even the race’s fleetest athletes became apparent as the pro women wove dangerously around one another to grab their marked bottles at each elite fluid station and even grabbed cups of water from the other aid stations.

Ironically, it was that very same lifesaving water for many in the field that signaled the undoing of defending champion Caroline Kilel, 31, of Kenya. Kilel started the race with every intention of protecting her crown—she chugged fluids at every opportunity, traded a two-step lead through the first 10 miles and even allowed herself to fall into the middle of the lead pack at certain points to rest. However, after a near collision with a well-intentioned spectator, who raced onto the course in Newton to hand cups of water to the lead pack of women, Kilel wasn’t able to regain her composure and rejoin the leaders, which had thinned by that point to Cherop, Rono, Sumgong and Firehiwot Dado, 28, of Ethiopia. Kilel faded badly and reportedly walked past Fenway Park at mile 25; her last recorded split was at 40K.

Cherop, the bronze medalist in the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and the third-place finisher at last year’s Boston Marathon, remained unsure of whether she would participate in this year’s race. Cherop’s right knee bothered her for weeks leading up to the event, and she said she also experienced some hip pain during the race. The 2010 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and 2010 Hamburg Marathon champion shaved four seconds off her marathon PR earlier this year when she finished seventh at the Dubai Marathon, and the patient pace in this year’s Boston race helped her preserve enough energy for a late-race surge.

Running shoulder to shoulder from mile 23 to the finish line, Cherop and Sumgong, the 2011 Castellon Marathon and 2006 Las Vegas Marathon winner, made the final turn onto Boylston Street. Cherop surged hard off the turn, steadily accelerating over the final meters toward a two-second margin of victory.

“When I decided when to go, it depended on who I was with,” Cherop said about her decision to sprint for the finish all the way down Boylston Street. “If it was a Kenyan lady, I knew I needed to speed up at the last 300 meters; if it was an Ethiopian lady, it may have had to be earlier—they have a stronger finishing kick than Kenyans.”

Cherop called Sumgong a close friend whose abilities she knows well. “I started to sprint because my friend Jamima, we’re close friends and we work together and I know how she runs. I know her better than the Ethiopian lady [Firehiwot Dado], and when Dado started to fade, I got courage. When I saw her running in New York, I know how she is.”

Cherop was referring to Dado’s two victories in The Big Apple, as the Ethiopian captures both the 2011 ING New York City Marathon and 2012 NYC Half Marathon. In both of those races she achieved victory by the sit-and-wait strategy. At Dado’s New York City Marathon debut last fall, she waited for the surging Mary Keitany of Kenya to fizzle out in Central Park and passed countrywoman Buzunesh Deba, a Bronx resident, (who withdrew from the Boston Marathon yesterday with a foot injury) in the final mile. At the NYC Half last month, Dado sat on Kim Smith of New Zealand until the final meters to set the course record of 1:08:35. This approach did not work in her favor at Boston this year, however, as Dado fell off the lead pack under the blazing sunshine in Newton, finishing fourth in 2:34:56.

The top American finisher, Sheri Piers, a 40-year-old mother of three (and stepmother of two) from Falmouth, Maine, finished 10^th in 2:41:55.

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Nick Arciniaga and Jason Hartmann are hoping to bounce back from disappointing Olympic Trials races. 

BOSTON — The top two American men that will toe the start line of the 116th Boston Marathon on Monday share a similar hope for redemption.

After disappointing finishes at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in January, Nick Arciniaga, 28, of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Jason Hartmann, 31, of Boulder, Colo., hope that Monday’s Boston Marathon can provide a respite from the pressure-cooker environment of a championship race. Arciniaga, who finished eighth at the Trials, and Hartmann, who crossed the line in 32nd, are excited for the opportunity to run fast times in a field stacked with Africans whose resumes boast 2:04 to 2:06 finishes, not to mention defending champion Geoffrey Mutai, who ran a world-best 2:03:02 at last year’s race.

With warm weather predicted for race day, both men, whose 26.2-mile personal bests hover just over the 2:11 mark, say they plan to run controlled for at least the first half of the race.

“If they go out at world-record pace again, there’s no way I’m going to be capable of running with them, so I’ve just got to hope that they don’t go out too hard,” says Arciniaga, a member of Team USA-Arizona, an elite distance running group coached by Greg McMillan, in Flagstaff. “I’ve got to run a smart, even pace. My goal is to go out at 1:04:30 for the first half.”

The top American finisher and tenth overall at the 2008 Boston Marathon in 2:16:13, Arciniaga learned how to race well on the punishing course, and says he’s strategized how to attack the hills, use the energy from the crowds, and pace himself intelligently over the downhill first half of the race.

“[The 2008 race] made me realize I can run the second half of the race as well as I need to; I caught half the field over the second half of the course,” he says. “In ‘08, it was a different class of field than it is now. The winner then ran 2:07, and you’ve got 2:03-2:05 guys here in the top ten positions in this field. It’s going to be quite the different race now than it was then.”

Arciniaga, who suffered from a maladjusted hip socket last fall that inhibited his preparation for the trials, is confident about feeling ready to race due to a more traditional build-up than what he had going into the Trials race in Houston. He revealed that he and coach McMillan targeted late-race muscle fatigue for the build-up to Boston. “Each of the times I’ve run 2:11, I’ve gone out in 2:09 pace and just ended up blowing up the last 10K, so we’ve been focusing on working on the last 10K,” Arciniaga says. “When I’m tired and fatigued, we’ve worked on getting me to run faster than what’s comfortable.”

For Hartmann, who was coached by elite Australian marathoner Lee Troop until he very recently opted to coach himself, a key area of his training focus has been tackling downhills. “I’ve run a lot of downhills in Colorado, as well as running down some canyon roads, which is a little extreme,” said the 2009 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon winner. “Fortunately, I’m a bit of an extremist when it comes to preparing.”

Being a relevant contender in a sport when both international and American men keep getting faster requires a level of extremism, and Hartmann’s willing to try what he must in order to evolve. Compare the 2007 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, where Hartmann finished 10th in 2:15:27, to the 2012 race, where a 2:16:44 earned Hartmann a distressing 32nd place finish, and one can understand why Hartmann, an assistant coach at Niwot High School in Niwot, Colo., wouldn’t consider showing up in Boston–an event he considers a bucket-list race–without feeling the fittest he’s ever felt.

After the Trials race in Houston in January, Hartmann took an entire week off from running and was consoled by close friend Dathan Ritzenhein, who finished fourth in the most heart-breaking position of them all in Houston, just seconds shy of an Olympic berth. “Dathan was a great help to me. His kids were, too; they didn’t care if I got first or last, I was still just Uncle Jason to them,” Hartmann says. “Dathan’s attitude definitely allowed me to kick start getting back in the mix.”

This year’s Boston race will be an experiment of sorts for Hartmann that’s redolent of Ryan Hall, whose faith-guided voyage of self-discovery began in October 2010, when he decided to coach himself. “Running is a business, and sometimes you lose sight of that and you can lose some of the purity and the reason why you run, so for me, I wanted to define the reasons why I run,” Hartmann says. “For me, I needed to find the passion in my own running again and find why I do it instead of allowing someone else to dictate what I do.”

Whether it’s Hall’s philosophy of running with joy, or Hartmann’s newfound declaration to run free, both Hartmann and Arciniaga will start the Boston Marathon with something to prove, but nothing to lose.

The post A Race For Redemption: Top Americans Set To Tackle Boston Marathon appeared first on Competitor.com.

Photo: PhotoRun.net

Avoid these common mistakes and get the most out of yourself on race day.

Whether you’re training for your first marathon or your 25th, every runner faces anxiety about the 26.2-mile distance. So many variables, both in and out of a runner’s control, can dictate the type of experience and performance a runner has on race day. It’s true that we can’t do anything about things that are out of our control except manage our reactions to them, but there are many things that are within a marathoner’s control that can be determined long before race day dawns. Here’s a guide to help you avoid some of the most common marathon mistakes.

More from Competitor.com: Top-5 Race-Week Tips

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Can the American 10,000-meter record holder defy critics, break up the Africans and medal in London?

Forty-eight years have passed since an American man has won an Olympic medal in the 10,000 meters. That’s the sort of acidic fact that stokes Alberto Salazar’s competitive rage. Once the brash, force-of-nature runner who, in the early 1980s, strung together three consecutive New York City Marathon wins and ran the fastest time in the world at the 1981 race, Salazar is now the venerable, meticulous Nike Oregon Project coach who believes that his star pupil, 25-year-old Galen Rupp, the fastest American ever at 10,000 meters and 5,000m indoors, is destined to end the drought.

The Cuban-born Salazar, raised from the age of 2 in Wayland, Mass., became famous for his brazen declarations: “If somebody runs 2:10 tomorrow, I’ll run 2:10,” he told reporters in 1980 the day before his first marathon, where he stunned the world by finishing first in 2:09:41, a New York City Marathon course record and the fastest debut ever at the time.

Salazar’s unrelenting work ethic and alpha male arrogance ignited a fire that pushed him through epic race battles, but also led to a painful decline, early retirement and soul-crushing depression. Salazar knows what it takes to be a world-beater, and he’s invested 12 years in coaching Rupp and instilling nearly the opposite of what he did as a pro. Through incremental progressions, microscopic physiological scrutiny and tempering the competitive fire so it doesn’t engulf, Salazar is molding Rupp into a beautifully fluid, well-rounded champion. The amiable, down-to-earth Rupp has no objections. “I’ve been real happy with the way things have gone and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Rupp says.

Medaling in the Olympic 10,000m would require beating the consistently dominant Africans. “We’re not at all intimidated by the Africans; they’re great runners but there’s so many of them. With our [American] runners, we have so few of them that we have to do everything perfect,” says Salazar. Doing things perfectly comes at a price, but it’s one Salazar and Rupp are willing to pay.

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What powers Geoff Roes’, Olga King’s and Rickey Gates’ long bouts on trails might surprise you.

While chomping on potato chips and slices of bacon during a race sounds unorthodox and perhaps counterintuitive to fleet-footed road runners, on the trails, anything goes. The rugged terrain, often dramatic shifts in altitude, swift shifts in temperatures and sometimes days-long competition of ultra trail races commands unique fueling strategies and a gear list that extends far past the run-of-the-mill road marathon uniform of dry-quick shorts and shirt, anti-blister socks and racing flats. Carrying a hydration pack, layering strategically, and arranging to pick up gear such as headlamps or changes of socks and shoes at drop-off points or aid stations, becomes a vital part of ultra trail race planning.

At trail races—even some whose distances don’t surpass the marathon—it’s not uncommon for aid stations to serve boiled potatoes and candy in addition to water and sports drinks. Combining sports foods with whole foods—particularly those with salt and refined sugars—during ultra races provides a balance of quicker-burning and slower-burning energy, and the sodium helps runners retain fluids. Below is a snapshot of the top-five nutrition and gear preferences of three leading trail runners.

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Learn how to create a delicious baked good without the use of butter, oil or eggs.

Previously, we tried banana pumpkin muffins, which came out surprisingly moist and slightly sweet. The tender crumb dissolved with only a few chews. Could I accomplish a tasty baked item again without the use of butter, oil and eggs? Staying in the realm of portable weekday breakfasts for practical reasons, I decided to revamp a bread recipe. Although delicious by itself, you could spread some apple or pumpkin butter on it for a treat.

RELATED–Kitchen MacGyver: Banana Pumpkin Muffins

Apple Spice Bread

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 cup applesauce

1/3 cup low-fat milk or soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×5-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, mix together the applesauce, milk and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together with a spatula until just combined. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before turning out the bread onto a plate to cool completely (you may want to run a butter knife along the sides of the pan to ensure that the bread doesn’t stick).

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 In terms of immediate recovery afterwards, you want to replace carbohydrates first.

Restocking your glycogen stores after racing a half marathon remains one of the best ways to speed recovery. What to consume, when, and how much depends on how long and how hard you ran, as well as how fit and efficient you are.

Clete McLeod, sports nutritionist and director of strength and conditioning for Southern Illinois University, provides more insight.

What does the body need after running a half marathon?

Clete McLeod: You want to replace the fuel you used, and that’s mainly carbohydrates—that’s primarily what the body uses as its fuel source at an event like that. The body can also use fat and protein, but, in terms of immediate recovery afterwards, we want to replace the carbs. We want to get a small amount of protein in the body as well, and that’s going to help the body recover from that long duration work.

Is the 4:1 carbs to protein ratio a good standard for recovery?

Yes, that’s a great standard. It’s backed by science. But, it seems like everywhere you turn, carbs have been the enemy and protein is what you’re suppose to be consuming, but really when you’re talking about an event where you’ve worked for a long duration, you don’t want to turn to an unnecessarily large amount of protein with the thought that if some of it is good, then a whole lot of it is going to be better. There’s an ideal ratio, and what it boils down to is you want a decent amount of carbohydrates to replace the fuel, and having a small amount of protein actually helps the body pick up that protein even better. Your ultimate goal would be finding a quality source of protein and having simple carbs available to help use that protein.

What’s a quality source of protein?

Flavored milks; chocolate milk in particular is a great refueling source. It’s in the right ratios—the amino acid profile of the protein found in milk is of very high quality, and it has those simple sugars in there as well. Everybody tries to reinvent what the perfect sports beverage is and, as it turns out, the perfect sports beverage has been there all along.

What about electrolytes and antioxidants?

We get so caught up in the labeling, and I would really just encourage people to make sure they’re eating right all around. You should take post-event strategy for what it is: Does it have to be anything fancy afterwards? No. You’re just replacing the energy you’ve used. You need to put yourself in the position of repairing yourself and then you go back, hopefully, to a really sound diet that you have all the time.

Are magnesium and calcium (found in milk) important after a race, too, or is it just the carbs and protein? 

When you consume chocolate milk, you’re replacing fluids, you’re getting the macronutrients you need and you’re also getting the vitamins and minerals present in milk. All together as a whole item of food, it stands alone by itself. Again, everybody is trying to reinvent and find this perfect combination of stuff, and they’re spending millions of dollars to reinvent milk.

In the case of recovery, would high glycemic be preferable to a slow carb release?

In terms of carbs and protein, chocolate milk has both fast-acting and slow-acting release. YOu have your simple sugars that sweeten the milk and that get into your blood very quickly. Then you have carbs that break down a little slower in the gut and are released a little slower. There’s a couple of different proteins in milk and one of them breaks down really quickly and another one breaks down a little slower. You get both, and this helps in the immediate recovery and the overall long-term recovery.

How much should people drink?

It’s one of those things where people over think it. It comes down to the size of the athlete and how efficient they are at recovering from the exercise they just did. Somebody that’s in really good shape and really efficient at running isn’t going to burn as many calories as somebody who is a recreational, occasional runner. It also depends on the duration of the event and how long it takes to finish it. You have to look at it on an individual basis and, once you take all of those factors into account, you can figure out what’s going to be best for you.

Does the fat content of the recovery drink or food matter—in the case of milk, should it be low-fat, fat-free or full fat?

There’s a lot of different thought on that right now; my initial response would be the absence of too much fat would help speed up the take up of the nutrients that are in milk. Ultimately, if calories are what we’re trying to replace, the fat content is going to help. Again, it’s an individual thing and about people’s preferences. For our athletes, we use low-fat chocolate milk—that seems easier for people to drink and it’s easier for the body to pull in the carbs and protein. But, there are plenty of reasons why a higher fat content would be good as well.

Should athletes refuel within 30 minutes after they finish the race?

When people start breaking it down on that level, they’re not really focusing on the big picture. For your race event, you should have prepared for your nutrition before, during and after the event. Food doesn’t just magically get to the muscle and into your bloodstream just by consuming it. It takes a little bit of time once it’s in the gut to make it to the rest of the body. Be careful with what you’re eating leading up to the event and the night before, and maintain appropriate fluid levels during the event. As soon as you can tolerate it after the event, have a good choice like chocolate milk afterwards. It should be part of a much bigger plan and not just, hey, what should I have immediately after the race.

What about sodium?

I think that’s largely diet dependent. Some people may have diets very high in sodium and, if that’s the case, they don’t really need to worry about that. We try to come up with these great recommendations, but they really are dependent on the individual.

What happens on a muscular level to the body after a half; why does an athlete need to refuel?

The working muscles are using carbs and fat as the primary sources of fuel. When you’re looking at immediately following a long-term endurance event, your body is pretty starved for muscle glycogen. The body can only store so much of it and, ultimately, it depends on how efficient you are in converting fat to carbs for fuel use—that’s the whole point of running all the time. The people who are in really good shape and are really good runners metabolize fat much better than someone who doesn’t have that basis. Depending on your level of fitness, your body is going to be some degree of carb-depleted after a half: either very depleted if you aren’t a very fit runner, or moderately depleted if you’re a very fit runner.

The post Expert Advice: What’s The Best Way To Refuel After A Half Marathon? appeared first on Competitor.com.

This tasty recipe is great for post-run recovery!

Salmon is a nutritional powerhouse for everyone, but it’s particularly powerful for runners. Great for post-run recovery and easing inflammation, salmon packs 20 grams of protein and contains more than 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance for omega-3 fatty acids in one four-ounce serving. What many runners may not know is that a serving of salmon also provides more than twice the RDA of vitamin D; it’s also a surprising source of calcium.

If you stray from salmon for its potentially “fishy” qualities, make sure you buy or order fresh fish. All fresh fish should have a clean smell; a funky, fishy scent is a sign that the fish is old and shouldn’t be granted space on your plate. This recipe creates a sticky, sweet, aromatic glaze for the salmon that’s so good you might also want to use it for chicken or tofu.

Asian Bourbon Salmon

2 center-cut salmon fillets, preferably wild

1 teaspoon Tamari soy sauce

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ teaspoon brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, grated

¼ teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon bourbon

½ teaspoon mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a Ziplock bag and seal tightly. Distribute marinade evenly over fillets. Place plastic bag on a plate and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Remove plate from refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes on the counter.

Remove salmon with tongs and place onto a sheet of aluminum foil. Fold shorter two sides of foil up and pull up the other two longer sides so you have an aluminum packet. Pour 2 tablespoons of marinade into each salmon packet before sealing each packet. Place packets on a baking sheet and roast for 18-20 minutes, or until desired doneness. Serves 2.

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Increase flexibility, develop agility and strength, and sharpen mental focus.

To stay healthy, active and engaged in sports, runners and other endurance athletes need corrective modalities to amend muscular imbalances, prevent overuse injuries and ensure longevity. Yoga offers one of the most dynamic returns on investment, as it increases strength, flexibility, agility, balance and mental acuity, and can assist with recovery from high-intensity training.

“Yoga shines a spotlight on all the blind spots you’ve developed from years of training,” said YuMee Chung, a Toronto-based Ashtanga Vinyasa and advanced certified Jivamukti yoga instructor and creator of the Passport to Prana, a prepayment plan of sorts for yoga classes. For endurance athletes, Chung advocates yin yoga—the feminine, calming counterpart to more masculine, on-the-go, high intensity yang movements like running. Yin yoga focuses on the lower body, with a lot of work in the hips, Chung said, and because of the mellow, slow and focused approach, can be surprisingly intense and restorative. Maintaining poses for five minutes or longer has a dramatic effect on the tight, sore and often inflamed muscles, tissues, fascia and joints that runners have. “Holding a pose for more than 72 seconds has an amazing ability to restore and rebuild connective tissue and the skeleton as well,” Chung explained. “Runners, cyclists and triathletes use their bodies in precise ways; they use the same muscles to do the same things. Yoga can bring awareness to the actions you’re placing on the body and, aside from the biceps, we hit just about every muscle.”

Sage Rountree, registered Yoga Alliance teacher, USAT- and RRCA-certified coach, and author of The Athlete’s Guides, a series of instructive books for active people, is also the co-owner of Carrboro Yoga Company in Carrboro, N.C. Rountree advocates restorative yoga for endurance athletes as a balanced counterpoint to high-impact endurance training. Her latest book, “The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery,” includes an entire chapter on restorative yoga, which includes mellow, relaxing poses that are easy to perform using everyday household items like a wall or chair for assistance—a pillow-supported child’s pose provides a good example. If restorative yoga sounds too slow and easy for runners accustomed to high intensity cardiovascular exercise, it’s suppose to: The point is to restore and rebuild, not break the body down further. Doing too much, too fast of any movement will inevitably lead to injury.

A runner and triathlete, Rountree understands that it’s hard to tame the competitive beast; however, she challenges the athletes who attend her yoga for runners classes to channel that fire into mental concentration and to recognize that yoga can be challenging in ways that differ completely from running. “If people think it’s too easy, they just haven’t been to the right class,” Rountree asserted. “And some others can think it’s too hard because they took a class above their skill level or needs.”

Rountree melds several styles of yoga with only a bit of Vinyasa, or flow, for warmup into her classes for runners and includes 20 to 30 minutes on the floor and 60 to 70 minutes standing. Rountree focuses on opening up the hips, stretching the IT band and developing strength all around the core in her yoga for runners classes. She likes pigeon pose for the hips, plank or warrior III for the core, eagle pose for the calves and ankles, and arrow lunge for the entire body.

Finding the right class, teacher and even studio can be a trial-and-error process, but it’s well worth the reward of rejuvenation, increased mental focus, strength, balance and flexibility. Seek a class that’s group-specific, such as yoga for runners, or call the studio and ask the manager if there are any instructors who are also endurance athletes, as these individuals can often provide guidance for their like-minded students.

Try to practice yoga at home for 10 minutes to cool down after a workout or as part of a dynamic warmup—for example, perform sun salutations before a run: “Just don’t hold any of the poses for too long because it will diminish your muscle strength; we know now that static stretching is not the best idea before a run,” Rountree cautioned.

Are there any potential drawbacks to endurance athletes performing yoga? “The only problem would be doing too much intensity when you’re in an intense training cycle,” Rountree said. When immersed in a strenuous training regimen, Rountree advises that athletes stray from hot yoga, where rooms are typically heated to 95-100 degrees F. “I don’t love that for athletes because they’re already getting the intensity somewhere else,” she said.

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Want to get faster in the marathon? Here’s a straightforward workout that’ll boost your fitness.

“Mile repeats are the single most important workout a marathoner can do to obtain a Boston qualifier,” said coach Mark Buciak. He should know—Buciak has completed 32 consecutive Boston Marathons and is a member of the Boston Athletic Association’s Quarter Century Club, an organization whose membership is reserved for the rare few with 25 Boston finishes. A motivational speaker, writer and program director of The Road to Boston training program and running camps, Buciak views the Boston Marathon as a rite of passage for spring that he wouldn’t miss—even the year that he had open heart surgery to insert a new valve. The finisher of 55 total marathons with a 2:30:25 personal best gives the following workout to his BQ hopefuls.

Marathon Mile Repeats

* Begin with four repeats of one mile; try to work your way up to six repeats. Prioritize quality over quantity.

* Start three months before your goal marathon and complete the repeats once a month, mid-week, with the final workout completed two weeks before the race.

* Month one—complete each repeat at 70 percent of goal race pace with a four-minute jog between sets. Month two—complete each repeat at 80 percent of goal race pace with a four-minute jog between sets. Month three—complete each repeat at 90 percent of goal race pace.

Pointers:

1. Run the same point-to-point distance on a straightaway each month.
2. Simulate the marathon course: If the course is hilly, complete these workouts on hills. If it’s flat, use a flat stretch of road. Don’t run these repeats on a track unless you’re completing a marathon on a track.
3. When you complete each interval, try to estimate your split before consulting your watch.
4. If you’re feeling good after you complete the repeats, add one or two miles to the mix plus ten 110-meter strides at a quick pace.

“In addition to making you stronger, these mile repeats will help you learn your race pace,” said Buciak.

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