For the Long Run: a Runner's Blog

Happy almost fall running season! 🍂🎃

For most long distance runners, September and October will be the peak weaks of training before the Big Event! Meaning that your mileage increases for your runs, which often comes with less energy, time and motivation to lift those weights.

Here's some tips t...

"Should I Run This Race or Not?" 

A Guide to Making the Decision Safely

As a running physical therapist and run coach, I get this question a lot. 

The hardest time to answer this question is when I'm first meeting someone with pain from running and they're hoping for this simple yes or no answe...

How to Pace Hill Repeats Properly

It all comes down to effort over pace because the gradient (steepness) of your hill will change how hard it feels.

💡 Target about 70% effort. That means:

• Controlled but hard breathing

• You’re not all out sprinting, but you are working

📉 Don’t chase...

What’s the Deal with Weighted Vests?

There's a recent trend online of people purchasing and wearing weighted vests during walk, running, even biking! 

If you've seen this, you might be wondering: "Should I be doing that too?" 

Weighted vests are a great tool, but let's talk about their uses, wh...

A popular running influencer recently posted a short video confidently stating that “running gait doesn’t matter.” 

It's a clear, bold claim - good for social media - and in some ways, not entirely wrong. But here’s the problem: there's nuance to this!

It’s kind of like trying to figure out how yo...

Can you pass these 5 Running Readiness Tests?

What if there were simple, evidence-based ways to reduce your risk of running injuries this season?

Would that help give you a little peace of mind during training?

Good news! There's been a lot of research on key running readiness tests that help...

By now, you’ve probably got your fall race locked in and you're mentally preparing to increase your weekly mileage.

Did you know that many running injuries can be traced back to training errors? That’s one reason I became a running coach after finishing physical therapy school. Understanding how to...

It’s hard enough to stick to a regular fitness routine, and having to do that while navigating pain is exhausting. 

As a physical therapist, when I ask someone how their home rehab program is going, I’m used to hearing the somewhat defeated response of: “I’ve been too busy to do my exercises.”

I...

Ahhh the long run!

It’s a sacred tradition for runners to lace up and prepare for their weekly long run while training for a half or full marathon. 

Long runs are an essential part of building endurance and are considered the key workout when chasing long distance goals. 

But what happens AFTER y...

When we think of running strength, the calves are often overlooked. But if you're a runner—or just someone who wants to stay active and injury-free—your calf muscles are doing a lot more work than you might think.

Let's start at the soleus (one of the deeper calf muscles), one of the hardest-workin...

Whether you’re a runner, someone returning from injury, or just trying to stay active and strong as you age, the squat is one of the best exercises you can do. But are you actually doing it right?

The squat is probably the MOST common exercise that I’ve educated patients on in my career as a physic...

It’s a common misconception that running alone is enough to build leg strength. 

As a running physical therapist, I’ll hear a lot about how injury-prone runners feel the solution to their pain is stretching, foam rolling or trialling out ten new pairs of shoes. 

But, honestly? You’ll likely see be...