This year as part of the Formthotics Aspiring Athlete programme we are sponsoring a group of runners at the Buller Marathon on 10 February 2012. I will be writing regular blog articles over the next 10 weeks as the team progress through training on the way to the big event.
The team is made up of a mixture of seasoned marathoners and first timers, as well as a team of four doing the 10k relay. I am a relay runner. I have run the Buller ½ marathon twice and would be taking on the challenge again this year, but I am still working on a tendon injury in my foot. I’m not confident it would cope with all the training as well as the big run. My foot is a long story; hopefully I will be able to tell you the success story of my full recovery soon.
So far the team have all been fitted with new Formthotics thanks to Rebecca Gifford at PodiatryMed. Rebecca took the team through a running assessment and sent a few members off to buy new shoes. Rebecca also provided some tips to help improve running techniques.
Rebecca is doing some work with Andy who is running the Marathon for the first time. He is over pronating and this is causing some knee and hip pain. Andy has been getting some good results, he says “the additions to the right foot make it feel a lot faster – rolling better on the outside rather than slapping the ground. The left foot did feel flat and slow in comparison at first, but that seems to have come right now. Times for my 11km loop are coming down slowly and I don’t suffer with left knee and hip soreness anymore. And I’m recovering quicker! I now look forward to, rather than dread, a training run”.
Annie is another Marathon runner. This will be her third marathon, her first on the hills. She travels a lot for her work and it’s sometimes really challenging for her to fit all the training in. Annie is working in Nepal, India and Malaysia over the next couple of weeks, so watch out for her story and hopefully some photos.
Leading our team is Jean Scott, personal trainer. As well as the team trainer, Jean herself is an accomplished Marathon runner and will be competing at Buller.
So we are all armed with our training programmes, new Formthotics (and shoes for some) and we are rearing to go. As the team scribe and official photographer (not my strength by the way) I will introduce you to the other team members along way. I’m sure there will be a few stories to tell of challenges and achievements, so wish us luck.
