Run assessment

Peter Carroll

I've always had nagging injuries caused by running.  But I've been reading about these places that to running assessments.  Like https://www.irunsafe.com/ that is close to me in Nor Cal.  Has anyone ever had one?  Was it helpful?  I was hoping they could point out some of my many weaknesses and give me exercises to correct them.

Thanks for anyone's thoughts.

david ware

Don't know about California, but had a great assessment in Ct a few years back after years of continuous and chronic injury. REally helped see where the problems were and how to fix/correct. Have been really pleased that I did it...

Schmitty75

I've done run assessments a few times because I have had some injuries too. The first one was done by a former coach. She basically videotaped me from a few different angles using a decent digital video camera and we also counted my foot strikes. We determined that my cadence slow and that I was doing a lot of heel striking. I spent a whole season counting foot strikes for a portion of my long runs to improve my tempo. I also spent a lot of time focusing on forefoot striking and really leaning into my run to let my energy propel me horizontally and not vertically. I also got my upper body form corrected by keeping my forearms at a 90 degree angle to my upper arms. The net result is that i am now a slightly faster and much more efficient runner. Less slowing down in longer races.

The other assessment was done by a physical therapist after an issue with runners knee. He noticed that I have serious pronation problems and recommended staying in motion control shoes and super feet orthotics. He also recommended a very structured core and functional strength training routine to correct strength imbalance ( I was very weak on my left side). I never would have thought that a weak core can place such stress on your body when you run. He told me that if your core can't take the pounding, then your legs take it all in, and the led to my injuries.

Pm me and I can send you more details if you are interested.

Dave Tallo

A few years ago, there were a number of EN athletes who used a service for form assessment - do a fora search for "run jail" or "run prison" and you'll find some discussion.

My view is they (whoever they may be) might give you a short cut to identify some areas to improve, but there's probably more value in self assessment. Not so much because you are self-reliant, as this gives you a critical understanding to continually observe and improve your form and technique. The goal is always being aware of your current form, and always be practising the skills and techniques to improve. the companion to this is reading up any one of the run technique systems - be it pose, chi, Bobby McGee, or whatever - and getting a firm idea of what you ought to be looking for.