Running marathon needs prep

At a time when your social network sites are full of photos of people putting on their running shoes or gushing about the successful completion of their maiden marathon, you would not want to be left out. However, health experts say that much as they would encourage anyone taking up the activity, they caution enthusiasts against experimenting with it, saying, they are seeing many runners injuring themselves with their overzealous approach. 

Dr N Deen Mohamed Ismail, Professor of Orthopaedics and Director, Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Madras Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), says that ‘overuse injury’ is seen largely among those in the 15 to 30 years’ age group. “The problem here is unaccustomed running among those in this age group. They take off on long distance run, right at the beginning. Running after a long time can affect the ligaments and muscle tendons. Without appropriate stretch exercises, the activity can cause more damage,” he says. He adds that since the fibres tend to break due to the activity, consumption of Vitamin C helps in the speedy repair of the injury. 

Dr M Vijay Kumar, paediatrician and a running enthusiast, who has been practising it for close to four years now, calls running a jigsaw puzzle, where everything from nutrition to sleep must fall in place. “Even your running form makes a lot of difference. The problem is everyone begins running the way they find suitable. But there is a technique that we can see and emulate from the Kenyan runners,” he says.

He adds that gradually increasing the distance is the key to consistency. “Another misconception is that you can increase the distance each time rapidly. Rather, if you do 5 km this month, the next month it should be 5.5 km and not 10 km,” he says, calling the current craze for reckless running a ‘Facebook fitness situation’.

Dr P Nagaraj, a city-based sports medicine expert, agrees adding that those who face injuries tend to give up the sport completely. “They do it without any supervision and sustain several kinds of injuries. Though they seek treatment and are completely cured, they often choose to give up on it completely,” he says, pointing out there is an urgent need to educate the population from a younger age about the dos and don’ts. 

A run up to the marathon is as important as the event, says Dr Nagaraj, adding, “One needs a practice session of minimum 45 days before the event. The regimen includes warm up, strengthening exercises, core muscle activity — involving the abdomen and ankle as well. Apart from these, you need spinal stabilisation and then cardiovascular fitness. The last part determines if the person is capable of doing the marathon.”

Dr Nagaraj adds that there is a common misconception that walking alone is sufficient for preparing for the long run. “That’s not true, walking alone does very little for any other muscle in the body,” he says.