Why do you run? Running provides us with numerous benefits: improved health, stress relief, camaraderie, challenges, and an outlet. And although nearly all of us aren’t competing for prize money or making a living off running, we still invest a significant amount of time and money into it. As amateur athletes, it is probably good if and when we can laugh at ourselves. Stephen Gnoza’s A Serious Runner Parodies on YouTube and Instagram capture the way we all can sometimes take ourselves too seriously (more on that in a moment). Sage Canaday’s cameos make Canaday more likable, too. Furthermore, memes on the parody account yaboyscottjurek on Instagram also reflect some of the funnier moments in running, including this post that shows the juxtaposition between a runner saying, “Running is literally the most accessible sport. All you need is a pair of shoes,” all while wearing and being surrounded by well over $1000 worth of gear and recovery devices. Any meme about buying too many running shoes applies to me. I can laugh at them.

In the above-linked “A Serious Runner Gets a Running Injury,” Gnoza, in character, explains, “I don’t spare any expense when it comes to my entirely elective hobby.” But Gnoza also works through all the things the serious runner, when injured, will do or purchase to avoid getting real help: putting the advice of online running forums above medical experts, trying some unproven superfood or supplement, and more. We’ve all been there.

Keeping it Light When Injured

As I’m sitting here dealing with a little achilles tendinitis (insertional tendinitis right at the heel), I have some thoughts.

First, it’s ok if we take our “entirely elective hobby” seriously (Gnoza, a Boston Qualifier wouldn’t disagree), and at times it’s going to cost money. High quality running gear and shoes cost money. But people with other hobbies spend a lot of money, too. A weekend golfer might lose $25 worth of balls every time out. Have you seen the amount of equipment people who hunt or fish have? (I haven’t, but I assume it’s a lot.)

Second, for some people a pair of shoes is the most they can afford, and people need to make sure the sport is accessible to them. Races should have reduced entry fees. For those of us who can afford good gear (even if we make sacrifices elsewhere) or travel for races, we do so from an enormous place of privilege. Let’s acknowledge that.

Third, the one area where I see runners not wanting to spend money is on taking care of their bodies. Before Des Linden’s Boston Marathon victory, she rode over on the bus next to John Ball, her chiropractor, a sought-out expert for numerous professional runners. For professional runners, their physical therapists, chiropractors, sports massage therapists, and strength coaches are doing far more for them than the tool they’re hawking on their Instagram account. A lot of Instagram personas are influencing bad decisions (enter discount BULLSHIT for 10% off).

Athletes need to make a living, and if brand partnerships help them do that, good for them. I’m not convinced you need the $375 “hyper-performance” trail shoe Dylan Bowman is wearing, but if you order those, spend the extra $50 for the shirt and hat, too. Why not? You can get the Casper Mattress Allie Kieffer is promoting; the WHOOP, Vital Proteins, and beam Colleen Quigley is pushing; and the at-home blood tests too many people to name are espousing and still not improve your running. Look at the coaching and treatment these athletes receive, and realize those are what lead to improvements. The other stuff pays for those things. Figure out what recovery tools are essential and get those; I wouldn’t go without my foam roller or percussive massager.

The Benefits of Physical Therapy

As soon as my achilles tendon became sore, I scheduled an appointment with my physical therapist. Yes, I chose to do this instead of going by the advice of a YouTube video called “Fix Tendonitis in 2 Minutes.” Maybe I could have treated an injury in 2 minutes, and then negotiated world peace in the next 5 minutes. These appointments aren’t cheap, and insurance companies differ significantly on what they will or will not cover. Good care costs money, but I would encourage any runner, especially those who race and work to increase their performance, to budget money for PT or similar bodycare in the same way they budget money for shoes, gear, or race travel. The carbon-plated shoes do nothing when they’re in the closet because you’re out for a month because your injury escalated while you tried to self-diagnose, with the help of running buddies or social media strangers, to treat with YouTube videos or collagen powder, or to slap on some KT tape and assume the injury will work itself out. I like the Recover Athletics app because it reminds me to do some basic strengthening and prehab exercises, and that’s a good general practice. But it can’t diagnose your specific injury and prescribe the course of treatment. A good PT or specialist, especially one who runs, is worth the expenditure (and, for most of us, is a superior purchase to a plated super shoe).

As I reduce my training load–for a short time, I hope, I am taking a more conservative approach than I usually do. But I think it’s best to think long-term rather than ignore a problem and have a long-term injury. I’d hate to do that and then find myself unable to run, stuck golfing or fishing (hobbies that I’m sure are fine but that don’t interest me).

The Finishing Kick

Here’s a few running running-related things that have caught my attention this week:

  • Even after a breakthrough year, an Olympic Bronze Medal and the fastest ever American performance at the New York City Marathon, Molly Seidel (last name sounds like “title”) seemingly still benefits from anonymity in online dating (or did until this week) and still has to deal with men assuming their superiority. Will female athletes get more respect? I’d sure f***ing hope so.

  • With 3 Golden Tickets for the Western States Endurance Run are at stake (due to receiving an extra Golden Ticket after the cancellation of Tarawera Ultramarathon), the Black Canyon 100K is this Saturday. It will also be the second year of the live broadcast for the event, something Aravaipa Running and Western States both did well last year. Too much of the best in running, from track and field to the marathon to the trail ultra world suffers from bad coverage, with the best track races often behind paywalls and TV marathon coverage often inequitably covering the men’s and women’s races or barely covering the races at all with too much product placement and human interest stories. These webcasts are a good thing.

  • One of the deeper running-related podcasts I’ve heard in a while is Sally McRae’s appearance on the Bare Performance Nutrition podcast. A successful ultrarunner, coach, and entrepreneur, McRae often stands out for her laughter and positivity in the running space. This interview goes into her origins as “The Yellow Runner” and is a tough but powerful listen and lesson in human resilience.

  • Even though the sound quality is scratchy on this one and Fraioli acknowledges it up front, this week’s The Morning Shakeout podcast with Ted Metellus, race director for the New York City Marathon and the first Black race director of any Abbott World Marathon Majors race is also a good listen. Metellus’s description of care resonates: “I can teach you how to set a course. I can teach you how to build a tent. I can teach you how to put up a structure. What I cannot teach you is if you walk past a piece of trash on the ground, you pick it up and throw it away. Or to snip the end of a zip-tie. Or slow down enough to chat with some of the participants or volunteers. That is the care. I can teach you a lot but I can’t teach you to care. And that’s the big divider between just doing your job—or JE, ‘just enough’—and that little bit more.”

PhDistance is on Instagram and Strava

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Newsletter 19: “There Are No Quick Fixes: Expertise and the Art of Body Maintenance”