Older Yet Faster!When I was 40 years old, my best 10 Kilometre time was 36 minutes 36 seconds, but 15 years later I was almost 5 minutes faster and became the oldest person to break the 32 minute barrier. So what changed? Why was I older yet faster?I attribute most of the extra speed to technique improvements. I used to over-stride with a big heel strike and I suffered badly from shin splints, serious runner's knee problems and soreness after every run.
My discovery is that the quickest runners that stay injury-free move in a similar way. With this insight, decades of sports coaching experience, and with a healthy interest in physics, I now understand how to run efficiently and fast. Through my unique technique-change sessions, continually refined over the past decade, I have enabled hundreds of runners of all levels to run smoother and faster by improving or rebuilding their technique.
I have now gathered sufficient evidence to show my methods work extremely well. I am delighted that Sean Williams, a coach of Australian elite runners, regularly refers runners to me for technique analysis and help. This book is based on my sessions and it will help you to run too. I am excited to be working closely with podiatrist Heidi Jones, (Dip. Pod., MA. Pod. A) an experienced runner and an expert at fixing runners' problems and helping them to move away from orthotics through strengthening exercises in conjunction with better technique.
My professional training and my love of anatomy gave me a solid platform from which to develop Heidi's Strengthening Program, but two major factors drove me to actually create it.
The first factor was that when the podiatrists treating my running injuries in the 1990s followed the 'accepted wisdom', especially with regard to orthotics, my injuries would-instead of getting better-increase. This forced me to look very closely at what was being taught in podiatry. Secondly, I had to fall back on my own resources to overcome this series of injuries. This led me to realise that it was strengthening the feet that allowed me and my patients to recover naturally and that, in most cases, orthotics were not needed.
Heidi's Strengthening Program grew from gathering the best remedies from a variety of my own experiences-such as the Spiky Ball exercise (EXERCISE 11.1) from self-myofascial release therapy, and ballet exercises from my Pilates instructor, as well as some foot exercises from a running coach. I acknowledge the people who helped me in Appendix C. Finally, Keith showed me how to run properly, and I was then able to understand good running biomechanics and apply it to my patients.
Heidi's Strengthening Program is also 'just what is needed' to help runners when they transition to good running technique via Keith's Lessons.