SPORTS MEDICINE
Foot Core for Runners
Runners follow their training plans religiously, some even incorporating strength programs, but should we be training our feet? BY SHONA HENDRICKS Marathon and Ironman competitor, strength and conditioning specialist, head of Athlete Success, and the Female Athlete Programme at coachparry.com in Pretoria, SA. COACHPARRY
SHONA HENDRICKS
A
s runners we are constantly being told that strength and conditioning is important. It’s been drilled into us for years. “We need to be doing strength training to prevent injuries” “You’re going to become a better runner if you strength train” All those statements are correct. The scientific literature is very clear on this and as a result we focus on the following areas, which are specific to running and running mechanics—hips, pelvic stability, hamstrings, glutes, perhaps some lower limb and of course the core. But what about the feet? Have you ever heard someone tell
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you to do mini “bicep-curls” for your toes? Probably not! And why not? We spend the entire time during our sport on our feet and yet it is the most neglected area of the body we aim to condition. I worked with an elite female South African ultra-endurance runner who went to Iten in Kenya for a training camp, where most of the best marathon runners in the world train. In one of her hour-long sports massages after a heavy week of training, the sports massage therapist spent 20 minutes working on her feet. She asked the therapist why she wasn’t spending more time on her hamstrings or glutes, and the therapist replied with a somewhat obvious “because we are runners.” When my athlete told me about this, it was like
a lightbulb moment for me! How do we, as runners, not spend more time on our feet and so the research began!
WHAT IS FOOT CORE? My research led me to a well documented area of the foot, the intrinsic muscles, but this happened to be more for the elderly with the focus around preventing falling. But slowly there was more and more research which was coming to the fore around how this could also be useful for active people and in particular runners, to help prevent specific lower limb injuries. What exactly is foot core? To understand this, let’s explain the core of the trunk first. The “core” as we know it as runners, is
