5K Tips and Tricks

With the 14th annual Race for Our Kids (an event benefitting The Herman & Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai) approaching, one of our resident experts, Annie Neurohr, DPT, CMTPT, of the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics' running program, offers these 5K tips:

How should first-time 5K participants prepare?

It depends on the individual's baseline level of fitness, but I typically recommend a six- to eight-week training program, running three days a week with some form of cross training or weight training two other days of the week. The main goal is to gradually increase your running distance each week until you've comfortably ran the 5K distance at least once prior to the day of the race.

Also, I suggest checking out an app called C25K (Couch to 5K), which can help give a good foundation for a training regimen and hold you accountable for your goals.

What else should runners do before a race?

I recommend hydration and sleep, not just the day or night before the race, but the entire week leading up to race day. The week before race day doesn't require heavy training as the majority of your gains will already have been made by then. What's important is that you get plenty of rest, eat nutritious foods and drink plenty of water.

Throughout training, you should experiment with what types of foods agree and disagree with you during your running activities, as well as determine the best times to eat those foods so that you don't feel too full on the run or too famished by the end.

What are some injuries that runners typically suffer?

We typically see overuse injuries such as iliotibial (IT) band friction syndrome, patellofemoral pain, plantar fasciitis, etc. These are just fancy names for pain or inflammation in a certain area that don't explain what is actually causing the issue. My patients often come in frustrated because they have a diagnosis but have no idea how to address it and it's ruining their training. My job is to figure out how we can adapt their training program and provide the appropriate interventions to manage their symptoms so that they can meet their goals without developing a more serious injury.

In the case of an injury, I always recommend an individual consult with a medical provider, specifically a physical therapist, in order to have a formal evaluation of running form, flexibility and strength to help decrease risk of re-injury or overuse injury development. Depending on the findings upon evaluation, you may benefit from a course of physical therapy in order to receive running form re-training, manual therapy and/or exercise prescription to maximize your training program.

How does the Rubin Institute Running Program help patients?

So many ways! We offer a wide variety of services starting with a comprehensive running evaluation where we utilize both video gait analysis and motion sensor analysis to look at a runner's form. We use these tools in conjunction with a musculoskeletal examination to determine any biomechanical deficits that could be predisposing the runner to injury.

In terms of treatment, we offer several hands-on techniques including manual therapy, dry needling, and ASTYM for management of soft tissue related injuries. We format specific movement retraining programs and prescriptive exercise to help patients improve their movement and running patterns. We also have a lot of resources in terms of technology including 3D-printed orthotics for runners and our AlterG Return to Running Program where patients can train at partial body weight support to decrease bone and joint stress while maintaining cardiovascular fitness.

Call the Rubin Institute Running Program at 410-601-5945 to schedule an appointment. You can also schedule an appointment with a LifeBridge Health physician by calling 410-601-WELL.