Breaking Stride

Romantically I’d love to agree with Boston Billy but something doesn’t gel. Running has a surprising high injury rate, so is it really that easy or that destined? 

Maybe we were Born to Run but lost it along the way? There is no doubt that the general western population in 2025 is much more sedentary than that of previous generations. When Bill won 4 Boston Marathons 1975, 1978, 1979, and 1980 the world was a different place.

Take 1983 when Cliff Young, a 61-year-old Australian farmer took on the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon in 1983. His daily routine involved herding sheep over his family's expansive 2,000-acre farm, often without the aid of horses or vehicles. This demanding lifestyle no doubt contributed to his exceptional endurance.

A lifestyle that not only gave him the physiology to cover the 875 kilometers (544 miles) but also a mental game that allowed him to run straight through to the finish without significant rest, a tactic that allowed him to gain ground while others slept. Cliff's relentless perseverance paid off. He not only completed the race but won it, finishing in 5 days, 15 hours, and 4 minutes, thereby beating the previous record by two days! They don’t make many like Cliff these days.

Oops I did it again! - Britney

On the 3rd January mid way through an easy run I felt a sharp pain in my right calf and had to limp the final kilometers home. For the life of me I couldn’t find a clear cause. I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary.

Did you know that the calf is made up of two muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus? Both muscles are important for running but the soleus is much more active with distance running. I discovered that I’d been guilty of only strength training my gastrocnemius by performing calf raises with straight legs. Unfortunately for me the soleus is up to 7 times more active when distance running.

If you are sprinting 100 or doing a hard 400m rep, the gastrocnemius is hands down more active. However, distance runners should not ignore the soleus, and to strengthen it you must have a bend in the knee when performing a calf raise.

This was interesting. Potentially under-strengthened soleus, but I didn’t feel it fully answered the root cause and I was keen to dig more into the reasons so many of us suffer from running injuries.

Exploring the Complexities Behind the Stats

It’s no secret that running is a sport with a very high injury rate - around half of all runners face injuries annually. But why is this the case? Conventional wisdom often points to risk factors like high mileage, intense training, or running too frequently, but groundbreaking research led by Jean-François Esculier of The Running Clinic suggests the reality is far more complex.

Analyzing data from 36 studies and 23,000 runners, the findings reveal that traditional risk factors, such as sudden mileage increases or high intensity, don’t consistently predict injury. Instead, a more nuanced view emerges: injuries may stem from the interplay of training variables, lifestyle stress, recovery practices, and even how we define an “injury.”

One of the interesting conclusions from the study was on the interplay of stress and recovery. Training stress isn’t limited to the miles you log; life stress also impacts your body’s ability to recover and adapt.

Emotional, work, and sleep-related stressors compound the physical toll of training. Even if your running workload decreases, insufficient sleep or a stressful life event can make you more susceptible to injury. It’s purely conjecture, but the few running injuries I have had nearly always come at the start of the year. I historically have surmised that after a lower intensity Q4 I tend to start the year too hard. However, this year I was careful to keep the training consistent in Q4 to avoid this. Therefore maybe the stress and other excesses of the holiday season are the compounding factor.

Denial is the most predictable of all human responses – The Architect, The Matrix Reloaded

Even if that is partially true I still feel we are not getting to the meat of the subject, and as much as this might be frowned upon as some form of “shaming” - the harsh reality is that many of us do not have the requisite levels of running form, mobility, and strength!

Next week we dive deep into the nuances of injury prevention for runners, challenging long-held beliefs and exploring fresh perspectives. What role does strength play in avoiding injuries? How does running form influence your risk of sidelining pain? And can modern tools like Stryd’s Impact Loading Rate and Lower Body Stress Score transform the way we train? Join me in rethinking the interplay of technique, strength, and recovery and make 2025 a year of smarter, injury-free running.

[Postscript - I was pain-free and back to running in less than two weeks. The cause is unconfirmed but I gained a new determination to get consistent with the strength work]