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Walking into a specialty running store can be overwhelming. There are dozens of shoes on the wall, every brand has its own terminology, and many shoes look remarkably similar despite feeling completely different when you put them on. BUT if your local running stores are anything like mine they want to help and love that you are there. Ask questions, try things on and have fun. You don't need to know everything about running shoes before you walk through the door. However, hav

“I am a runner.” It is such a simple statement, but for many of us it means SO much more than the fact that we like to run. Running becomes part of how we see ourselves. We wake up early to run. Our friends are runners. Our vacations somehow turn into race weekends. We structure our schedules around training. We spend way too much money on shoes. We follow other runners on social media and talk about running with people who actually want to hear about our long run. And slowly

Every once in a while, I read something on social media that makes me stop scrolling. Last week was one of those times. Someone forwarded me an Instagram post that read, "Hot take: The lighter you are, the faster you are." Normally, I don't comment on posts I disagree with. Maybe it's because I don't enjoy conflict. Maybe it's because there are simply too many opinions on the internet to chase down. But this one genuinely made me angry because it was so irresponsible. Over th

I took this of some of our ATC elites at the One Mile invitational in Boston when we were there this April. (Luciano Fiore, Luke Houser, Clay Pender, Sean Dolan) This past weekend I was glued to the TV watching the USATF Outdoor Championships. There were several of our ATC athletes competing so I was not only engaged, but also yelling at the TV. One of our athletes, Sean Dolan was interviewed after advancing through his preliminary race in the men's 800 meters. Early in the i

Last year at running camp, we (my colleague Elizabeth and I) spent hours watching videos, writing out gait analysis and explaining what we saw to hundreds of middle school and high school runners. By the end of the week, we realized something, not only were we completely exhausted, but we were saying the same things over and over again. "Lean from your ankle, not your hips" "Keep your arms from crossing your body. Your elbows should go back" "Don't reach so far out in front o

It sounds like strange advice until you spend a few hours in a self-defense class designed specifically for female runners. Recently my clinic, Precision Performance & Physical Therapy hosted a women's self-defense class, taught by my friend and black belt in Karate, Heather Wright. I hate that we even had to have this class, but it is the reality of the world we live in and its important for women to support women. While we did practice some punching and escapes, the biggest

Can you keep running as you get older? Absolutely. Research consistently shows that runners can maintain high levels of fitness, performance, and health well into their 60s, 70s, and beyond. AND you are never too old to go out and walk or even run. While aging affects muscle mass, recovery, running economy, and aerobic capacity, many of the changes we associate with "getting old" are actually related to inactivity, loss of strength, inadequate recovery, and poor training habi

I wish I could tell runners that every bone stress injury follows the same timeline. It would certainly make things easier. The reality is that a return-to-running program for a tibial bone stress injury may look very different than a return-to-running program for a navicular stress fracture. Add in factors such as energy availability, hormonal health, breastfeeding, strength deficits, or a history of recurrent bone stress injuries, and the picture becomes even more individua

One of the most common questions I get as a running physical therapist is, "What shoe should I wear?" Although my patients don't like it, the answer is almost always the same: it depends. The shoe itself is a tool. Like any tool, its job is to help you accomplish a specific task. Some shoes are built for daily mileage, some are designed for racing, some are intended for trails, and others are designed to provide a different running experience altogether. Footwear companies us

Can Your Body Handle a Carbon-Plated Running Shoe? Carbon-plated running shoes, often called "super shoes," have changed the running world. Over the last several years it is not just carbon that makes a shoe "super" but other parts of the shoe such as the performance foam and nylon plates put shoes in the super shoe category. Nearly every major shoe company now has a super shoe model, and runners are no longer using them only on race day. Many athletes are using them for wo

In 2023 I wrote an article about how female athletes should synch their training with their cycle, at the time it was based on the current research and assumptions being make in the world of female athlete care. We were are all so excited that science was finally talking about the menstrual cycle and its impact on female athletes. However, what we knew then and what we know has quickly evolved and changed due to the significant increase in research around female athletes. Th

Caffeine is a favorite among runners at Fast Bananas RUNsource. Many of us rely on it to jumpstart our days and fuel our workouts, but what is caffeine really doing to our performance and recovery? Let’s dig into the science to understand how to maximize the benefits of coffee for both performance gains and optimal recovery. Caffeine’s Effect on Performance Caffeine can boost endurance and reduce perceived effort during exercise by stimulating the central nervous system and i

No runner wants to be put in a walking boot or be told they need crutches. Yet, there are a few running injuries severe enough to warrant these precautions, and stress fractures, or what healthcare providers call bone stress injuries (BSIs) are one of them. Receiving a BSI diagnosis can feel devastating, especially if it happens during the beginning or middle of a season, when training for a big race, or after returning to running post-hiatus. Bone stress injuries occur when

Hip flexors are one of those things runners love to blame. Tight hips. Short strides. Low back pain. That nagging feeling that something just isn’t working right. And while hip flexors are rarely the only issue, they play a meaningful role in how we run and how problems can start to show up. The hip flexors are a group of muscles that help advance the leg during running. After your foot leaves the ground, they help bring the thigh forward so you can take your next step. They

Menopause isn’t the end of your running career—it’s the start of a new chapter. Your body is changing, but that doesn’t mean you have to struggle through exercise and life. With the right training, nutrition, and recovery strategies, you can continue to thrive as a runner. The menopause transition (or perimenopause) is the period leading up to menopause, usually starting in your 40s and lasting several years until you've gone 12 months without a period​. This hormonal rollerc

Hip pain can sneak up on runners after miles of pounding the pavement, especially when they’re pushing mileage or intensity. Sometimes, it starts as a dull ache and becomes a sharp pain with hip flexion, uphill running, or sprinting. If this sounds familiar, hip impingement might be to blame. Also known as femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), hip impingement happens when there’s abnormal contact between the bones of the hip joint during movement. If left unchecked, hip impinge

Rotational stability might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about running performance, but it’s one of the most important—and most overlooked—elements of staying fast, efficient, and injury-free. Simply put, rotational stability is your core’s ability to control and resist twisting forces while you’re running. Without it, energy leaks happen, mechanics break down, and your risk of injury shoots up. When you run, your upper and lower body naturally rotat

As runners, we spend a lot of time thinking about muscles, shoes, and pace. But if there’s one part of your body that quietly takes a beating with every step, it’s your tendons—and they deserve more attention, especially as we get older. Tendons are the tough connective tissues that link muscle to bone. They store and release energy with every stride, acting like springs. But with age, they become less forgiving. They stiffen, heal more slowly, and lose some of their bounce.

With the Boston Marathon just around the corner on April 21, it’s time to talk about the hills — and more importantly, the downhills. Everyone knows Boston has “Heartbreak Hill,” but what really wrecks runners on race day? It’s the long, pounding descents that show up early and often. If you’re not specifically trained for the eccentric load of downhill running, your quads will be screaming by mile 16 — and your form might fall apart by the Newton hills. Here’s what makes dow

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most frustrating injuries a runner can face. That sharp heel pain when you first get out of bed or during your run can stop your training in its tracks. The common advice? Wear good shoes and rest. But here’s the thing: while supportive footwear helps, what you really need are strong feet, solid balance, and a stable core. Strengthening the muscles that control your foot, ankle, and lower leg is key to preventing and recovering from plantar fas