The Fast Bananas RUNsource 2024 photo by Alan Lam If you're looking to get stronger, faster, and more efficient — without stacking on a ton of extra miles — hills are your shortcut. They’re simple, effective, and backed by science. Whether you’re prepping for a trail race, marathon training, or just want to run with more confidence and power, adding hill workouts to your week is one of the smartest things you can do. Why Hills Work: The Research Uphill running fundamentally c

Maybe you have a fall marathon planned or you are going to do a local 5k or 10k. Race week can be exciting and nerve wracking so let us help you get through it! Think of race week as a celebration, it is where all your training, planning, and consistency finally get to show off. And yet, this is also where many runners make avoidable mistakes, trying to cram in extra miles, changing routines, or obsessing over last-minute variables. So let’s get clear: the work is done. Your

When runners talk about performance or injury, the focus usually lands on the knees, hips, or even cadence. But there’s one small joint that quietly makes or breaks your stride: the big toe. Specifically, the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint, the hinge that allows your big toe to extend during push-off. It might not look like much, but without proper mobility and strength here, your entire chain from foot to hip is forced to compensate. Over miles, that can affect perfor

(Because your body doesn’t care if you’re in a hotel room or on vacation) The holidays are wild. You're sleeping in someone else's guest room, eating on a weird schedule, your shoes are buried under someone else's luggage, and you’re trying to keep it together while managing family dynamics and logistics that should qualify as endurance events. Here’s the thing: You don't need to “crush” every workout when you're on the road. But movement helps your body feel better, your ner

Right now we are in the height of marathon season and sometimes for those runners that don't run a marathon, run fast or walk a little they feel less than. Let’s get this out of the way early: If you run, even a little, even with walk breaks, even slowly, you are a runner. You don’t need to qualify it. You don’t need to wait until your first 5K. You don’t need a sub-whatever pace. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone. We have a culture problem in running. Somewhere alon

If you’ve ever seen a dog bolting down a trail with ears flying, legs stretching, total bliss on four paws, it’s easy to think, this is the perfect running partner. And for a lot of runners, it is. Your dog doesn’t care about your pace, has endless enthusiasm, and keeps you honest on the days motivation is nowhere to be found. But if you're working toward a performance goal or coming back from injury, logging miles with your pup might feel... different. Not bad. Just differen

It’s a scenario most runners know well: you add miles to your long run, switch from treadmill to pavement, or start pushing paces and suddenly, something hurts. Sometimes the pain is a dull, nagging discomfort that fades as you warm up. Other times, it sharpens into a pinpoint spot in your shin that makes every step miserable. That’s when the questions start: Is this just shin splints, or is it something more serious—like a bone stress injury? Both conditions sit on the same

If you’ve been around competitive runners, you’ve probably heard about “doubles”—running twice a day. For elite athletes, double runs are almost a badge of honor. But for the recreational runner who has a job, family, and training plan already packed, the obvious question is: Do I need to do this? Probably not, but maybe. Let’s talk about why doubles exist, who actually benefits, and who should leave them off the calendar. Why Double Runs Exist The main goal of a double run i

Fatigue is part of running. If you’ve ever finished a long run with heavy legs or felt that lingering soreness after hill repeats, you know what I'm talking about. The question isn’t whether fatigue is good or bad it’s what kind of fatigue you’re dealing with. Because there’s a big difference between the stress that helps you adapt and the stress that slowly breaks you down. One builds stronger muscles, tendons, and a more efficient cardiovascular system. The other leads to s

Let’s get one thing straight: warming up is not optional. But it’s also not just jogging slowly for five minutes or swinging your legs around a few times. A proper warm-up primes your body for performance, helps prevent injury, and sets the tone for the entire run. And yet, most runners either skip it, rush through it, or do the wrong kind of prep altogether. Here’s what the research — and years of working with runners at every level — says about getting it right. What a Good

If you’re a runner dealing with low back pain, chances are someone’s told you it’s just “tight hamstrings.” Maybe you’ve been stretching, foam rolling, or doing yoga and still, the annoying aching or pain is there every single mile. Tight hamstrings certainly can be part of the issue, but they aren't typically the whole problem. And stretching them more isn’t always the fix. Low back pain in runners is common. It’s usually a sign that something upstream or downstream in you

Sometimes the first few minutes of a run feel stiff or painful, but after a mile or two the discomfort settles down and the run actually feels better. What does this mean? As a running physical therapist working with runners in Atlanta, this is something I hear fairly often: “If the pain goes away during the run, is it okay to keep running?” In many cases, the answer is yes, but with the right modifications. It depends on the type of tissue involved and how the pain behaves d