While potentially more exciting to subscribe to on YouTube, The Running Channel shares great running advice, myth busters and relatable running content, all backed in good science.
Emma Kirk Odunbi is a strength and conditioning coach who specialises in running shoes, having previously worked in a trainer store. She shares running motivation, kit advice and lots of info about feet and shoes!
Holly Rush is a running coach and GB athlete. She knows what she’s talking about when it comes to running and produces plans to suit all abilities. She is also the co-host of Marathon Talk podcast which is great!
Ultra-athlete Carla Molinaro has recently completed a 100km road race, and is the LEJOG world record holder, an incredible feat. As an endurance athlete, she knows a thing or two about nutrition, and preaches balance in all things.
Sports dietician Renee McGregor specialises in REDs, overtraining and eating disorders, especially in athletes. Follow for no-nonsense advice about fuelling properly when running. She also takes part in many ultramarathons so really knows what she’s talking about.
This is an online run coach and strength training guide, but also shares loads of interesting information about various elements of running. They also interview some great athletes to hear their stories.
Physio
The Irish physio has loads of great videos for runners and others!
Physiotherapist Aiden O Flaherty specialises in running injuries and performance, and promotes exercise for both the mind and body – something I also feel strongly about. Follow for useful vids and sensible advice if you’re a runner.
Manni is a Nike running coach and physiotherapist and shares some great drills nd physio sessions on his page. As with everyone else on this list, he preaches balance – not performance at the expense of health, or health at the expense of happiness.
Lucy Sacarello is a hello ultra-runner who enjoys the trails as much as me. As a physio she also shares information and videos about keeping healthy and mobile while running.
Physio and S&C coach Adam Meakins provides simple, evidence-based advice on almost everything to do with living as a human being, especially various pains and aches. Very no-nonsense.
Nutrition
If you fancy recipes, evidence based nutrition info and a great podcast look no further than The Food Medic
Dr Hazel Wallace is an NHS doctor and nutritionist. She shares SO much great and balanced information on her page, I honestly think everyone should be made to follow her. She also has a great podcast that’s worth a listen.
Dr Rupy Aujla suffered from burnout in his early hears of being a doctor, and since has shared information about how to live a healthy and balances lifestyle. He has loads of great recipes and balanced advice on his page, as well as a great podcast!
Dr Rhiannon Lambert is a dietitian aiming to help people build healthy relationships with food. While not vegan, she promotes a plant-heavy diet and balance above all else. Follow for tasty recipes!
Dr Joshua Wolrich is one of my favourite ‘myth-busting’ accounts on Instagram. He promotes HAES (health at every size) and works to reduce weight stigma.
Dr Megan Rossi is a gut-health expert, sharing science-based information on diet, immunity and various recipes too. She has a great book that I’d recommend!
Kimberly Wilson explores the links between diet and brain health. There’s lots of interesting evolutionary science, history and psychology woven into her posts, which cover a variety of topics.
Charlotte Fisher shares a lot of the same sentiments as I have when it comes to nutrition and performance. Nutrition needs to be healthy for the mind as well as the body. These posts are great for anyone who doesn’t have a perfect relationship with food.
Faye is a sports nutritionist looking at the scientific evidence behind various popular diets, sport-related topics such as overtraining and myth busting a lot of the bro-science you see on the internet.
Fitness
If you’re looking for workout videos and a lot of easy to understand science, follow Natacha
It’s rare that someone gets so famous for sharing science, but Natacha is the perfect example of someone who is well known for literally all the right reasons. As a biophysicist and athlete, she shares science-based information in lay terms on her Instagram and YouTube, as well as great workout videos and challenges.
For more evidence-based information on fitness, health, nutrition and the industry as a whole, give Sohee a follow. She delves into the primary literature (so you don’t have to) and supports a balanced approach to nutrition and lifestyle.
Alyssa Olenick is great for promoting a variety of types of fitness both for health and enjoyment. While she’s currently trining for an ultramarathon, she promotes healthy lifting for the health benefits. She is also very open about where her areas of expertise start and end – kudos for that.
Women’s Aid ambassador and Women’s Health columnist Alice Liveing is a qualified Personal Trainer with over a decade of experience in the industry. She hosts live workouts daily and promotes the use of training to support everyday life, not the other way around. Everything is about balance!
Ex-gymnast Shona Vertue is a qualfied personal trainer and psychology student. She shares home workouts, strength training sessions and mobility work – useful for runners!
I had this conversation with Emily Davies Physiotherapist, answering your most asked physio questions! This blog post is in support of the We are the NHS campaign. If you enjoy it, please do share on Instagram!
1. How do you know whether a pain/a niggle is something you can run through or something to rest and check?
Symptoms such as swelling, pain when weight bearing, redness, the joint area giving way, numbness, pins and needles, reduced strength/ movement due to pain can all be worth a professional opinion.
Ask yourself how long have you had this pain for. It’s not uncommon to get pins and needles after exercise as well as redness/ swelling if you’ve been working hard but this can often resolve on its own. If this is something that’s happening persistently it’s definitely worth getting it looked at.
If symptoms aren’t persistent and you’ve only had this pain/ niggle recently when running, rest is your best friend! Listen to your body if it’s in pain. Our body needs rest to strengthen and adapt. Rest, ice and elevation can often help these niggles! If after this you are still getting pain, ignoring it will only end up doing more harm and the recovery is likely to be worse.
2. What’s your best advice for those that sit at a desk all day?
Planning your day in advance is a massive help in ensuring you achieve what you set out to. If you are sitting at a desk all day, getting up every hour is so important; whether that is just going to the kitchen to make yourself another cup of tea! (Check out this blog post on how I keep active when working a desk job).
If your job means you aren’t active during the day, make up for this in the evening, it doesn’t have to be something intense! It could be going for a walk outdoors- this will be great for your mental health too, releasing those endorphins and improving your mood! Try and set yourself a goal, that way you are more likely to stick with it e.g. how many steps do you want to achieve each day?
If it means you are sitting at a desk all day, you need to look after your posture and your musculoskeletal system. Make sure you are sat at a chair you find comfortable with back support, feet flat on the floor, screen at eye level, try and avoid crossing your legs! Working at home during the pandemic is not easy but it’s important you have the correct equipment to ensure you aren’t straining your posture/ body. Speak with your workplace if it is concerning you.
3. How is it best to return to running after a long period of time off?
Build it back up slowly, if you dive straight into the level you were previously at, your muscles and joints will be at risk of injury. Stretching your calves, quads and hip flexors after your runs will help to reduce risk of injury.
Make yourself a goal! What would you like to achieve with your running? But it is really important you make this goal realistic to yourself and over a realistic time frame! How far do you want to be able to run and by when?
Make sure you take some days off to start with to give your body time to recover. Even just going for a gentle walk, cycle or swimming (when we can access swimming pools again!) can also help build our endurance/ strength. Swimming is brilliant as it is a non-weight bearing form of exercise which provides our joints with a bit of a rest!
Footwear is also so important! Make sure you’ve got some correctly fitting trainers with good shock absorption qualities for running and are supportive for you! There are more top tips on running form in one of the answers below!
4. Words of wisdom for someone starting physio at university?
One thing I wish I’d have had a better understanding of before I started my degree in Physiotherapy was the range of areas involved in this profession. Having a good understanding of this will put you in a great position at your lectures on all the different areas e.g respiratory, musculoskeletal and neurology
Don’t be afraid to use your course mates for studying! The best way I found to learn anatomy/ practical treatments was with my course mates. Remember you aren’t the only one learning this whole new topic, your course mates will be in the same position as you so learning together will widen your depth of knowledge!
Printing off lecture power points and annotating them as you go is another tip I recommend! With permission of you lecturer, recording lectures was hugely helpful for me. This way, for anything I didn’t understand or was struggling to learn I would listen to the lecture over again to confirm my understanding.
And finally, your placements! This is where you get to transfer all that you’ve learnt into real life situations. Really make the most out of your placements, get as much experience in different professions that work alongside physios so you are aware of the bigger picture of your multidisciplinary team! And ask as many questions as you can!
5. What’s the most common issue you see as a physio and the easiest way to avoid it?
Achilles tendinitis is a common injury we see a lot of, especially during lockdown where more people are taking up running due to gyms being shut. Most Achilles injuries can be treated at home with support of a qualified physiotherapist. It is important to get issues like this checked as overuse of our tendon can lead to a rupture, resulting in surgery in worst cases.
To avoid injury in the first place, increase your activity level slowly whilst stretching and strengthening the area. A good tip is being aware that we have two calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) so we must stretch them both!
Again, having good fitting trainers with enough padding to help with shock absorption will help prevent this injury.
6. What makes a good physio?
A good physio knows the importance of building trust with you, as it is likely you will see your physio over a period of sessions, so it is important to make sure you have a mutual regard and respect during the sessions. I’d check for continuity reasons that you will have the same physio for all your treatments rather than have to build up a rapport with a new physio on each session!
7. Should you stretch? If so, how often? Any specific stretches you’d recommend?
Stretching is SO good for your body! Stretching can improve range of movement, decrease stress levels, reduce pain/stiffness, reduce risk of injury and improve blood flow and circulation.
Stretching once in a blue moon will not make a difference to your flexibility, consistency is key!
I would start off with a manageable amount of stretches each day e.g. 5 and as long as the stretch is not painful, I’d recommend holding for between 30-60 seconds. Try to implement stretches into your daily routine, even better after you have been exercising so your muscles are warmed up.
Be aware that as the muscle we are stretching becomes more flexible, it is at risk of becoming weaker so completing strengthening exercises of the same area is recommended.
The main stretches I would recommend to anyone starting off would be targeting our main muscle groups! This would include the hamstrings, hip flexors and glutes. I also think that stretching out our muscles in the shoulders/chest (trapezius and pectorals) is important in improving posture, especially now people are working from home more.
8. Any general advice on running form?
Be aware of your posture, it is so easy when you are running to forget about posture but try to be aware of your shoulders, keep your back straight and make sure you aren’t leaning forwards. Having a stooped posture when running can lead to back, shoulder and neck issues in the future.
Find a stride that works for you; land gently to help prevent any injuries. Elbows tucked in by your side and good arm swing will help maintain a rhythm and propel you forward also.
Again, completing frequent stretches and strengthening exercises for our big muscle groups e.g. abdominals and glutes will help stabilize your running technique.
9. How is it best to support recovery e.g. on a rest day, after training etc? Top tips?
Stretching after training will support our recovery by eliminating lactic acid build up and improving our blood flow. Try and incorporate stretches after every work out to support your recovery. A gentle walk on a rest day will also help reduce joint stiffness by circulating the blood flow. Correct nutrition will also support our recovery e.g. Consuming an adequate amount of protein will help recover muscle fibres that may have been damaged through exercise as well as helping to replenish any depleted energy stores. Recovery days are important as these are days which allow our muscles to repair and therefore strengthen and improve performance. Everyone is different in regard to how many rest days a week they should have but I would recommend to rest the muscle group the day after you exerted it. Definitely make sure you are sleeping enough also, our body needs sleep to recover, try to get a good 7-9 hours.
I would also recommend foam rollers, ice/ heat packs and even a sports massage to also aid recovery for more intense training schedules.
10. How should I treat/prevent runner’s knee?
If you start to experience pain around the knee (patella area more specifically) when you are running, bending your knee, kneeling, walking down hill/ downstairs, you may have runners knee. It’s a very general term for knee pain that may not have stemmed from running.
It is a problem that can often resolve itself.
To treat it I would recommend resting the knee from strenuous activities for around 2 weeks e.g. running, squatting, lunging. Not everyone will get swelling with this pain, but a cold ice pack on the area for 20 minutes or so every 4-5 hours can ease not just swelling but the pain also. Elevating your knee when you can will also help with swelling.
To treat / prevent this condition, correct footwear can help improve position of your feet and therefore pressure around the knee. I’d also recommended stretching and strengthening the area around the knee. For stretching, I would target the quadriceps, calf, hip flexors and hamstrings. For strengthening I would recommend calf raises, wall slides, clams, step ups and glute bridges. As always, if this pain persists, get it looked at by a professional.
Many thanks to Emily for answering these questions!
Emily is supporting NHS England’s ‘We Are The NHS’ campaign. To find out more about a career in the NHS, please search‘NHS Careers’ or visit We Are The NHSto find available roles and training support on offer.
Hi everyone! Over the next eight weeks, I will be training for my first ever official 5k time trial. Other 5k efforts have all been as part of park runs (which I’ve dearly missed over lockdown), and after a year of steadily getting slower and slower (thanks to focussing on running further), I thought it about time to pick up the pace and get in a 5k PB. And I want you to join me!!
How can I join?
Whatever your ability, experience or goal, I’d love if you could join in both training for and racing this 5k. All you need to do is sign up to Strava (an app that records your runs) and join our virtual run club, March 5k timetrial.
Once you’ve joined, all your runs on Strava will upload automatically, you’ll be able to keep up with the other runners taking part. On 27th – 31st March, you’ll have the opportunity to race the 5k virtually alongside all the other runners.
What route should I race?
As a virtual event, there’ll be no official route you need to do the time trial on, although I would recommend you find a flat, relatively empty route for your effort. If that doesn’t exist (Dorset I’m looking at you), a hilly route will do just fine and be all the more impressive – good luck!
Is there a training programme?
If you’re looking for a training programme and not sure where to start, these are two that are great – one for those looking to get sub-20, and one for those looking to simply speed up their general running times.
Is there a way of joining in if I don’t have Strava?
You’re more than welcome to join if you don’t have Strava, but there won’t be an official ‘page’ for your participation. However, I will be recording my training on my Instagram and YouTube, so you can follow and subscribe to keep up with everything! If you tag me in your training runs on Instagram I’ll be sharing them on my stories so we can all keep each other motivated. 🙂
As a runner, I have a permanent underlying guilt about the fact that I literally wear through my shoes in a relatively short amount of time. I run some tough trails, meaning that any trainers I own (trail shoes especially) undergo a fair amount of wear and tear, and usually break to the point of being unusable by 18 months in. At this point they are relegated to walking and gardening shoes, or thrown out.
My favourite Columbia trail shoes, which have been relegated to gardening and walking shoes after just a year
Of the 24 billion pairs of shoes produced each year, 90% are likely to end up in landfill. This is both due to the over-production of (often poorly-made) shoes, and the lack of widespread recycling systems. However, once your shoes make it to landfill, they will likely take hundreds or thousands of years to break down due to their plastic composition (PVC or EPA makes up 35% of shoes globally), all the while releasing toxic chemicals into the surrounding area. In landfill, due to the anoxic conditions, they’re likely to never properly break down at all.
Across the globe, we each buy approximately 2.5 pairs of shoes a year, with most of those sales happening in just 10 major markets. The average American buys over 7 pairs a year. The vast majority (almost all) companies selling shoes do not offer end of life solutions for their products, instead relying on landfill and pushing up demand for further consumption. However, 52% of shoppers in the UK said they’d be more likely to buy from a company if it offers an end of life solution, e.g. recycling or fixing, with 60% being willing to pay more for shoes that had this option.
With trainers the problem is further exacerbated, with experts suggesting that trainers get replaced every 500 to 750km (300-500 miles), which equates to 4 to 6 months for someone who runs 20 miles a week. Even if you eke out every last step from your shoes, they are not designed to last beyond their useful life so may tear or break within the year, and it can be dangerous to run on totally worn-out shoes, increasing the risk of injury.
So what can we do with our old trainers, once worn out or no longer wanted?
Donate
The best option is to donate unwanted shoes that are still usable. If you forget cosmetics, the majority of shoes we throw out are still perfectly functional in their job to protect feet. Better quality shoes can be sold via Depop, and others donated to charity shops. For running shoes, The Running Charity donates activewear to young people who would otherwise be unable to afford them. You can send your unwanted clothes and shoes in to them to be given a new life. Similarly, ReRun Clothing is another organisation that accepts unwanted running clothes, which are sold. All the profits go back into the running community. You can also buy secondhand and up-cycled products here! Find your nearest donation point.
Repair
Repairing shoes should be far more common than it is, with cobblers fixing all sorts of damage and wear on shoes. However, this is little harder on trainers, due to the complex support required. Speak to your local cobbler to see what they can offer. Very few brands offer reconditioning services, but Vivo Barefoot has just launched ReVivo, a service that repairs and re-sells old and unwanted Vivo shoes, providing lower priced options with a significantly reduced environmental impact. The shoes are often as good as new, proving that reconditioning and repairing trainers is not as hard as previously assumed, setting a precedent for the rest of the industry. This small family-run brand is showing that if they can provide end of life solutions for shoes, large brands should undoubtedly be able to too.
Vivo Barefoot are providing innovative options for unwanted or old vivo products
Recycle
The next best option for completely worn-out shoes is to recycle. Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe scheme has processed 33 million pairs of shoes since 1993 when it launched. These shoes get recycled into surfaces for playgrounds, running tracks and other clothes. See where you can drop of your shoes. The company I:CO provides recycling services for brands in the US, partnering with brands such as Asics and Columbia to collect unwanted shoes and clothing in return for vouchers. In the UK shoe recycling can sometimes be found near supermarket superstores and specialised recycling centres. Many specialist running shops around the UK also have their own shoe recycling programmes – pop into your local one and see if this is something they offer. Runner’s Need is providing recycling bins as part of their Recycle My Run scheme in stores up to the 31st Dec 2020, giving a £20 voucher in return for a pair of old trainers. Don’t forget to tie your shoes together to prevent pairs getting separated!
Many specialist running stores provide options for recycling your old trainers
Although the above options are great, it’s worth remembering that it is impossible to be fully sustainable while simultaneously consuming at the rate we currently consume. Recycling and donating are great, but not if your’e only doing so in order to validate buying new shoes/clothes. As runners, we should be aware of the world around us, and the impact we have on it. Although running is a self-propelled sport, you can lessen or increase your impact based on the purchasing decisions you make.
However, the blame does not fall entirely on the consumer. There is a real dearth of beneficial end of life options for shoes globally, and brands have no real incentive to fix this. For an industry worth more than $200 billion in 2020, requesting further research into, and better options for a shoe’s end of life should not be too much to ask. While brands product ‘eco-friendly’ shoe ranges or styles here and there (e.g. Nike’s Space Hippie shoe, Adidas’ Ultraboost DNA Loop), the quantity is nowhere near enough to make even a dent on the non-sustainable plastic shoes created each year. If sustainable shoes and end of life options are available, why are we not insisting on them? It’s time to ask brands to do better.
food fitness flora 