Starting green and finishing green.

This weeks blog is going to be a little bit different...instead of a health related topic I'm going to explore the impact that trail races have on the environment, both good and bad.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of serving as medical and recovery staff for the Xterra trail race at Oak Mountain State Park.  Oak Mountain state park is located in Pelham, AL and it is an expansive and beautiful area that houses over 50 miles of trails, two accessible lakes, a wildlife education conservancy and a great golf course.  This type of park is rare and is a great asset to the local community.

While working the race I quickly became annoyed at how many Gatorade cups, Biofreeze packets and bandaids I was finding on the ground, and then I had to stop and think "how much have I cared where my cup landed after running an extensive distance trail race?".  This was a race of just 400 competitors, but between the vendors, support staff and runners, an immense amount of refuge was produced and all of it was left to the park crew to deal with.  Now to think that a state funded park, with government employees and sometimes volunteers, is eager to accept this increase in trash and more importantly work is something that never even crosses the mind of most runners.  Yeah, we might say, "well that's their job".  Yes, yes it is, but isn't it our responsibility to protect the areas where we train and race?

Thinking back to another race at Castlewood State Park in Missouri, I was working as assistant medical director of the Castlewood Cup and was put in charge of bringing a group of my grad school colleagues to help out with the race.  The night before the race it absolutely poured, and as most trail runners, who are sometimes more beast than human, we relish in a muddy frolic through the woods.  Well, on this day the trail took the brunt of all 600 runners, as did the grounds where the vendors and timing crew were located.  When I returned to the park two days later, the park staff was laying straw down throughout the open field and once I hit the trail it was clearly evident how much damage had been done.  A group of spandex-sporting puddle jumpers had caused as much erosion and washout as natural wear and tear would have done in 10 years.  This effects everything from the root systems, to ground animal habitats and even the watershed area at the basin of the Meramec river.

Situations like the aforementioned are obviously combated by grounds crews, trail preservation groups and clean up efforts.  I was fortunate enough during my 4 years in chiropractic school in St. Louis to hold a Castlewood Clean-Up for the park that I loved so much.  Much of the trail would be inundated with litter and trash, mostly from refuge carried in by flood waters after the spring thaw, but about 25-30% of what my group cleaned up came from hikers and runners leaving gel packets, water bottles and the occasional celebratory beverage container.  Each year we collected around a half ton of trash among the few volunteers (as you can see by our sweat soaked clothing, this group was dedicated helping with clean-up efforts in 100 degree weather) and this was just the tip of the ice berg for this park.

Castlewood Clean-Up

As trail runners, we face an interesting dilemma, but still a situation that is presented to each outdoor enthusiast, how do we make sure that our enjoyment of nature is not trumped by the footprint we leave on it.

I truly believe that as nature enthusiasts we bring far more to the table in terms of preservation and maintenance of our trail systems, rather than deterioration and littering.  Some of these areas are going to be facing human induced issues even if we were not running there, so through our awareness and more importantly action, we can help change the way these areas are used, maintained and enjoyed.

If you call yourself a trail runner, you probably like to think that you are fast, persevering and tenacious.  All of these qualities are key to being a competitor, and these same traits are crucial to ensure that our beloved trails remain something to behold and enjoy.  I challenge each runner to be an example of pristine nature conservancy, for both your own conscience and the next person coming down the trail.

"The tendency nowadays to wander in wilderness is delightful to see. Thousands of tired,

nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains

is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are

useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life."

—JOHNMUIR, Our National Parks, 1901

Beau Beard, D.C.

Running surface debate

In this blog my goal is to take mainstream media publications on fitness, health and the body and give my professional opinion on the article.  At a time in history when our health is at the forefront of every conversation, whether it is the Affordable Healthcare Act, obesity/diabetes epidemics or the growing number of elderly individuals in the healthcare system.  All of the media attention on our "health" is fantastic, but the inundation of information leads to misleading and sometimes downright false claims.  I help to shed some light on various subjects that are in my wheel-house.

For future blogs I ask you to please comment on here or email me an article, website or anything you would like me to review!

This weeks blog looks at an article form Outside Magazine titled, "The Best Running Surface for Your Knees": is running on hard surface really bad for your knees?

Here is a link to the article
http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/fitness-coach/The-Best-Running-Surface-for-Your-Knees.html

Dr. Daniel Ferris a professor of movement science (where was that major in college?) at University of Michigan's School of Kinesiology.  Ferris states that even though the common thought is that grass and dirt will lead to decreased injuries, the data actually doesn't support this theory.

This article highlights a research paper released in 2008 by Foot and Ankle International, which revealed that running on asphalt vs. running on sand leads to the same amount of overuse and strain injuries.

Well here is where the wheels fall off this article.  It is not detailed whether this paper looked at proper footwear, previous injuries, level of runner, etc...  Also, comparing running on asphalt to running on sand is a completely erroneous side-by-side as anyone who has run on a loose sand beach can tell you.  David Hasselhoff made it look easy, but running on loose sand is a tough workout, but does not lead to normal running mechanics.

Personally, I suffered from medial tibial stress syndrome or shin splints for almost a year, until I started to incorporate proper mobilization drills, stretching and switching from pavement to trail running.  Once I hit the trails I never looked back, and I've NEVER suffered form shin splints again!  Is the trail the answer for everyone, well no, but I do think that it should make a up portion of every runner's regiment.

In this article Dr. Bob Adams, Chair of the USA Track and Field Sports Medicine and Science Committee states that "the ideal would be to run some of the pavement, some on the trail and some on the track".  I think this is a good plan, but not always possible depending on where you live and time constraints.

I really believe that with proper running technique and warm-up you should be able to run injury free, so long as you train smart, which means not increasing mileage to quickly, no cross-training, choosing the wrong footwear, proper nutrition and adequate rest.

For those of you who do suffer from MTSS (shin splints), here is the gold mobilization drill that I personally do pre and post run.

Now this mobilization is not a magic bullet, but being diligent with this and adding in ice massage, proper footwear, possibly some rest, cross training and maybe even compression and some kinesio tape is powerful combination for shin splints.

Until next week...

"A full time job is a sure-fire way to live a part-time life"

(I'll leave you with a random quote each week).