Fix Running Injuries: Why Your Head & Feet Matter More Than Your Legs | Helen Hall

Fix Running Injuries: Why Your Head & Feet Matter More Than Your Legs | Helen Hall

What if the pain in your knee, your Achilles or your foot has almost nothing to do with the spot that hurts? In this episode of The Aerobic Edge, I sit down with movement specialist Helen Hall — the person runners often turn to as a last resort, after they've tried everything and been told they might never run again. Using one of the most advanced motion analysis systems in the world (affectionately known as Doris), Helen has spent decades uncovering why repetitive injuries keep coming back. Her core message is deceptively simple: most injuries below the waist have their root cause above the waist — in your head and shoulders — or in your feet. Pain shows up where your body works hardest, but that's rarely where the problem actually begins. We start with the head. Helen walks through what a forward-leaning head really does to your body: at 15 degrees it effectively weighs around 12 kilos, at 30 degrees roughly 18, at 45 degrees about 22. That's not a strength problem — as Helen puts it, there isn't a weak sinew in your body. It's a massive energy leak, and your hardest-working joints pay the price. From there we get practical: how to use nothing more than your phone to see your own posture honestly, her wall exercise for finding true upright (which I try live on the recording), and why "upright and at ease" feels like leaning back to almost everyone. Then one of my favourite parts: the arm swing. Helen invented a cue she calls the lemme — a figure-of-eight, the sideways infinity symbol. She shows the difference between pumping your elbows (which roots you to the spot) and rolling the shoulder girdle in that figure-of-eight (which sends you forward, opens your stride and makes you lighter on your feet). We also cover walk-run strategy — including a runner in her sixties who ran a 4:19 marathon off almost no training — and go deep on feet: Morton's neuroma, numb toes, and a remarkably simple foot-wiping habit that helped one barefoot marathoner drop from 5.5 hours to 5 hours with no other training. A quick note: Helen demonstrates several of these exercises on camera. If you're listening to the audio, you'll be missing those visuals — so for the movements, I'd recommend watching the video version on YouTube. What you'll learn: Why pain below the waist usually starts above it What a forward head really costs you — energy leak, not weakness How to check your posture with just your phone The wall exercise for finding true upright The lemme: how a figure-of-eight arm swing opens your stride Why walk-run can make you faster, not slower How to wake up "asleep" feet with a simple daily habit About Helen Hall: Movement specialist and author. Her second book, The Smooth Runner: 20 Ways to More Speed for Less Effort, is on the way. Find Helen: Website: helen-hall.co.uk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenhallpfm/ Connect with Pace Buddies / The Aerobic Edge: Website: pacebuddies.com Book a free call: cal.eu/pacebuddies/freecall If you enjoyed this, follow The Aerobic Edge and share it with a runner who keeps fighting the same injury.

The Strength Work That Makes You a Better Runner | Erin Carson

Erin Carson: Mobility, Strength & Moving Better for Life | The Aerobic Edge What does it really take to stay strong, mobile, and injury-free as a runner — not just for your next race, but for the rest of your life? In this episode I sit down with Erin Carson, strength coach behind some of the best endurance athletes in the world, including ultra-running GOAT Courtney Dauwalter. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Erin has built a unique niche at the intersection of strength, mobility, and endurance performance. Her approach is refreshingly holistic: it's never just about muscle, but about the nervous system, fascia, posture, and even mood and freedom of movement. We start with Erin's journey from Division One basketball in Canada to becoming a sought-after strength coach in the endurance world, and why her background shaped a "train the person for what they actually want to do" philosophy. From there we get into the practical stuff every runner and triathlete can use: * Why a strength coach is so focused on mobility — and why mobility is not the same as flexibility * The three key areas of mobility that anchor everything: ankles, hips, and the thoracic spine (and how a knee problem often starts somewhere else entirely) * A simple at-home self-test for your pelvis and hamstrings, and why "tight hamstrings" usually aren't the real problem * Why most running injuries happen on the landing — not the push-off — and why this gets worse running downhill * What "training age" means, and where beginners should actually start with strength work * Why you should evaluate your strength program by how you run, not how you compare to everyone else in the gym * How to train effectively at home with minimal equipment — adjustable dumbbells, bands, and a stability ball * Why understanding the "why" behind each exercise matters more than mindlessly following a list * Staying strong in the final third of a race, when posture and form start to break down * Strength, mobility, and quality of life as we age — and why your daily choices today shape your final decade Whether you're training for your first marathon or chasing a personal best, this conversation will change how you think about strength and movement — on the road and in everyday life. 🔗 Find Erin Carson: Website: ecfitstrength.com YouTube: Mobility Monday — new every Monday Instagram: ecfit_strength 🎧 The Aerobic Edge Podcast Hosted by Joost Dekker, founder of Pace Buddies. Helping recreational runners train smarter through aerobic development, movement quality, and injury prevention. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a running friend who could use it. Got a question or topic you'd like covered? Reach out — I'd love to hear from you. PaceBuddies.com

The Science of Running Endurance: How Your Body Really Works, with Prof. Paul Laursen

In this episode I sit down with Professor Paul Laursen — sport scientist, co-author of Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training, and co-founder of Athletica — to break down the science of endurance in plain language. From mitochondria and fat-burning to HIIT, the neuromuscular system, nutrition, recovery and HRV, we turn the biology of running into practical tools to help you train smarter, recover better, and avoid the classic pitfalls. ABOUT PAUL LAURSEN A sport physiologist from British Columbia, Canada, with a career spanning the Australian Institute of Sport and the New Zealand Olympic program, where he led physiology across two Olympic cycles. He's best known for his work on high-intensity interval training, co-authored the leading textbook on the subject, is co-writing the fifth edition of Lore of Running with Tim Noakes, and co-founded the AI training platform Athletica. WHAT WE COVER * How muscles create movement and turn food into energy * Mitochondria: why endurance training grows them, and why fat is the clean fuel * The heart as a muscle — stroke volume and why running starts to feel easier * Why "no pain, no gain" is the number-one endurance mistake * Consistency over heroics: the most important session is the next one * Building the aerobic base first (Paul's fat-burning study with Stephen Seiler) * MAF and low-heart-rate training, with a nod to Phil Maffetone * Nutrition as a lever: insulin, whole foods, and the simple PFC rule * When to add HIIT, and how it recruits fast-twitch fibres * The neuromuscular system and Dr. Marius Bakken's Norwegian Method * What adaptation is and when it happens: sleep, recovery and nutrition * Reading your body's data: wearables, RPE, feel and HRV * Understanding HRV: 7-day vs 60-day averages and overtraining risk KEY TAKEAWAYS * Fat is your clean fuel — aerobic training teaches your body to burn it efficiently * Patience beats punishment — build the base before adding intensity * Recovery is training — prioritise sleep, then whole-food nutrition * Listen to the trend, not the day — use HRV to adjust before stress builds LINKS Paul Laursen: https://www.paullaursen.com [https://www.paullaursen.com] HIIT Science: https://www.hiitscience.com [https://www.hiitscience.com]Athletica: https://www.athletica.ai [https://www.athletica.ai] MENTIONED Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training — Laursen & Buchheit Lore of Running (5th edition, with Tim Noakes) The Norwegian Method Applied — Dr. Marius Bakken PACE BUDDIES Website: https://pacebuddies.com [https://pacebuddies.com] Book a free call: https://cal.eu/pacebuddies/freecall [https://cal.eu/pacebuddies/freecall] Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Aerobic Edge and leave a review — it helps more runners find the show.

The Sub-3 Marathon: The Complete Training System — with John Starrett

In this episode of The Aerobic Edge, coach John Starrett ("The Stable Master") returns for a deep dive into the sub-3 marathon — a magical barrier for many runners. Since 2017, John has coached a staggering 962 runners to sub-3 and 274 to sub-2:30, all online. We unpack what it actually takes to break that barrier and what your training needs to look like to get there. John explains why his approach centers on temporal flow — his own term for fatigue resistance — and why the old story about lactic acid and H ions is outdated. Lactate isn't the enemy but fuel; the skill lies in shuttling and reusing it. We work through his complete system, from pre-super base to the marathon block, and he shares the exact key sessions that reveal whether your sub-3 fitness is right where it needs to be. He also speaks candidly about his own comeback: after five or six years away from running, he's starting from the bottom again with run-walk intervals, with Joost as his coach. An honest look at consistency, progression, and structure — the pillars of his philosophy. In this episode: * Why 962 runners hit sub-3: system over isolated workouts * Temporal flow & fatigue resistance: the science beyond lactic acid and H ions * The key sessions 3-5 weeks out (16/18 miles at marathon pace) that tell you if it's "on" * Why John aims for 2:55 fitness to buffer against heat and conditions * Race tactics: stay slightly off pace until 32K, then make your move in the final 10K * Bridge training: the difference between a sub-4 and a sub-3 runner * Disguised marathon pace: endurance spine runs vs. structural runs (80' & 90' tempos) * Lactate tickles & blend workouts: safely touching 5K/10K pace without injury * A look at his Olympic athlete (18 miles at 5:10/mile) and what it reveals about the system * John's own comeback: from zero to pre-super base via run-walk About John Starrett: online marathon coach with a track record in sub-3 and sub-2:30, known for his emphasis on consistency, progression, and structure over "old school" hard training and exhausting VO2max sessions.

Run Free: The Nervous System Approach to Injury-Free Running — with Lawrence van Lingen

Lawrence van Lingen is a sports chiropractor and movement specialist. Described by Triathlete Magazine as the genius of running, he has over 25 years of experience working with world-class athletes including Jan Frodeno, Taylor Knibb, and Flora Duffy.In this episode we talk about why most running injuries keep coming back, what fascia actually is and why it matters, and how your nervous system shapes the way you move. We cover head position, screens and posture, backward walking, the flow rope, skipping, crawling patterns — and why running should feel like freedom, not a checklist of cues.This is one of those conversations that flows naturally between two people who genuinely geek out on the same things — it goes deep and wide, Lawrence thinks out loud, makes connections you don't expect, and follows the thread wherever it leads. I loved every minute of it.What we cover:* Why injury patterns are so hard to break — and the nervous system's role* What fascia is and why it's been overlooked for so long* Why running injury rates haven't improved in 40 years* Screens, posture, and the modern movement crisis* Head position and why it changes everything downstream* The flow rope — what it does and how Lawrence discovered it with Jan Frodeno* Crawling patterns — the foundation before everything else* Backward walking — why Jan Frodeno used it and how to do it* Skipping and the happy hip hack* Why running should be felt, not thoughtLawrence's exercises — watch before you listen:* Crawling patterns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6X_jt62zc0* Flow rope: https://youtu.be/5QqiDMrMSzs?si=8zQCkiZ6HmIdeAIq* Backward walking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNcwOix9Uac* Breath: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQQKLLak0bU* Head posture / Ball on Head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKEXzZSReqsLinks & resources:* Lawrence van Lingen: http://lawrencevanlingen.com* YouTube: Lawrence van Lingen* Instagram: @lawrencevanlingen* Book a free 30-minute coaching call with Joost: https://www.cal.eu/pacebuddies/freecall* Pace Buddies: http://pacebuddies.com