Bracknell Forest Runners

There are numerous articles to be found in running magazines and books, written by sports scientists, questioning the wisdom of stretching before running. Many of the studies on this subject were performed on large numbers of young service personal and young elite athletes, and the findings suggest that there may be no advantage in a pre-run stretching session; in fact some studies suggest that there may be disadvantages.

For many years at the BFR Wednesday track meetings the first part of the training sessions have included a series of stretches, and in the light of modern thinking it was felt that Linda and I should revue this policy. Our conclusion is that since the majority of club runners are not in the young athlete category some stretching is still desirable. However, there will be more emphasis on upper body stretching in the future, and to insure that muscles are fully warmed up the session will be preceded by a warm-up run, which preferably will be in a clock-wise direction to slightly offset the asymmetric stress imposed on the body by continuously running in an anticlockwise direction. The warm-up run would be in addition to any warm-up that would be run following the stretching session.

The majority of sports scientists and coaches do agree on three points, there must be a pre-run warm-up jog before a session, a cool-down jog or walk after a session, and there is considerable advantage in stretching after running. The latter requirement is difficult for us to include in our Wednesday training period, but the good news is that there is a consensus amongst the sports experts that post-running stretching does not have to be performed immediately after a session; in fact a good time for a stretch is after you have got home and had your shower.

Finally, there is a strong body of opinion in coaching circles at the moment that drills are worth including in a pre-run session, and strides during or after a session. We will certainly be including various drills with a range of stretches at the track; they must of course be performed on warmed up muscles. Drills are clearly exaggerated running movements that are good for keeping warm on a cold evening, but more importantly they can be used for strengthening the hip flexors, increasing the strength and flexibility of the quads, and improving coordination and stride rate among other advantages. Drills can also be used for increasing your lactate threshold (see my article 2), but since on a Wednesday evening we are preparing for an interval session we generally would not use them this way.

Source material:

Runners’ World,

the Competitive runners’ handbook,

the Official Flora London Marathon Website,

and the eduk:ate level1 coaching course material 2008 among other sources.