228. Broken to Healthy: How Ultrarunner Connor Meakin Overcame Years of Injury
Release Date: 12/30/2021
Long Run Strategy, Balancing Intensity vs. Volume, Heavy Lifting, & More (Q&A with Jason)
The Strength Running Podcast
Listen in on a Team Strength Running coaching call, where Jason takes questions from the community about training, long runs, workout strategy, and more. To join one of these calls, . We discuss: Long run strategy ( with David Roche!) The value of lifting heavy weights () How to balance speed and mileage Thank you for listening and supporting the podcast! Thank You Lever! I'm excited to partner with - a bodyweight support system that helps you run further or faster with less effort and injury risk. You’ve probably seen pro runners using Lever...
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How to Learn From Any Injury (So You Stay Healthier) with Physiotherapist Brodie Sharpe
The Strength Running Podcast
Brodie Sharpe is a physiotherapist, the host of the , and author of . As a Physical therapist who specializes in endurance runners, Brodie Sharpe takes a holistic approach to . He helps runners learn how to correct mistakes and work with their bodies to get healthy. Brodie emphasizes the importance of looking at training as well as your lifestyle around it, since every aspect of what you do impacts how you feel and perform. This episode focuses on how to learn from a running injury: how to figure out what caused it the training changes needed to prevent it from recurring how to update...
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Isometrics vs. Strength vs. Plyos: What’s Missing in Your Strength Training with Dr. Matt Silver
The Strength Running Podcast
Dr. Matthew Silver is a physical therapist, author, and owner of Alpha Project Phyzio and Performance in Maryland. His book is now available. While he set his college’s 8k record and made the all-conference team, injuries prematurely ended Matt’s career, sparking his interest in physical therapy. In today’s conversation, we’re talking about the different types of strength training that exist, their benefits and drawbacks, and how to integrate them into your training. It’s important to recognize that not all strength training is the same. We’re going to discuss traditional...
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Atlantic CEO Nick Thompson on Master’s Training, Motivation, and Breakthroughs
The Strength Running Podcast
Nick Thompson has been running and racing for 35 years. He’s the 40-44 age group American record holder in the 50k with a 3:04 finish time (that’s 5:56 per mile for 31 miles), and was previously the world’s top ranked runner in his age group in the 50-mile. He's now the CEO of the Atlantic Magazine and his new book is now available: You'll hear: How Nick’s relationship with his father helped him get into running What drives him to compete today vs. 30 years ago His recommendations for passing along a love for running to your kids How his cancer diagnosis changed his relationship with...
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Movement, Strength, and Injuries: Dr. John Rusin on How to Run Pain-Free
The Strength Running Podcast
Dr. John Rusin is a physical therapist and trainer who's worked with nearly every professional sports league as well as Olympic athletes. His new book, , is now available. Our conversation focuses on movement, coordination, and building efficiency. We discuss: common mistakes in the weight room how to structure better strength workouts mindfulness and breathing a nervous-system oriented warm-down when to know if you’re putting in too much effort in the gym We should not consider strength training to be "cross-training" - it’s just part of the normal training process. Learn how to...
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How to Build Physiological Resilience in the Marathon with Coach John Davis, PhD
The Strength Running Podcast
John Davis holds a PhD in Biomechanics, coaches elite marathoners, and is the author of . His newest book is a masterclass on marathon preparation: . It includes new research on training theory, elite-level training plans, and guidance for every type of aspiring marathoner. Today, we discuss physiological resilience: How physiological resilience is like the 4th metric of performance How to build this skill safely Example workouts for beginner to advanced runners The role of "depletion workouts" in physiological resilience What actually causes the "marathon fade" at the end of 26.2 miles...
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Super Shoes & Form: How New Shoe Tech Alters Running Form with Chris Napier, PhD
The Strength Running Podcast
Chris Napier is the author of , a professor of physical therapy, practicing physiotherapist, 2:33 marathoner, and medal winner at the Canadian Track & Field Championships in 1996 and 1997. He is also a scientific advisor to , the world’s smartest running shoe (I'm also an advisor!). Today's focus is on super shoes and how they affect your running form: The specific form changes that happen due to high-stack foam and carbon plates Specific injury risks from super shoes How often Chris recommends wearing super shoes Training changes that while wearing super shoes Extra Resources: ...
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Cross-Training Masterclass: Coach Megan Flanagan on How to Add Other Sports to Your Running
The Strength Running Podcast
is a former collegiate athlete and writer for Outside Magazine, a certified running coach and personal trainer, and a Spartan Elite podium athlete. She has a bachelor’s in Psychology & Nutrition, a master’s in Public Health, and has finished four 100-mile races. Megan is a multi-faceted athlete and works with a variety of runners in her . In this conversation, we’re bringing our combined experiences with cross-training to you: how to add cross-training why you should add it what forms of exercise are best the types of exercise to avoid if you want to stay healthy when to...
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How to Build Fatigue Resistance with the Coach of Both UTMB Champs, Scott Johnston
The Strength Running Podcast
Scott Johnston is one of the top coaches in the world, especially in mountain and high alpine sports. He's worked with Killian Jornet and recently coached both winners of the most prestigious trail race on Earth, UTMB (Tom Evans & Ruth Croft). He's also author of one of my favorite training books, and founder of the coaching group. This conversation focuses on fatigue resistance: What is fatigue resistance? Local vs. global fatigue Top workouts to build fatigue resistance The role of the nervous system in fatigue Scott's wisdom has helped the best runners in the world reach...
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10x National Champ Sara Hall on the Secrets to Running Longevity for Decades
The Strength Running Podcast
Sara Hall has been competing at the highest level for nearly 30 years. She was the 2000 high school national cross country champion before earning 7-time All-America honors at Stanford University. Not only has she won 10 US National Championship titles, but she’s the only American to win national titles in both the mile and the marathon. Her incredible range is also demonstrated by her gold medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in the steeplechase, while also being the second fastest American female marathoner with a time of 2:20:32. She was previously on the podcast when I interviewed 5...
info_outlineRecovering from injuries is challenging when they keep you away from running for days or weeks. But injuries that linger for years require a special type of perspective and perseverance.
This week’s podcast guest received the kind of news you hope never to receive from a doctor - that you might never run again.
Connor Meakin had been an elite athlete long before he took up ultrarunning. He was a member of the Canadian Men’s National Field Hockey Team for four years before completing a road marathon. He quickly discovered his love for the mountains and trails and seemed to have found his calling, winning multiple races in 2014.
What began as a bad ankle sprain in 2014 quickly devolved into a much more serious injury. Connor tried to continue running and racing but the injury worsened and created new issues with his foot.
Soon, a radiologist told Connor he had one of the worst injuries he had ever seen. The doctor recommended he take up cycling and told him that he might never run again, especially in any sort of competitive fashion.
In the face of this grim news, most athletes would give up hope. But 5 years later, he's back to winning races!
Connor discusses a number of the strategies that did contribute to his recovery, including
- Facing the reality of the severity of his injury
- Finally resting
- Cross-training
- Gait retraining
- Digging into scientific research on rehabilitating injuries
- Physical therapy
Whether you’re struggling physically or mentally with an injury, or just trying to avoid them altogether, you’ll find something in Connor’s journey that you can relate to.
Links & Resources from the Show:
- Connect with Connor on Linked In
- Visit Connor’s business online
- Follow Connor on Instagram and on Facebook
- Prevent injuries that keep you sidelined from running
- Discover strategies for recovery and injury prevention from 9 elite athletes
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