On Ask Coach Parry today we have another Comrades Marathon Question. This one comes in from Ross. He says he is quite a seasoned runner. He’s completed 10 Comrades Marathon's. He got his green number in 2012.

He didn’t enter in 2013 and pulled out for the first time in 2014 at 76 km.  His training was going quite well until a month ago, when he injured his left heel somehow.  He said he’s seen the doctor, he got x-rays, there’s nothing broken, but there was some inflammation present.

He could barely walk for the first week or two after it happened.  He’s been using ice water and Arnica Winter Green to treat it, but he’s still limping at times, and unable to recommence his running as of yet.  He took his dog for a short run to the park a week ago and was feeling okay, but the next day it played up again.

Do you think he’s still got a chance to catch up on the training and enter the Comrades Marathon 2015?  It’s only just less than a month to go until entries close, and he can’t put too much pressure on his left foot yet, or is he rapidly becoming a couch potato.  He’d appreciate some feedback.

Brad Brown: On Ask Coach Parry today we have another Comrades Marathon Question. This one comes in from Ross. He says he is quite a seasoned runner. He’s completed 10 Comrades Marathon's. He got his green number in 2012.

He didn’t enter in 2013 and pulled out for the first time in 2014 at 76 km.  His training was going quite well until a month ago, when he injured his left heel somehow.  He said he’s seen the doctor, he got x-rays, there’s nothing broken, but there was some inflammation present.

He could barely walk for the first week or two after it happened.  He’s been using ice water and Arnica Winter Green to treat it, but he’s still limping at times, and unable to recommence his running as of yet.  He took his dog for a short run to the park a week ago and was feeling okay, but the next day it played up again.

Do you think he’s still got a chance to catch up on the training and enter the Comrades Marathon 2015?  It’s only just less than a month to go until entries close, and he can’t put too much pressure on his left foot yet, or is he rapidly becoming a couch potato.  He’d appreciate some feedback.

Bothered By Injury Setbacks

LINDSEY PARRY:  Yes, he definitely has time, and it’s mostly because he has the level of experience, and he has finished the Comrades Marathon in the past.  So he needs to get his heel sorted out.  Now he’s got one of two things.

He’s either got some bony bruising, or he has bruising of the actual fatty pad in his heel. Now that will take between 6 and 12 weeks to heal, and because of where it is, it’s probably closer to 12 weeks before it is completely healed.

So he needs to be patient, and in his position what I would do is get into a gym and he can go on the stepper, he can go onto the elliptical, he could do stationary cycling, but he needs to get the weight off that heel.

And whether it’s the bony bruising or the fatty pad bruising, it doesn’t really matter which two of those it is, it does take a bit of time for those injuries to heal. And to keep himself in a reasonable state of fitness and then just build himself up slowly once he can start running again. There is definitely plenty of time for him to be able to finish the Comrades Marathon 2015.