Gold Coast Airport Marathon Training & Images

The Gold Coast airport marathon in 2009 proved to be a well organised, successful
event for all involved. Drawing in professional runners from overseas and first timers alike, I thought it was one of the best overall events run in near perfect conditions on the Northern aspect of the Gold Coast, first weekend of July. It was great to meet families coming from afar and running the event together. The under 12's running the 10km, the teenagers taking on their first half marathon and the parents in the full marathon.






Being a short course runner and involved more in team sports, 2009 was the first time I had run the 21km half marathon. With only 5 weeks of good training I realistically aimed for a sub 2 hour time. Feeling pretty well prepared and running well within limits, the final time was 1 hour 53minutes. With more training this year (and a stronger ankle thanks to some rehab work) I will be going for around 1 hour 40min in 2010.

Remedial Massage For Active People

How Remedial Massage Can Help Runners and Active People

Remedial Massage is able to fix the inevitable injuries and imbalances that all active people will encounter at some stage. Most professional athletes recognize they must give back to their bodies through massage to balance how much they demand from them. Even sports massage falls within the holistic therapy bracket - a 1 hour treatment will aid multiple body systems, treat the injury and generally aid recovery post event. Regular treatments will enable changes that achieve balance, improve bio-mechanics and even enhance performance from range of motion (ROM).

Contra-Indications of Massage

Most active people and runners will be aware of the benefits of remedial massage and other soft tissue therapies. But when is massage not suitable to use? This is important for everyone to know and worth going over again now. Massage is contra-indicated when :-

• The injury is acute and shows any swelling or inflammation
• Excessive bruising or visible tissue damage under the skin (ruptures)
• Broken bones or torn tissue causing pain and inflammation
• Any cases of bad infections
• Any condition causing swelling such as bursitis or rheumatoid arthritis.
• And never massage on the BONE or any other hard LUMP you are not sure of. Seek a professional opinion whenever you are unsure.

By adhering to the contra-indications and learning some remedial techniques, most athletes will be able to reduce injury time and prevent problems. The best time to treat injuries is when they are not acute - this is a very important point. When I treat an athlete in clinic, I will usually suggest some applications of soft tissue techniques for them to do between visits. Some of these will be discussed throughout this blog and please feel free to post your results and queries.