Author: Ray Zahab, November 27, 2006
 It's almost a guarantee that at sometime in their training/racing career, adventure and endurance racers will suffer from at least one overuse injury. These can vary in pain and severity, but the one thing that's for sure is that it will affect your performance, leading to lost training time and possibly missed races - yikes! You can lower your risk significantly of getting an overuse injury by training smart, increasing mileage slowly, and incorporating strength and core stability exercises into your training regimen. Not only will you help to avoid overuse injuries, but by training your core stabilizers (rectus ,transverse, obliques, etc) you will notice an increase in strength, stability, and overall performance.
Running is a great example of a sport that benefits tremendously from core and strength training. By training your core muscles, your 'power center' is greatly increased (remember-you run FROM your core). Your increased rotational, pelvic and lower back strength (and flexibility) helps to make each stride more 'efficient' and 'powerful'. The same strength and core exercises will help to promote a healthier and stronger 'core balance'. That is to say, that by training specific muscle groups such as your core, you will help to eliminate strength imbalances that can lead to low back pain or injury, sore hips, knees, etc. Both adventure racing and ultra running are examples of activity that involve use of your core group of muscles. The constant change in terrain, pace and unstable footing require that you use your core muscles to stay upright and moving forward with good running technique! The biggest factor leading to injury in a race such as an ultra is the fact that all of your gear is on your back in a rucksack.
A weak abdominal area will no doubt eventually lead to a sore low back after logging the miles on your feet with a full pack. Training the functional core muscles such as your transversal abdominals will help to 'support' your lower back and avoid injury. There are unlimited resources available to you to help design a program that will meet your needs. An exercise ball combined with the correct program including weight training and stretching are all that you need! All of the athletes I train, whether they are runners or pro hockey players or re-hab patients have experienced marked improvements in their personal best performances and condition.
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