Ready to Run Half Marathon Checklist

 LEARN. MOVE. RUN 

Runners are often sidelined by an injury seeming out of the blue, more often this is not the case. Strength, and your ability to move, is the most important factor in reducing your injury risk. The idea of movement screens in physical therapy and strength and conditioning are not new. Coaches and therapists alike will take athletes through a series of movements and score them based on how well the movement was performed. The team at The Runner’s Academy have been working on developing a Movement checklist that any athlete can self-administer. Many people start running before asking the question “Am I ready to run?” Depending on the speed, running can put 1.5-3x bodyweight through your joints. It seems reasonable that you should be able to perform a few bodyweight movements before you allow yourself to put yourself through the mileage and speed intervals!

We score these movements as Green, Yellow, or Red. Red means that the movement triggered pain or you were unable to complete the movement and we would advise you to get assessed by health professional. Yellow means you were able to complete the movement but were unable to meet all of the criteria in the checkmarks and an assessment would still be very beneficial. Green means you were able to complete the movement and meet all of the criteria in the checkmarks and you should be set to run. 

WALL ANGEL (W/ BREATH) 

1.  Neutral Spine (small space between low back and wall).
2.  Maintain contact with wall (back of head, forearms, shoulder blades, rib cage).
3.  Be able to breath into the lower rib cage/abdomen.
4.  Move up the wall into a ‘Y’ shape and back into the starting ‘W’ position.
5. Movement should not be painful 

 WALKING LUNGES 

1.   Ability to maintain an upright torso throughout the movement.
2.  Maintain balance.
3.  Knees are tracking properly; centered over third toe.
4.  Movement should not be painful 

 SINGLE LEG BALANCE 

1.  Balance for at least 30 secs each leg.
2. EYES CLOSED: at least 10 secs each leg 

 SINGLE LEG HOP

1.  Ability to get off the ground with jump.
2. Ability to maintain balance.
3.  Movement should not be painful 

SINGLE LEG HEEL RAISE 

1.  Ability to perform at least 15 calf raises on each leg.  Note: if need be, place hand gently on something to maintain balance.
2.  Movement should not be painful 

 SINGLE LEG SQUAT 

1.  Ability to maintain balance throughout the squat.
2.  Ability to maintain knee tracking/stability centered over foot.
3.  Movement should not be painful 

SQUAT 

1.   Ability to maintain a fairly upright neutral spine.
2.  Ability to maintain knee tracking/stability centered over feet.
3.  Ability to maintain balance.
4.  Ability to come up without weight shifting.
5.  Movement should not be painful 

 ANKLE MOBILITY ON WALL

1.  Ability to move the knee to the wall while tracking over third toe.
2.  Ability to keep pelvis square to the wall throughout movement.
3.  Movement should not be painful 

HALF KNEELING STEP UP 

1.   Ability to maintain an upright position throughout the movement (not pitching forward).
2.  Ability to maintain balance throughout the movement.
3.  Movement should not be painful 

FULL SIDE PLANK 

1.   Ability to hold plank for 45sec/side.
2.  Less than 5% difference for time held side to side.
3.  Ability to maintain neutral spine.
4.  Ability to breathe while holding plank.
5.  Position should not be painful 

SINGLE LEG GLUTE BRIDGE (HOLD) 

1.   Ability to maintain hips in elevated position for 10 secs.
2. Ability to maintain neutral level hips.
3.  Ability to maintain balance.
4.  Movement should not be painful 

Advanced – REVERSE PLANK

1. Ability to maintain a neutral spine.
2. Ability to hold for at least 15secs.
3. Position should not be painful