Hi, this is Debbie Boyle's coach at Mojo for Running.

And this is podcast number 29, 10 tips for staying healthy and preventing injury.

Almost every runner I know, almost every runner I ever talk to, and that's a lot of runners, say the same thing.

They all want to get faster and or they want to build

endurance to run farther. I get that. But my top priority for them and for everyone I work with

is to keep them healthy and injury free because if they get injured and have to stop running,

they'll not achieve any of their goals,

at least not for a while. In fact, they may end up being a spectator at their goal race.

So in this podcast, I want to highlight 10 things everyone can do to stay healthy. As I go down

the list, I suggest that you keep a score sheet of how many of these things you do.

They're listed in random order. Number one, stretch. As we get older, we tend to get tighter.

And all runners, even very young runners, will discover their muscles tightening over time.

But fortunately, we have a weapon to reverse this tendency,

and that's stretching. You need to do two different types of stretching. Practice dynamic stretching

before you run. That's more of a loosening up movement, moving your body through its full

range of motion. It should feel good and easy, and there should be no

sense of discomfort. For guidance, check the show notes for this podcast on mojoforrunning.com,

and I'll have links to a couple of helpful videos. Several times a week, also, after a run,

or when you're thoroughly warmed up, from some other activity, practice static stretching.

Now, that's the more traditional type of stretching that you're usually more familiar with.

It doesn't have to be every day.

Several good stretching sessions a week will do the trick.

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