Nedbank Running Club

Train smart: your guide to peak performance

Joining the Nedbank Running Club connects you to a supportive community of runners across South Africa. With access to group runs, supplementary coaching options, and race-day perks, we’re here to help you stay motivated, improve at your own pace, and enjoy every step of your running journey—whether you’re starting out or chasing new personal goals.

Why does calf strain occur?

As you are running, you feel a tightness in your leg. You think ‘I maybe just haven’t warmed up enough, it will loosen as I go’. You feel a twinge at that back of your leg.

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Steps for Runners to Return After Injury, Illness, or Fatigue

Every runner must deal with setbacks that interrupt their training. Use these three steps from coach John Hampshire to help you get back on track and enjoying your running. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about running is trying to re-establish old form, get over setbacks such as injury or illness, or worse still chronic problems such as long term or repetitive fatigue or injury.

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How to Treat and Prevent Heel Pain

I first saw a patient for heel pain. He had developed the pain two years ago and despite seeing other doctors, he had not had any improvement. His running had suffered considerably. He used to compete in half-marathons throughout the year, but he was no longer able to run because of the pain. He insisted that he had done all the treatments available but seemed hesitant to try a more aggressive approach.

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Coping With Running Injuries - Good Grief

Injuries can be devastating. Here's how to cope with emotions so you can heal faster.

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Patella and Kneecap Pain

Chondromalacia, or runner's knee, is a condition where the articular cartilage, located underneath the kneecap (patella), starts to soften and break down. This cartilage is usually smooth and allows the knee joint to move freely as the knee bends. However, as chondromalacia worsens, the cartilage breaks down, causing irregularities and roughness on the under surface of the patella, which leads to irritation and pain underneath the patella, or kneecap.

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Ice, Heat or Both?

Our patients often ask us whether they should use ice or heat for their particular conditions

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Steering clear of Achilles tendon injuries while running

It is estimated that over 250,000 people suffer Achilles tendon injuries during sports, making it one of the most common sporting injuries. Achilles problems often tend to persistently nag runners for some time after they are first gotten, and so they are something that are best avoided. The pivotal location of the Achilles tendon also means a niggle here can act as a warning system to watch how you're treating your body in general. Here are some tips for prevention and treatment

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Ankle Strain or Sprain

Strains and sprains (say that 10 times fast) are usually the most common reason your ankles hurt when running. An ankle strain happens when a muscle or tendon is overstretched, whereas an ankle sprain is the same injury that affects a ligament. While many other typical reasons for ankle pain stem from overuse, ankle sprains and strains are often caused by a single traumatic injury.

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Common running injuries - buttock pain

Hamstring origin problem is commonly caused by accidental over-training, on the introduction of racing or intense training, or running on slippery surfaces. Spinal problems, tight muscles (particularly in the buttock and hamstring) and nerve related problems can all be contributory factors.

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A pain in the side (stitch)

When Haile Gebrselassie dropped out of the 2007 London Marathon, no one was more shocked than the man himself. But why should an athlete of his ability and experience be struck down by something as mundane as a side ‘stitch’?

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Why you have heel pain from running

At heel strike, heel pain occurs because plantar pressure and maximum forces are exceedingly high at the heel. In most cases, plantar fasciitis is usually the main cause of the heel pain, but when conservative interventions fail, experts believe compression of the calcaneal nerve could be the culprit.

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Runner’s knees

Runner’s knees, also known as patella-femoral pain, is a condition which is common in long distance runners and refers to the erosion of cartilage beneath the kneecap. Eventually, the cartilage becomes so thin that the kneecap does not move over the cartilage smoothly; this often results in a cracking noise.

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Achilles tendonitis

Achilles tendonitis is an inflammation of the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscle to the heel bone.

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Injury to the Spine

Injury to the spine is among the top 10 running injuries.1 Both the spine's vertebrae and intervertebral discs experience extra pressure each time a runner's foot impacts ground. This pounding can exacerbate an existing or developing back problem. Examples of these problems include herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, and vertebral stress fractures.

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Extensor Tendonitis

Extensor tendons are in your hands and feet. The extensor tendons in your hands help you move your fingers, thumbs, and wrists. The extensor tendons in your feet attach the muscles at the front of your legs to the toes and run across the top of your feet with very little padding to protect them from a variety of injuries. These tendons have an important job and are in vulnerable locations.

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Strengthening beats stretching when it comes to this common running injury

They call it the “other” runner’s knee injury. Iliotibial band syndrome was the topic of a special session at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine earlier this month, and for good reason

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Injured? Again?? Here’s why… And how to stop it happening again.

For the most part, injuries don’t just happen “out of the blue”– unless we’re referring to a freak accident – such as falling off your mountain bike or twisting your ankle in a trail-run. Your diet, your training programme and your lifestyle all have a major impact on whether you get injured or not.

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Preventing Running Injuries

While it's impossible to completely be injury-free, there are some things you can pay attention to in order to minimize the chances of getting injured.

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Calf stretch

The calf muscle cramps easily if not properly stretched. Under stretching or not stretching the calf muscle can also put it at high risk for strain and other injury.

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Is It Harmful to Heel Strike When Running?

Even though 95 percent of runners instinctively strike the ground with their heels, there is a growing trend among running experts to have lifelong heel strikers convert to a more forward contact point.

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A rough guide to the common injuries we see

Injury: Spinal Compression Cause: The axial(vertical) compression that occurs whilst running has been found to have a small impact on the intervertebral disc height. Whilst this is minimal combined with other pathologies it can lead to pain.

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6 common overuse running injuries and how to fix them

Running, when done properly, is one of the most physically beneficial activities we can do. Running builds cardiovascular fitness and improves overall muscle strength — not to mention the euphoria or "runner's high" that accompanies a good run. While running has many health benefits, it does subject the musculoskeletal system to a unique level of stress.

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Blisters

Surely every runner ever has had a blister? They can range from a barely noticeable bubble to a toe that looks like an angry cherry tomato! At their worst they can make running an uncomfortable nightmare or stop you altogether. So, what can you do about them?

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5 things you need to know about ankle injuries

From risk factors to taping, here's the lowdown on running ankle injuries. Ankles are easily neglected until something goes wrong with them, such as a sprain while trail running or a persistent ache after a race. We spoke to Ant Brightwell, physiotherapist at Ten Health & Fitness, to uncover the most important things runners need to know about their ankle health to avoid risking time on the side-lines.

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Patellar Tendonitis and Running: Symptoms, Causes and Research-Backed Treatment Options

It’s that lower knee pain when running. That old wife’s tale echoes through your mind, “running is bad for your knees”, but you know this sharp pain in below your kneecap is not because running is bad for us, but just because something is wrong.

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How to Heal, Protect, and Strengthen a Strained Calf Muscle

Pulled calf muscle A pulled calf muscle refers to strains within the two muscles in the lower back of your leg that make up your calf. They’re called the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. When a strain occurs, muscle fibres are torn to some degree.

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Training

Train smart: your guide to peak performance