Injuries (Don't be a sissy)

A couple people lately have mentioned to me that they've gotten injured running in the woods.  And I've been with people running in the woods who have fallen and injured themselves.  It's even more likely on a mountain bike.  

Last September I raced in a 24hour mountain bike race with a couple old dudes.  I did the first lap (probably because they didn't want to run the LeMan's start).  I was unfamiliar with the course and we were all bunched up pretty good, so there was a lot of pressure not to bobble and to keep my speed up through the really, really rocky sections.  (And I ride a hard-tail.)  Well, my handlebar caught a tree and I flew off the other side and the top of my head crashed straight into another tree.  My neck still hurts.

I'm familiar with off-road injuries.  But here's what I do to make sure things don't go too bad.

Wear a helmet when you ride.  Always. 

If you get blisters when you run, something is wrong.  Your shoes might be wrong; your socks might be wrong; or if all else fails, put duct tape on your feet where you usually get blisters as a prevention.

You are going to turn your ankles when you run in the woods.  It's ok.  Try not to SPRAIN your ankles.  Run light.  Keep your eyes on the ground.  But the more you run off-road, the stronger your ankles and other joints will get, and you'll roll your ankles less and less.

Don't fall down.  And when you do fall down, fall somewhere soft, like in the grass.  But when you fall on rocks, try to roll.  Or do what I do and put your hands out and fly like superman.  It's better not to fall.  And watch out for trees.

But again, probably the more you fall, the stronger your body will get and falling won't feel so bad.

There's poison ivy, but I'm not allergic to it.  I'd recommend figuring out what it looks like and staying away from it.

Thorns will puncture your skin and things will scrape you and some places you might get cactus needles stuck in your legs.  Don't touch cactus.  There's no cactus at Turkey Mountain (that I know of), so you won't have to worry about that during the race.

You probably won't get over-use injuries like you do when you run on the road.  Running in the woods is a lot softer (dirt), so it's easier on your joints and muscles.  And running on off-cambered trails and up and down hills strengthens your body in ways that flat road running won't.  

You could get bitten by a snake or squirrel or trampled by a deer.  Or scared by a tarantula and have a heart attack.  Keep your eyes on the trail in front of you.  Plan your foot-falls.  Don't step on snakes.  (They often lay across the trail, sometimes next to downed trees, so be aware when you jump over a log.)  The pretty snakes are the poisonous ones.  Look but don't touch.  And whatever you do, never EVER pick up a squirrel.

If you break a bone, you should probably go see a doctor.  If you just get a little scraped and bruised and dirty, don't worry about it; happens all the time.

My best recommendation is to keep going out there.  The more you ride technical terrain, the better you'll get at it and you'll either fall less or you'll keep going faster and faster and fall just the same amount.  The more you run trails, the stronger your body will get and it will feel more natural.  Turkey is a very technical (rocks and roots) place to ride, so if you're not training at Turkey, I hope you're training somewhere that gives you technical practice.

Brad Messner, EMSA Paramedic and SFC Army Medic, will be at the race to treat any and all injuries.