"Training principles for optimal performance and injury prevention in running are one and the same, regardless of race distance" notes Austin running coach and physiotherapist Allan Besselink. Over the past 3 weeks, his RunSmart program has provided the running community with two fine examples at both extremes of the running spectrum.

Update: Clinic notes can be downloaded here.

Allan Besselink will be presenting a clinic on “Training Principles for Optimal Performance And Injury Prevention” at the upcoming USA Track And Field SW Region Masters Championships. This event is being held at Memorial Stadium in Bastrop, TX (755 Hwy 21). The clinic will take place from 7:30 to 9:00 am, with free individual athlete and coach consultations from 9:00 to 11:00 am during the competition.

Further meet details can be found here.

Smart Sport athletes were very active in June, at race distances spanning 800 meters to 100 miles!

At the Ontario Masters Championships on June 5, Canadian team member Rita Quibell won the 800m and 1500m, and in the process broke a 23 year-old meet record in the 800m. Two weeks later, she won the 800m and 1500m at the Canadian Masters Championships. On her way to the win in the 1500m, her 5:17.97 broke a 22 year-old meet record. These events will prepare her for the World Masters Athletics Championships in Sacramento, California in July.

At the other end of the running spectrum, Josh Kennedy returned to California for his second attempt at the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. In 2002, he completed the event in 29:08. This year, his time was 23:09. For his efforts, he received the coveted "Silver Belt Buckle". Josh was featured in this article after the event concluded. There was one significant error in the article – Josh did in fact complete the 2002 event!

The fine performances continued in the world of triathlon. At the Sweetwater Sprint Triathlon, Scott Burris finished 11th overall (3rd in age group) with a time of 1:17:32. This year's Buffalo Springs Lake Half Ironman in Lubbock, Texas was a hot one, with temperatures over 105 degrees and winds over 30 mph. A convection oven might have been a better place to hold a race! But Burris finished BSLT in a time of 5:43:27 - a 31 minute personal best! Pete Carton made a triumphant return to the world of long distance triathlons with a fine 6:35:17. Greg Hogan of Lubbock, who has completed this event more than just about anyone on the planet, put in a 6:07:18 on one of the most difficult days, condition-wise, that he has experienced on the BSLT course.

Most of the country is gearing up for some great summer weather, but in the South, we are getting ready to ease off on the runs and amp up the triathlons. But regardless of the time of year, the RunSmart Level One clinics are still being offered. May 1 was the second offering this year in Austin. Physical therapists can now get 3.5 hours of CCU for attending this program.

Josh Kennedy made yet another appearance at the Strolling Jim 40 Mile Run. His time of 6:40:33.2 placed him 37th overall. A good day, indeed!

May was also the inaugural Ironman Texas in the Woodlands, and Smart Sport athletes put in fine performances on a very hot day in east Texas. Dorian and Freddy Ramirez of Corpus Christi, Texas completed their third Ironman. Dorian's time was 14:46:48, and Freddy's time was 16:07:49. As many will tell you, a day at Ironman can present many different scenarios, and a finish is always an incredible result. Congratulations to Dorian and Freddy for surviving a hot day in Texas!

Spring has arrived, and with it a number of performances by Smart Sport athletes.

Coach Besselink presented a transition clinic for the University of Texas Triathlon Club team members prior to their departure for USAT Collegiate Nationals in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Michaela Wright was the top UT female with a time of 3:00:54, and Chris Smith was the top UT male with a time of 2:21:31. The team finished 47th overall out of 80 in only their second team appearance at Nationals. Event photos can be found here.

In other triathlon news, Dorian Ramirez finished the hot and windy Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas in a time of 6:34:13. She finished 33rd in her age group.

Smart Sport athletes were also running through the hills of Arkansas and the streets of Austin. Josh Kennedy competed in the Ouachita Trail 50 Mile run. He finished an incredible 18th overall in a time of 10:24:57. This event was in preparation for Kennedy's assault on the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in June. Debbie Horne shattered her 5K personal best by running 24:44 at the Texas Round-Up. This was a 5:00 improvement!

There will be a RunSmart Level One Program (Principles) offered in Austin, Texas on Sunday, May 1 from 12:00 - 4:00 at South Congress Athletic Club.

This program has been approved by the Texas Physical Therapy Association for 3.5 Continuing Competency Units for physical therapists. The cost of the program is $95.00, and a copy of the book "RunSmart: A Comprehensive Approach To Injury-Free Running". Registration is online at http://runsmart.eventbrite.com. A copy of the book is included in your registration fee.

This is a transcript of a "Consumer's Guide To Health" episode on BlogTalkRadio (2/3/2009).

Competent Self Care is a term I have used for many years. It really is the future of health and health care in this country. Though we would like to believe that our current system is client-centered, it is not. We would like to believe that our medical system is the best in the world - but it's not. We spend 50 percent more on health care than any other country in the world, but we rank only 15th in preventable death, 24th in life expectancy, and 28th in infant mortality. Our current system emphasizes "prevention", and yet we still have an increasing rate of chronic medical conditions that will ultimately tap out our system. For example, the statistics would indicate that 57% of adults are overweight, with 1 in 4 having a body mass index of 30 - a level that is considered obese. As they say - if you do what you've done, you'll get what you've gotten - and look where were are right now.

Why is competent self care important? How about a few issues to ponder. The first would be cost. Chronic disease is going to bankrupt the medical system. When you have a generation of children that are the first to have a life expectancy shorter than their parents, you have to be concerned from not only a health perspective, but a fiscal one. This isn't just about universal health care - it's far beyond this. The second point is that yes, Dorothy, we're not in a passive medical system anymore. The information and research is out there. Many common chronic issues that are taxing our health care system have self-care focused approaches to care. In my world as a physical therapist, many if not most of the common running injuries can be dealt with effectively via self care strategies - no costly diagnostic assessments, no passive modalities, just good education and mentoring. And how about number 3: what we've BEEN doing isn't working. Much like the scene from the movie "Network", people need to stand at their windows and shout "I am fed up with this and I am not going to take it any longer". Competent self care involves a client-centered approach that is both science- and evidence-based and utilizes the latest knowledge that has evolved out of the medical and sports science research. As I truly believe, knowledge is, indeed, power. If only we'd use it.

Let's take a scenario that is all-too-common in our world. From the statistics I presented earlier, a great percentage of our population in the US are overweight. We know that this is a health risk. So let's assume that you are part of that population and decide that you need to change your lifestyle. Fabulous! The hard part is over … or is it?

You ponder the options for increasing your activity level. Maybe walking would be good? Or how about running? It only requires some running shoes and I have been doing it since I was one year old. Nothing new to learn. Get out the door and go.

Running is a popular activity. In 2006, there were 11 million runners in the US with a total of more than 100 runs per year. From 1986 to 2006, the number of road race finishers went up 187%, and marathons such as NYC have shown an 11% increase over the last five years! So I think that it's safe to look at running as a "typical recreational activity" in this country.

Now, the bad news. Various reports would indicate that there is a 30 to 79% injury rate among runners. A decade ago, Runner's World magazine reported that 60% of all runners will sustain an injury in any given year that will limit their training. These are not good numbers. Apparently something that is being done in training is working against a vast number of runners, not for them.

So now you're in the medical system … facing the woes that we find there. First of all, the provider may send you for some costly diagnostic tests - which in many cases, simply aren't supported in the literature as a first line of defense. Then you are faced with the over-utilization of services that are, at times, owned by the same people that are referring you to them. Then they might choose to not refer you to anyone - because rest and the pharmaceutical industry are the solution. Then if you do get to someone who might be able to help you, are their practice patterns, the "stuff" they use, actually clinically relevant or supported by any sort of good scientific evidence?

As I always say, the plural of anecdote is not data - and much of what we see clinically is just anecdote.

Now a problem that is in most cases simply the result of the body's inability to adapt at a rate that is consistent with the rate of application of stimuli … has become a huge medical fiasco. Too many services, too few providers utilizing any form of clinical guidelines, and an acute issue that now becomes a chronic one.

Many simply choose to quit the sport, to quit being active, stating that they were told that "maybe they weren't able to run". Many move forward with pain in the runs as what they consider "part of the deal of being a runner". And all of this is preventable. If only we become better consumers of our training, our fitness, our health.

This may sound like a harsh series of events, but welcome to my world. I see this on a daily basis, believe it or not. It makes me sick on a daily basis. Why? Because the long-forgotten aspect is that health and medicine are all about the patient.

"Despite spending 50 percent more on health care than any other country in the world, America ranks 15th in preventable death, 24th in life expectancy, and 28th in infant mortality." [Critical Condition....PBS documentary]

Join me on BlogTalkRadio on Tuesday July 6, 2010 at 8:00 pm central time for the latest episode of "Consumer's Guide To Health".The health care system is facing a number of problems. If it's not a question of cost, it's a question of quality. And if it's not a question of quality, it's a question of accessibility and of value. The future of health care will see not only an evolution towards competent self care, but it will also see innovative changes in how health care is delivered.

This episode's special guest is Dr. Sidney Robin, a family practice physician in Austin, Texas and owner of Austin Concierge Medicine.

The BlogTalkRadio call-in number is 646-929-1567. You can listen online at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/abesselink and also download this and previous episodes here as well.

Join us for the discussion!