When Fluid Running founder, Jennifer Conroyd found out she had torn a calf muscle 6 weeks before the Chicago Marathon and wouldn’t be able to run, she didn’t accept that. She turned to the internet like many before her, and discovered deep water running. It wasn’t easy to do though. She found a coach that told her he would get her to the race, and not only did she get there, she was able to qualify for the Boston Marathon. This discovery led her to devote her life to making it easier for other to get the benefits of this amazing injury recovery workout.
Think her story was unique? It wasn’t, and we hear stories from our Fluid Runners all the time, but we also read about how athletes at the top of their game use deep water running to recover from an injury, and then go on to get amazing results. These are just a few of those stories.
Ben Hoffman – Unable to compete in the 2018 IRONMAN World Championships due to an injury, Ben Hoffman incorporated Fluid Running into his recovery plan in order to be able to compete in the April 7th IRONMAN South Africa.
Result: IRONMAN South Africa 2019 Championship Winner
Conseslus Kipruto – With just 5 months until the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships, Conseslus got a stress reaction in his talus bone, which called for two and a half months with no running. That didn’t stop him though. He and his training partners built a swimming pool in his backyard in Kenya, and he proceeded to run in that makeshift pool for 5 hours a day.
Result: 3,000 Meter Steeplechase World Champion
Tim O’Donnell – After breaking a foot, it looked like he might not be able to compete at Kona, but after learning about how other athletes, such as Sebastian Kienle used “aqua jogging” to recover, he incorporated it into his recovery and training.
Result: Fastest finish ever for an American at the IRONMAN World Championship
Sebastian Kienle – In 2014, Sebastian spent the last month before Kona training his run in the pool.
Result: 2014 IRONMAN World Champion
Lornah Kiplagat – This Kenyan-born long-distance athlete who competes for Holland, suffered a calf injury that knocked her out of the World Championships leading her to run almost entirely in a swimming pool during the two weeks before setting a world best time at the Dam Tot Damloop Open Ten Mile road race in The Netherlands.
Result: World Record
Larry Almsberg – In 1990, this 43 year old Vice Principal, broke the one-mile U.S. record for masters’ runners, with a time of 4:06.70. He has actually gotten faster with age, and attributes it to a diverse training program, including speed running in the water which he calls his linchpin, and believes this is why he’s been able to prevent injury.
Result: US Masters Record for One-mile
Mary Decker Slaney – After an injury, she performed deep-water interval training for a month. On her first day back on the track, she set an American record for the 2,000 meter.
Result: 2000 meter American Record
Joan Benoit – Had arthroscopic knee surgery a few months before the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, so turned to deep-water interval training.
Result: Olympic Gold Medal
Mary Beth Ellis – After a major injury at the IRONMAN in Cozumel 2013, Mary Beth replaced her running workouts with 4 weeks straight of water running, followed by a couple land runs.
Result: 70.3 Florida IRONMAN Champion, followed by a course record at the IRONMAN Nice
All of these athletes used pool running leading up to their often surprising result. Usually following some sort of injury. After seeing how well it works for injury recovery, these athletes would incorporate it into a part of their regular training going forward. Are you an elite athlete looking to take things to the next level and incorporate Fluid Running into your training? If so, contact us about our Fluid Running Elite Program.
