[pct-l] Preparing for a Thru Hike

[Tom Holz]

> The injuries experienced by unprepared thru hikers seem to emulate
> those injuries experienced by unprepared marathon runners.Lots of
> marathon runners experience physical stress injuries as a result of
> pushing themselves too far, too fast.  And many of the significant
> injuries are related to bones/tendons and cartilage, which take
> longer to heal.

If you can't run/walk a marathon at a comfortable pace (not a 
competitive racing speed!) without repercussions, then I would argue you 
should take a look at the quality of your movement before you work on 
pure endurance and conditioning.

Inefficient or dysfunctional movement causes microtrauma at a greater 
rate that can lead to those hard-to-heal connective tissue injuries when 
you're stressing your body on a thruhike.

Chi running, pose running, or barefoot running are good concept to start 
with if you have never consciously worked on your gait before.

Bigfoot