What does the perfect running form look like? The short answer is: it depends. All runners are not built the same. You will not look like or run like every training partner you have, or every individual you line up on the start line against, and you shouldn’t! We are all built differently.

Perhaps you’ve gotten away without strength training when you were younger, but as you got older you started to notice a few more creaks and cracks in your joints following a tough session. Whether we like to admit it to ourselves or not, our aging body’s ability to handle the same training loads as it did when we were 21 is not the same.

As much as we try to avoid it, injury at times is a part of the sport. There are the lucky few who can go throughout their careers relatively unscathed, while others seem to come upon a hurdle to clear more often than not. Whether it is your first injury or your 50th, the sting that comes with realizing you have to take a break never seems to lessen. Learning how to best approach a comeback that works for you is one of the most vital skills an athlete can have.