Case study: a marathon runner

Case study April 2011

To establish whether a sport-specific yoga programme could help improve endurance in a marathon runner preparing for an event.

As part of the Yoga Sports ScienceTM (YSS) research programme, I undertook a 10-week case study in early 2011 with a marathon runner preparing for the Reading Half Marathon. The intervention included weekly sessions and work to incorporate into the athlete's training programmes, based on YSS running-specific techniques and approaches. Results were measured both quantitatively and qualitatively, and showed improvements in endurance, race times and post-race recovery in addition to reduced levels of fatigue and a greater sense of overall well-being:

An improvement of 5 minutes on the half-marathon race time
Aches and pains were reduced to almost nothing the day after the race
The athlete found the training schedule was achievable for the first time in 13 years of race running, can now train on more days consecutively and finds running "much more comfortable"

A full research report is available. To request a copy, contact me.