The Olympic marathon run

This is the final day of the Olympics and one of the last events is the marathon run of 26 miles.  This event brings together the 100 best marathon runners from all over the world.  The trio of runners from Kenya: Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, Abel Kirui and Emmanuel Mutai could sweep the marathon medals. The eventual marathon winner will be the runner most able to keep a constant speed throughout the race over the varied terrain.  The best marathon runners have a body type best suited for marathon running but more importantly, they can minimize their injury rate by proper training and recovery. Many recreational marathon runners develop many foot and lower leg injuries because of poor training methods, improper footwear and poor lower extremity biomechanics.  Structural problems occurring in the foot and lower leg can cause plantar fasciitis, shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, and ilio-tibial band syndrome.  If these problems occur should be addressed as soon as possible before the injury becomes chronic. Good luck to all the Olympic marathon runners.