Today I headed back to my doctor following the MRI scan and he confirmed that there is a hairline crack in the shin bone and in probability I should not have even attempted City to Surf last weekend. In fact he shook his head in bewilderment when I told him about the run.
He confirmed that it has to do with the fact that I was greedy following my Comrades run and came back to heavy training way too soon. My queries about whether I could complete the Sydney Marathon in 5 weeks time was also met with amazement. Long story short he has suggested a the standard treatment for a stress fracture which is 6-7 weeks of no running.
Obviously this was not the result I was looking for and I was slightly down on things about this, but then thought about how lucky and blessed I am to have so much and so after having my whinge I contacted the Sydney Marathon and they are allowing anyone the chance to defer their entry right up until the day before the race. This is true customer service and restored my faith in race organisers.
I am also going to be out on the course volunteering as a second and helping out those who I can. For me this is something that I have done in the past (albeit not for a little while) and perhaps my injury is just telling me that it is a chance for me to put some more time and energy back into a sport that has given me so much.
I always thank the volunteers on the course at each aide station and also those at the start and finish, but I wonder how many will thank me come the marathon on 19 September.
The volunteer is the foundation cornerstone of our sport and many of them give so much time on far less glamourous courses than the Sydney Marathon. The true lovers of the sport are those out on the training routes at 5am and those that stand out in the rain and freezing cold during lengthy trail runs where there are no glitzy sponsors and runners are frequently only through each aide station at a rate of 1 every couple of hours.
Think about these facts during your next event.
Keep running – Sean Muller
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