News from the Field

Plantar Fasciitis

What is it?         

Plantar fasciitis is the most common injury occurring at the hind foot.  An irritation and swelling of the fascia on the plantar aspect of the foot.   Pain generally located at the posterior and medial aspect of heel.

Causes

• Plantar fasciitis can be found in both rigid and hyper mobile feet.
• With excessive pronation the plantar fascia is overstretched as the medial longitudinal arch collapses.
• In a rigid foot, the calf muscles might be tight, limiting the dorsiflexion and putting more strain on the fascia as the foot moves into toe off.
• Other contributors are obesity, sudden weight gain, shoes with poor cushioning or support, occupations with prolonged standing/walking and a sudden increase in activity intensity, time or type.

Symptoms

• Burning pain at the attachment of the plantar fascia on the heel.  Pain is usually worse in the morning and with push off. 
• May develop into a heel spur if chronic.

How can Fleet Feet Sports help?

• Visit your local Fleet Feet Sports where the staff will educate you on products to reduce the pain of the symptoms and help to treat the cause.
• Superfeet - Athletic and Dress insoles for arch support
• Supportive footwear
• Strassburg Sock
• Trigger Point - Losen the muscles that connect your calf to your achilies tendon
• Runner's Remedy - Ice and Compression

www.lakenormancitizen.com

Final
thoughts
by~ John Deem

Bernadette Cooper decided not to wear her wedding ring Saturday morning.  Though she and her husband separated months ago, Cooper had continued to wear the band. But Saturday, as Cooper got ready to run the Huntersville Half Marathon, she left the ring behind. The band had been loose on her finger, and she didn’t want it to fall off while she was running.
Saturday's race wasn’t Cooper’s first halfmarathon, but it turned out to be an unforgettable one, an exclamation mark on what has been one of the most difficult of Cooper’s 42 years.  She first put the ring on her finger on Oct. 10, 2010 — her wedding day. “Things started falling apart soon after that,” she says. Cooper soon discovered a side of her new husband she hadn’t experienced during their courtship. She quickly learned — the hard way — that he was bipolar and verbally abusive.  Cooper, her now-13-year-old daughter, Savannah, and her new husband moved from Virginia to Huntersville in July. The move was stressful enough, but her husband’s behavior soon complicated Cooper’s
life even more. “The day that his behavior escalated from verbal abuse to physical abuse, I was done,” Cooper says. “There was no turning back for me, especially since I have a daughter to raise. He didn’t seem at all remorseful over his actions and I’m not the type of woman to stand around for something like that.”  Her husband’s work had brought them to Huntersville, so now Cooper found herself in a new place, with no job and a teenaged daughter to raise. Just a couple days after moving here, Cooper wandered into Fleet Feet Sports, the running specialty store in Birkdale Village.
She soon enrolled in Fleet Feet’s 10K (6.2-mile) training program and, after completing that, signed up for the store’s half-marathon (13.1-mile) program.  Saturday’s Huntersville Half Marathon was the culmination of Fleet Feet’s half-marathon program.  For Cooper, though, the run was a baptism of empowerment.  Though she’d been a runner for years, Cooper hadn’t been running much before moving here, so she wasn’t sure what to expect Saturday.  What she got, she says, was “an emotionally charged run.” As she ran, Cooper felt the curses of the past year loosen their talons. The doubts that had dogged her now escaped as surely as the sweat that beaded on her face before evaporating into the cold morning air.  The Old Testament words of Isaiah played on a loop in her brain. ... those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  “With each passing mile, I just starting getting more emotional,” Cooper says. “I am doing this. I AM DOING THIS.”  But the “this” Cooper was doing was more than running, and the real contest extended beyond 13.1 miles.  “I was conquering some real demons out there,” she says. “I found out I’m tougher than even I thought I was.” 

Choices
As Cooper approached the final miles Saturday, her Fleet Feet coach, Christina Eicher, ran with her.  “When we were running the last
few miles of the race, we were talking about how much she has been through this past year and how great she felt to have worked the
program and now run the race,” Eicher says. “Throughout the whole process, I was inspired by her because no matter what people say, you have choices. When life challenges you, you have a choice to do something positive or you have a choice to give up and complain about how unfair things can be. She is a great example of someone living life through the good and the bad, and having an infectious, positive attitude.”  And Cooper is living. She’s working as an administrative assistant at Dixon Hughes Goodman, an accounting and financial advising firm in Charlotte. She’s made new friends, found a church family, and feels like she and Savannah have found a new home.  As Savannah joined her for the last mile of the race Saturday, Cooper saw her life for what it was. She wasn’t just enduring. She was thriving. And she was doing it on her own.  And that wedding ring?  “I haven’t put it back on,” she says.  She’s better off in the long run  Bernadette Cooper finished an hour behind the first-place woman in the first Huntersville Half Marathon Saturday, but ‘I feel like a winner,’ she insists.

Fleet Feet Sports Stockton, CA has taken their food drive to the next level.  Their yearly Run & Walk Against Hunger will take place on Thursday morning.  Anthony, the Brooks Guru, handed over the keys of his Brooks Jeep for the community of Stockton.  Today is the last day of "Stuff the Jeep" with canned food event.  Last year Fleet Feet Sports owner, Tony Vice, and the local running community collected 2,000 lbs for the Emergency Food Bank and Family Services.  This year the goal is to double it.  Head to Facebook to tell us how you are giving back this Thanksgiving.

HYDRATION WITH A CAUSE

Nuun and Team In Training (TNT) are working together to beat cancer!

The Grape Nuun purple cap tubes have arrived! As one of the Official Product Partners of TNT, Nuun's special Grape purple cap tube will be made available to more than 5,000 retailers across the country in mid-October. To kick off the launch of the purple cap, Nuun set a goal to sell 10,000 Grape tubes for TNT and they need your help! Fifteen percent of all sales from Grape tubes will be donated directly to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

The LLS has awarded millions of dollars to advance blood cancer research.  Nuun is excited to be part of making a difference.

Most people are working towards their first 5K, 10K or even marathon.  If someone asked you to run 100 miles what would your response be?  The Fleet Feet Sports family is proud to announce that Rod Bien, owner of Fleet Feet Sports Bend, OR, has not only won but set the record for a 100 mile race.  The 2011 Cascade Crest 100 Miler located in Seattle, WA was completed by Rod in 18 hours: 27 minutes: 52 seconds.  He was able to run, walk, jog, and take pictures with cows, 3 minutes and 18 seconds faster than the last record holder!  On Saturday, August 27th most of us were helping our children with their first homework assignments, or grocery shopping for the week.  Others were running their long Saturday training run for the 1/2 or full marathon coming up in late October or early November.  But very few of us were rounding the turn on our 12th 100 mile race. 

 What is your favorite off the wall choice at the food stops that most people would find odd?
Bacon late in the race hits the spot!!
 
Do you have a favorite song to sing to yourself?
No.  When I'm racing, I'm pretty much concentrating on my breath and listening for the competition so they don't sneak up on me!!
 
When you feel like giving up what do you think about to get you through the run?
This is funny but a lot of time I think about all the money I have spent!  Hotels, gas, gels... money is a good motivator.  I also think about my family.  They have sacrificed a lot to let me train as much as I need to remain competitive.  I feel like it is my responsisbility to pull on the "big boy pants" and race as hard as I can.
 
Who inspired you to run your first ultra?
My dad was an amazing ultramarathon runner and Navy Seal who ran the entire Appalachain Trail and the California Costal trail.  I pretty much devote all of my running to his honor.
 
Other than a cow, what was the strangest animal you have seen out on a race?
Gosh, nothing too crazy, believe it or not.  Rattlesnakes, elk, and bighorn sheep are probably the coolest I have seen while in a race.
 
Have you ever had a run in with a snake?
Several.  One time at Western States 100 I jumped right over a huge  one.  I remember wishing it would just bite me and take me out of my misery.
 
What shoes did you run the race in?
The Adidas Adios.
 
Any products you would like to plug in this article?
I run in Patagonia clothing and I think they make the best stuff on the market.  It is lightweight, breathable, with a slim fit.  I also use Carbo Pro for nutrition.  However, with nutrition, you just have to find what works for you as everyone is different.
 
I am writing this article so it is entertaining for the average person who does not understand why anyone would ever want to run that far.  Do you have any words of wisdom for those thinking about getting into the sport of ultras?
To me, life is pretty easy.  Cars, computers, tv's, and so many conveniences.  I think of myself as a bit of a throwback.  I wish I could have lived in the "Lewis and Clark" era.  I love a challenge where there are no guarantees.  I know that I will always make it to the finish line of a marathon.  With a 100 miler, there are no guarantees and I find that very stimulating and exciting.
 
Thank you Rod and Congratulations on your sick win.  I hope you are enjoying your 3 minute and 18 second record crushing time.  We are all so proud of you!

Fleet Feet Honors Franchises 

SportsOneSource Media     

Posted: 6/26/2011

Fleet Feet Inc., the franchisor of running specialty stores, honored many of its franchises last week at its annual National Franchise Conference held in Chicago.

One of the big winners was Lisa and David Zimmer, owners of Fleet Feet Sports Chicago, IL, who earned Fleet Feet Sports Brand Builder Award. The award honors franchise for establishing and promoting the Fleet Feet Sports brand in their community and for contributions to the national Fleet Feet Sports network. The two opened their first Fleet Feet store in Chicago in 1996 and now have two in the area.

Stephanie and Carrie Blozy, owners of Fleet Feet Sports Hartford, CT, earned the New Store Development Award, recognizing successful franchises that have been in business more than one year and fewer than three years.

Christi Beth and Matt Adams, of Fleet Feet Sports Brentwood, TN, won the Pinnacle Award for demonstrating excellence in customer acquisition, staffing & customer experience, financial & inventory management, and vendor relations.

Among suppliers, Brooks Sports earned the Supplier of the Year "for providing excellent product, support and services." Fleet Feet noted that Brooks last year became the first brand to do more than $10 million in sales across its 90-store franchise network.

Saucony earned the Vendor Service Award in recognition of support and service levels.

Robyn Goby, director of marketing and communications, was given the Fleet Feet Sports Ambassador Award that recognizes "an individual for being an outstanding advocate of the Fleet Feet Sports brand."

Besides a trade show with sixty specialty vendors, Fleet Feet attendees also participated in education and business planning sessions. A particular focus by Fleet Feet was creating specific business units for training programs in order to streamline management, grow running participation, drive profitability and further upgrade the customer's experience. 

"Training programs have exploded into a major driver for customer acquisition and have helped us evolve into the inclusive community-focused businesses we are today," said Jeff Phillips, president of Fleet Feet. Additional initiatives that were well received included an interactive online employee training tool, a new brand website and the introduction of a cloud-based point of sale system.

The CEO of Fleet Feet, Incorporated, Tom Raynor, will be inducted into the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) Hall of Fame at a ceremony tomorrow, during the 47th Annual NSGA Management Conference.  The NSGA has honored Sporting Goods leaders since 1956 but this year’s inductees bring the total number of Hall of Famers to only 150.