John Davis

The different types of fatigue

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In my last post, I discussed how a preponderance of studies show that your running mechanics change when you are fatigued.  The specifics of what changes occur are difficult to discern, as they likely vary from person to person.  Before moving on, I noted a problem with conflating all of these studies, a problem that … Read more

The cumulative damage theory of injuries

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I’ve had injuries on the brain lately.  Why do they happen? My high school’s training room had a sign outside that said “Running injury? TOO MUCH, TOO FAR, TOO SOON.”  Needless to say, the trainer wasn’t very helpful.  But the medical/scientific consensus isn’t much more helpful than that.  Overuse injuries are “tissue damage that results … Read more

New York Times article on running surface stiffness

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The New York Times has a nasty habit of writing poorly-researched exercise science articles. They go something like this: A new study by professor so-and-so at such-and-such university upends some widely-accepted fact about exercise, and we’re darn luck to have these scientists (and the clever journalist) telling us that common sense is wrong.  You have … Read more

Hello world

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Glad you’re reading my blog.  I’m a recent Carleton College graduate with a penchant for running and an inclination towards writing.  My high school coach encouraged his athletes to become “students of the sport,” and I quickly took to it.  I’ve spent a lot of time reading and studying running-related topics in the past six … Read more