It Feels Like We Only Go Counterclockwise

With indoor track season coming up, I’d be remiss if I didn’t go on one of my favorite running rants. Since the London Olympics in 1908, it’s been customary to run counterclockwise (or “anticlockwise” as they say outside of North America) around the track. Before then it wasn’t standardized, which was probably frustrating for teams that trained and ended up racing in the opposite direction. That’s right, it turns out if you train for the specificity of an event, your performance improves! This is especially important in running. Yes, we can improve our VO2max cycling and swimming, but the carryover to running doesn’t translate very well; in order to run fast, you have to run fast. This all makes sense, right? So let’s take this concept to racing on an indoor track. Specifically a standard, unbanked indoor track 200 meters in circumference. Two hard left turns, two short straightaways. What does this mean for the runner? Will they get a leg length discrepancy from running in only one direction?? Well, let’s look at the research exclusively on indoor track running and injury development:

• Stronger left limb invertors and right limb evertors after one season of training (Beukeboom et al. 2000)
• Higher activation in right hip abductors on turns in female runners (Nevison et al. 2015)
• No evidence of increased injury incidence with strength/muscle activation differences

That’s all that’s been done, and the data doesn’t back up the idea that training counterclockwise for a race in the same direction has any correlation with injury. Yes, athletes are going to develop asymmetries in asymmetrical sports, but this is because they adapt to the specific demands of their sport. Why would we train to make athletes symmetrical if it doesn’t give a competitive advantage? Again, this is for athletes training and running in the same direction; training on a track and road racing or trail racing is a different topic altogether. I hear athletes instructed to do their warm up or cooldowns clockwise around a track to “balance themselves out”. Do we have baseball pitchers throw with their offhand to balance themselves out? That doesn’t make any sense. Furthermore, how is running at an easy pace in the opposite direction going to “balance out” the work that the athlete performed at tempo or anaerobic pace in the counterclockwise direction? If we’re looking to address asymmetry, that’s not how to do it. Ultimately, you don’t get injured by running in the direction you race in; injuries come from an error in training progression. I’m totally open to change my stance if the evidence gets there, but it hasn’t yet. Train how you race.

Questions? Ask in any direction you’d like.

Dr. Jason Tuori, PT, DPT, CSCS

References/cool running readings:

1. Beukeboom C, Birmingham TB, Forwell L, Ohrling D. Asymmetrical strength changes and injuries in athletes training on a small radius curve indoor track. Clin J Sport Med. 2000; 10(4): 245-50.
2. Nevison SE, Jun Y, Dickey JP. The gluteus medius activation in female indoor track runners is asymmetrical and may be related to injury risk. Sport Exerc Med Open J. 2015; 1(1): 27-34.