Make yourself a stronger runner.

If you're still in the "running is all I need" camp, you might want to consider adding strength training to your routine.

Evidence continues to pile up that strength training enhances not only your overall fitness, but also your cardiovascular fitness and running performance. And it provides protection against injury (see Running & FitNews, January 2000).

In a new study, 35 healthy, active women were randomly assigned to either 25 minutes of bench step aerobics, 25 minutes of aerobics plus additional resistance exercise, 40 minutes of aerobics (controls) or regular daily activities only. At the end of 12 weeks of training the aerobics plus resistance group outperformed the 40-minute aerobics group in all measurements including muscle performance, muscle morphology and cardiovascular fitness. Nearly double the aerobics activity didn't provide the same boost as the addition of strength training.

In another study, runners with iliotibial band syndrome were found to have weaker hip abductor muscles on the injured side compared to their uninjured side. More important, their symptoms improved when hip abductor strength improved. For more information, visit The American Running Association's Web site at www.americanrunning.org and click on strength training.

(Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2001, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 259-269; Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, 2000, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 169-175)