Katrien runs to 10K personal Best with consistent and targeted training

Interview by Philip Cortvriendt – Runeasi expert

Katrien Raymaekers, a dedicated runner, recently set a new personal best in the 10K with 53 minutes and 14 seconds at the classic race in Tessenderlo. After overcoming a challenging year filled with overuse injuries, she is now preparing for her next big goal: the 10 miles of Antwerp next year.

Here’s her story on how she changed her training regimen.

Katrien running together with her husband

Hi Katrien, What's your running goal at the moment?

“My goal was to complete the 10K within 1 hour, ideally under 55 minutes. Last year, I couldn’t participate in the Tessenderlo classic due to shin splints in my left leg. This made me a bit hesitant to begin with, but I believed I could achieve a sub-55-minute time! With the help and support of my husband, I knew I could get through the race. Even if I might not hit that exact time, just starting the race was an achievement.”

Can you share more about your preparation for your race?

“In April, I ran the short run at the 10 miles of Antwerp, which is a 6K race, at a pace of 5:30 per kilometer. Extending this pace to 10K wasn’t simple. I had to adjust my preparation significantly due to previous overuse injuries, including shin splints and runner’s knee. Moving from 8K to 10K in training was previously a challenge, and I hoped that small changes in my training would help me reach my goals.

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been working with professional guidance. Runeasi played a crucial role in this process. My first analysis in January 2023 revealed that I couldn’t absorb impacts well, particularly on my problematic left side. This insight was a game-changer, showing me that I needed to focus on specific areas to prevent new injuries.

Running quality score after first assessment

Previously, I did Pilates once a week, but I realized that I needed to strengthen my weakest link more. With Sander’s help, I focused on injury prevention, emphasizing functional training for shock absorption. This made me feel stronger during recovery and endurance runs no longer resulted in sore muscles.

Runeasi also helped me reassess the insoles I had been using for years due to past injuries. Their data showed I didn’t need to rely on my old insoles anymore. It was quite enlightening to learn that I could improve my impact absorption through active strategies rather than through passive adjustments .”

Quality score improvements after 2 months

Could you give us three tips for a beginning runner?

  1. Seek Professional Guidance: Having a professional set up your training goals and structure your exercise program is invaluable. Sander and Runeasi helped me a lot.
  2. Build Consistency in Your Training: Find a balance between running and strength training. Many runners need more than just running to stay injury-free and keep improving.
  3. Run Slow to Go Fast: Accept that starting slowly is okay. In the age of Strava, it’s tempting to showcase your running speed, but building a solid foundation is more important.

What are your next goals?

“In October, I plan to run the 15K in Dwars door Hasselt.  Next year, my goal is to complete the full 10 miles of Antwerp.✌️”

Picture of Interviewed by Philip Cortvriendt

Interviewed by Philip Cortvriendt

Philip achieved a master’s degree in physiotherapy & rehabilitation sciences and has core expertise in the field of running, working with both recreational and elite runners. Philip has the unique role of educating Runeasi physiotherapists and helping them translate biomechanical insights into targeted strength and conditioning exercises- specifically on how they can improve their client care using scientifically validated biomechanical insights from our Runeasi analytics.

5 rEASONS TO USE OUR APP

1. Global movement quality

Track and improve your client’s Runeasi running quality. Identify their weakest link with our advanced visualisation.

2. individual recommendations

Get individual training and cueing recommendations to improve your client’s weakest link.

3. Real-time feedback

 

4. Session trends

Learn more about your client’s running quality during daily training. Our session trends show when and where the quality drops with fatigue.

5. Quick comparisons

Compare pre-post data to show intervention effects on the movement quality. 

3 REASONS TO CAPTURE DATA USING THE RUNEASI BELT

1. No motion artifacts. The Runeasi belt is secured tightly against the body and the skin to capture the actual movements of the body’s center of mass. Attaching or clipping the sensor directly to the pants would allow the sensor to wobble from side to side (i.e., measuring the wobbling of the pants, and not the human body.

2.  Easy to standardize the sensor’s positioning. The Runeasi belt makes it easy to consistently position the sensor close to the center of mass. Attaching the sensor directly to the pants would dramatically affect the reliability of the outputs as the height and tightness of the pants will affect the results. Moreover, these pants attachments often shift sideways while running which further decreases the data quality. 

 3. Comfortable to wear.  Hundreds of runners confirmed that they immediately forget about our belt while running. This allows them to move without any restrictions and allows us to capture movements that are representative of a client’s true biomechanics.

SENSOR SPECS

LAB GRADE SENSOR

Accurately captures full range of motion and kinetic parameters by leveraging wide sensing range (16 Gs) & high sampling frequency (1000 Hz)

WATER & SCHOCK PROOF

Built to withstand high intensity training and sweating. Suitable for the outdoor elements, come rain or shine. Robust to handle the repetitive and ruthless impact shocks of running.

Lightweight & SLIM

Seamlessly integrates onto the body to support movement without restrictions. Weight: 9.4g/0.33oz with battery. Dimensions (36.6mm/1.44” dia. X 10.6mm/ 0.42” thick)

No charging wireless

Replaceable coin-cell battery with operating time up to months, depending on the usage. Bluetooth® 5.0 radio for effortlessly transmitting data real-time or post-session.