Take care of your calves

This month, many of you ran the Comrades Marathon. It was a fantastic day with a sea of orange flooding the race. Congratulations to all our runners!

We know that some of you might still be feeling a little sore after the race and your calves might be taking some strain. Here are really great ways to make sure that your calves stay supple and ready for more running.

Outer calf (ocnemius) stretch: Sit down flat on the floor with your legs and spine straight. Hold both ends of a flexiband and put the middle of the band of the ball of your foot. Keep the flexiband taut and first flex the foot back, reaching your toes towards your ankle. Hold for a count of 15 and then release. Repeat six times on each calf.

Inner calf (soleus) stretch: Remaining on the floor, draw one knee up towards your chest. With both hands, hold the bottom of the bent foot. Press the heel of the foot into the ground and gently pull your toes up towards your calf. Hold for 15 seconds and then relax. Repeat 10 times on each leg.

Achilles stretch: Of all the tissues which facilitate your running, your Achilles tendon, which connects your heel to your calf, takes the most beating and is one of the most common injuries among runners. To stretch your Achilles, remain sitting with one leg bent and one leg straight. Bring the heel of your bent leg as close to your buttocks as possible without lifting your glutes from the floor. Keep your heel pressed into the floor and use both hands to pull your foot towards your shin. Hold for 10 seconds and repeat 5 times on each side.

Your calves are an elastic, flexible muscle which absorb a great deal of impact every time you take a step while running. Keep them well stretched and you can avoid several of the potential injuries that can be caused by a long stretch of running.