A: Ahh goodness - the search for hills! I wondered the same thing when I first moved here. There isn't much, but here goes... South Land Park has some rolling hills. It's not much, but it is something. (The "hilly" area is between Sutterville Rd, Fruitridge, Riverside Blvd and Freeport.) The entrance road to Ancil Hoffman Park is also a good hill for repeats as is Pennsylvania Avenue hill off of Sunrise Boulevard (near the American River). There are some decent hills on the American River Trail at Folsom going east to Beals Point. And finally, it is further than 15 minutes, but Auburn, El Dorado Hills and Folsom are all great places to run with plenty of hills.

A: How nice of you to be concerned about the other runners in the race – so refreshing!

First and foremost, line up at the start line by estimated pace. You want to start out with people that run (or run/walk) close to your pace or slower. Don’t line up with people faster than you. (With your run/walking, you will be an obstacle for people passing you.)

From the start, I would suggest that you make every effort to stay away from the packs of people and run/walk to the side of the “pack” (not smack in the middle of the crowds). The start will be the most crowded time so you may consider running (or walking) only until the crowd dissipates a bit. Once the crowd is more spread out, simply be aware of others around you and when you know you are going to transition to a walk be sure you don’t have a runner right on your tail. Also, don’t pass somebody during your run and then slow down right in front of them for your walk.

The run/walk method is a great way to do an event, and is much more common now. Simply be aware of those around you and especially stay clear of runners when you slow down to walk. Have fun and good luck!

A: Outdoors or on a treadmill? This is really a question of preference and circumstances. For us, there is nothing quite like running outdoors - the fresh air, varying terrain, nature, different things to look at and so on. You can run in the park, downtown, in the foothills - so many options to keep it interesting! On the other hand, the treadmill has it's purpose - it is raining outside and you don't want to run in the rain. Maybe you can only run at night and you don't want to run in the dark. For these reasons, the treadmill makes perfect sense. But - if you have a choice - we think it is far more fun and interesting to run outdoors.

One tip for treadmill users - always have it at 1% elevation or higher. Having the treadmill at 0 is like running downhill and this is hard on your body.

Have fun!

A: This is a really tough question to answer via email. Our best advice for you would be to bring your shoes and yourself to a Fleet Feet Sports store and let us look at your gait, the shoes, etc. There is a lot going on with your feet, and we can't adequately answer your question without seeing you walk, run, measure your feet, see your pronation, etc.

Sorry we can't be more helpful in writing, but seeing you is really the only way to be completely helpful

A: Great question. Foot strike is always on the midfoot - it doesn't matter how tall or short you are. Your stride length is not dependent on your size, but rather stride length changes based on your speed. Stride length is short when you are going slower, and longer the faster you go. Stride length should always open up behind the runner...never to the front.

We hope this is helpful!

A: Great question. We see this sort of thing while fitting at Fleet Feet Sports all the time. Really the toed-out foot can come from two things. You can be anatomically built this way or you can have extremely tight hips which cause the entire leg to twist laterally (to the outside).

If the later is true and it is a tight hip issue deep tissue massage, at home massage therapy, etc can help. If it is an anatomical issue you can fight it all you want and it won't change and you will mostly get sore or injured from trying to change.

I would take a closer look at your hip tightness to try to identify if that is a problem area. If it is seek some professional help on massaging and releasing your hip. In the mean time keep in mind that form change takes years to accomplish. Potentially look into a proper form clinic or join a training group that teaches proper form.

Between proper flexibility, proper fitting footwear and proper form you give yourself the best chance to avoid injury.

A: Thanks for asking. No, Fleet Feet Sports does not - under any circumstances - resell shoes that people have returned. We do, however, allow people to try on the shoes and run through the store. Some people ask to run on the sidewalk and we allow this (we want people to feel totally comfortable in the shoes they purchase). My guess is that if the bottom of the shoes are a little dirty, someone took them on a short "test drive" on the sidewalk.

A: Megan,
First off - congratulations! In regards to lung health and any recovery they may need prior to starting exercise...I would recommend speaking with a specialist. With that said, in my opinion as a coach I would say its not a bad idea to get started. Of course, you want to be successful with this new endeavor so set small goals and dedicate yourself to them. Meeting those goals will help you celebrate your success and focus on the good versus falling back to your old habits.

I would highly suggest a group to workout with. As an example Fleet Feet Sports locations offer a program called No Boundaries. It is a first step program to becoming a runner. It is meant for those just getting started.

Good luck and congrats on a wonderful first step towards long term health.

A: We have heard of people using garages for hill workouts, and it is a good option considering "flat Sacramento". We don't have any specific suggestions, other than to be sure to look for garages that are not too busy. This will be a challenge during the work week and during lunch. Weekends are much better for utilizing garages.

Best of luck with hill training!

A: We actually teach shorter stride, higher turnover and proper form to our training group participants in addition to suggesting to some customers in store. The issue with your question is that it suggests that pain and injuries from running are either caused by conventional running shoes or that a change in their style will solve all of their injury problems. That’s a dangerous suggestion to make and ignores many other possible reasons for injury.

In terms of barefoot running, there are no peer reviewed, definitive studies that conclude that barefoot or minimalist footwear running is better or less injurious than using conventional footwear. In fact, some anecdotal evidence from Podiatrists around the country show an increase in forefoot and Achilles injuries primarily due to the increase in minimalist/barefoot running.

Running injuries can be caused by multiple factors including poor biomechanics, strength and flexibility limitations and imbalances, training mistakes (that’s a big one), improper or worn out footwear, overuse (running is a repetitive motion activity), to name a few.

There is no doubt that a new awareness on running form and footwear is here, and all of us at Fleet Feet Sports welcome it. However,we should proceed with caution before jumping into something too quickly or drawing fast conclusions. We are seeing a rapid development by the footwear manufacturers related to heel heights, light weight materials, etc. It could be that we don’t need to run barefoot or even super-low-to-the ground, but need less of a heel to forefoot offset. No one knows for sure and probably never will. Some people will always heel strike and do it successfully. Others will heel strike and get hurt. Some will run on their forefoot/midfoot and do it successfully. Others will get injured and everything in-between. We are each a study of one and we each have to find what works for us. Cautiously and prudently.

Thanks for writing. I hope this is helpful.

A: It often does take a little bit of time and running to "break in" a new pair of shoes. That said, if you are still uncomfortable in your shoes, I would suggest that you bring them back into the store and have them and your feet looked at again. While there is no set amount of time needed to "break in" shoes, you don't want to wait too long and be uncomfortable, risk injury, etc. Bring the shoes and yourself back to the store as soon as possible! Thanks for asking.

A: This sounds like the classic case of your body needing electrolytes. Try using a sports drink with electrolytes (PowerBar Endurance, Gu Brew, Accelerade, Cytomax, etc) during your longer runs. Electrolytes are primarily sodium and potassium, and especially with the warmer weather (sweat = sodium loss)you need to replace these on a long run.

Some people switch from water to sports drink with each sip, others switch after one bottle of water to one bottle of sports drink. Experiment and see what works for you. Also, experiment with different kinds of drinks to see what you like.

I hope this helps.

A: This is a tough question (especially to answer by email). It seems to us that you are doing everything we would have recommended to try to treat this injury. The one thing that seems to be missing is any kind of extended rest time - no running where you let it heal. I know this is hard to do (when you are so dedicated), but perhaps this is what you need.

The other suggestion we have is to go and see a more specialized doctor - a sports medicine doctor that works regularly with runners. This will ensure that they understand running injuries, as well as your desire to do this half marathon. (Some non-running doctors can't appreciate the passion with which runners approach their goals. They might suggest that you just stop running - and we know how hard that can be!)

We recommend Dr. Lau or Dr. Chu at Elite Spinal and Sport Care, and we know there are others in the Sacramento area. They will be able to more specifically diagnose your injury and give you more specific treatment options for your injury.

We would suggest that you see one of these docs soon so that you still have time to get well, and then hopefully finish training for the half.

We hope this is helpful!

A: Severe leg cramping sounds to us like an electrolyte issue. Your body needs electrolytes (primarily sodium and potassium) to function properly. When you sweat you lose water and electrolytes. A common problem from insufficient electrolytes is cramping. The good news - it is very easy to fix this problem. Try to drink an electrolyte drink during your workouts - about 20 oz per hour. You can drop Nuun tablets in your water for electrolytes or use a electrolyte drink mix like PowerBar Endurance, Gu Brew or Hammer HEED. The other option for getting electrolytes is S-caps or Thermalytes – which are essentially salt pills, etc.

You might try Carb BOOM products for the taking in your calories. They are made from natural fruits and might be easier on the stomach.

I hope this helps.

A: Hi Mo:

When we run, we hit the ground with a force 2 - 3 times our body weight. As a Clydedale athlete, this force is going to be greater and it becomes even more important to use excellent running form and to be sure you are in the right shoe/insert combination.

We suggest several things:

Consider participating in a Running Form clinic. You will learn some important tips about posture, foot fall, arm swing, etc. Good running form can can be extremely helpful in avoiding injury. We recommend "Proper Running Form" Clinic hosted by Elite Spinal & Sports Care at www.elitespinalcare.com. We are sure there are others, but this is the one we are most familiar with.

Consider being re-fit for shoes and inserts. I can see that your shoes are relatively new in that they don't have a lot of mileage on them. It is critical, that in addition to being sure not to run in old shoes, that you have properly fitted shoes for your body type, running gait, etc. Also, the combination of shoe and insert is very important. So - take your shoes back to where you got them and ask to be fitted again - with consideration given to the pain you are starting to feel. If you were originally fitted at Fleet Feet Sports, by all means bring them back. We want to get you in the right shoe for you!

We hope this is helpful.