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The Injured Athletes Club

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  2. 34 | Runner, Coach, and Author Anji Andrews: Facing the Challenge

34 | Runner, Coach, and Author Anji Andrews: Facing the Challenge

Sep 10, 2020

On most days, British runner Anji Andrews lives the athlete’s dream. She works from home—with plenty of time and flexibility to train—making a living coaching, writing about running, and handling social media for organizations like the popular UK-based podcast Marathon Talk. 

 

But this summer, a foot injury that had begun to develop earlier this year worsened just as the country locked down due to the pandemic. Anji found the constant reminders of what she couldn’t do difficult to bear. In this week’s episode, she talks openly and honestly about the raw emotions of this combination, and how underfueling and overtraining played a role.

 

They’re challenges that will sound familiar to so many injured athletes, and while she’s still traveling her road to recovery, Anji has plenty of insights, advice, and encouragement to share with others in the same boat.

 

A huge thank you to Fluid Running H2GO, the only app-based deep-water running system in the world, for sponsoring this season of the Injured Athletes Club. CLICK HERE and use code IAC 30 to take $30 off the full system or the digital bundle.

 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • How injuries are viewed in running (4:53)
  • More about the challenges of being around running everyday, even when she can’t do it (7:10)
  • Her big goal for the half marathon, and how the foot injury first began to threaten it (9:39)
  • Why she held back from telling her coach at first (14:44)
  • How the pandemic played a role in exacerbating things, as did overtraining and underfueling (23:05)
  • When she finally got a diagnosis, and why it actually came as a relief (28:55)
  • What it felt like to realize, after five months of pain, that she would be able to run again (36:27)
  • The difficulty of revealing the depth of her struggles to those closest to her—and then the strength and hope she experienced on the other side (38:12)
  • How journaling—including some of the specific exercises in Rebound—has helped her cope (44:41)
  • Her advice to the friends and teammates of others who are dealing with similar issues (50:21)

 

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Resources/links we mention:



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