Tips From an Ultramarathoner for Common Trail Injuries | Get Out: A Guide to Adventure

I'm Scott Jurek, and I'm an ultra-marathoner. Today, we're gonna be talking about injury prevention. I love pushing myself to the edge, and when I'm injured, I'm not able to train; I'm not able to race. Thus, avoiding injuries — but then once they do occur, making sure that I recover — is paramount to my success.

There are a few things I usually bring in my pack from a first-aid standpoint. There's not one set first-aid kit out there. It's really important that you start thinking about how long am I out there and how far away from help am I. That's gonna be dictating what type of first-aid supplies you need.

One of the most common injuries on the trail are blisters. You really want to start treating them early on into a run or hike. To prevent the blisters, you want to avoid the abrasion. I like to use petroleum jelly, which just kind of helps keep the toes and the skin moving smoothly between the sock. I commonly will include some moleskin or some of the fancier added blister prevention tapes and cushions that are out there. Just try to figure out, you know, what kind of conditions are you gonna be in and what's gonna be best for your feet.

Another common injury is the ankle sprain. Treating an ankle sprain initially involves compression, and compression can come in different forms. I commonly will have a compression sock or sleeve that I can put over. Taping can be pretty complicated, so the nice thing with an ankle brace that has support around it with straps will create the same type of tension and support without the complications of, "Okay, how do I tape this ankle?"

If you have a cold creek or a cold lake nearby, getting the ankle in some cold water to kind of bring down the swelling can be really key to making the comfort level a lot more manageable and getting you back to the trailhead or maybe continuing on. If you notice that pain is like a dull ache, you're probably okay pushing through that. If it's more of a searing pain, that's probably not the pain to push through.

Another common issue out on the trail is dehydration. When the signs of dehydration start, first and foremost, you want to start drinking water. If you haven't been incorporating salt or electrolytes, I would highly recommend that you bring some of those with you. We lose a lot of electrolytes in sweat.

Finding that happy balance between injury recovery and performance is probably like the ultimate goal of any athlete or anybody trying to push their body a little bit harder. When you find that balance, you're gonna be able to push your body further than you ever thought you could.