Dr Jim Bovard,  member of SportMedBC’s Board of Directors and Medical Manager of Primary Care/ER for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is a longtime runner and will be one of the “Experts” Sun Run participants can ask advice of by visiting here. Here is Jim’s latest blog entry: 

With the start of the new year many of you have made training for and participating in the Vancouver Sun Run your new year’s resolution.  Congratulations!  Great idea!  For some this is an annual event but for others this is the first time and everything is new.

I have been running for 32 years.  I did my first marathon in 1979.  I have had multiple injuries over the years.  My personal experience with injuries along with my training as a Sport Medicine Physician will help me relate to and answer your questions.

I know about goal setting.  It has been a lifelong goal of mine to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  It is the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world.  Between 1979 and 2007 I tried 7 times and failed. Finally, at the Victoria Marathon in Oct 2008 I qualified and will be running my first Boston Marathon on April 20th.  Running is about desire, persistence and smart training.  As a result, I will not be on the Georgia St. starting line April 19th experiencing a buzz and excitement like no other.  There will be over 50,000 runners creating the buzz.  If this is your first Sun Run you are in for an experience of a lifetime that you will never forget.  A just reward for all the training.

Whether this is your first or 25th Sun Run, all of you are challenging yourself in some way.  While goal setting and enthusiasm are great, be careful not the miss or ignore signals from your body that may imply an injury starting.  I know I have in the past!  The result of this is never good.  The less experienced you are, the easier it is to miss these signals.  If you have any doubts, ask an expert.  That’s what we’re here for.

While April 19th is the climax, your focus should be on enjoying the process and training smart.  More mistakes are made in training than on race day.  For new and inexperienced runners training with a Sun Run Clinic is the safest way to success.   The programs have been carefully developed over the years to prepare all levels of runners for the Sun Run.  However, even with the best training program injury or illness can still happen, so always listen to your body’s signals.  Through the Ask An Expert Blog we can help you analyze those signals and give some guidance on how to manage them.

As a Sport Medicine Physician my focus will be on injury management but I will weigh in about prevention when ever appropriate.

I look forward to journeying with you through this blog over the next 14 weeks.

Jim Bovard, MD, Diploma Sport Medicine.