Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend an event hosted by Octane Fitness featuring their Zero Runner machine. The machine, similar to an elliptical, offers a more realistic running-like motion to its user with zero impact to joints. Because it so closely mimics the motion of running without the constant pounding of being out on the pavement, it’s a perfect cross-training and injury prevention tool for a runner to add to their “runner’s toolbox.” At the event, we listened to Olympian Carrie Tollefson and “recreational” runner Larry Schmidt talk about the machine and how they incorporate it into their training (I say recreational with quotes because Larry has competed in 80+ marathons, 100+ mile endurance runs, Ironmans, and more!). By the end of the night all I could think about was how great it would be to get my hands on one of these machines!

You’re probably thinking, what’s so great about this? Well, if you’ve ever been injured, you know how hard it can be to sit idle without running. Sure, you can go to a physical therapist’s office and hop on their (super expensive) Alter-G treadmill, or spend time in the pool running… but it’s not really the same. The Zero Runner is a relatively affordable (comparable to a treadmill or other at-home fitness equipment) machine you can own and use for both rehab and prehab. As I mentioned in my last post, I need to do a better job with my own prehab – it isn’t always easy to remember that injury prevention is something that needs to be practiced all the time, even when you’re feeling good.

Hearing from Carrie Tollefson and Larry Schmidt about their experiences with running and injury was fascinating. I’m a C Tolle Run fan, but I admittedly didn’t know that much about Carrie’s running career. Learning about all of the injuries she faced (multiple stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, hernias…) and her belief that if a machine like the Zero Runner was around during her elite training days she could have prolonged her career was an eye opener. I find myself often forgetting about the long term when it comes to running – it’s a sport I love and one I want to be able to do well into old age – I need to be diligent in not only preventing injuries, but dealing with them in a way that won’t hurt me down the line when they do happen. As they said at the event, all runners want three things: to be efficient, to run faster and longer, and to stay injury free… and sometimes that’s easier said than done!

Some of the major highlights I took away from the event (a.k.a tl;dr):

• The machine is almost completely silent, battery powered, and cordless. Making it easy to use anywhere, at any time.
• They have an app for the machine that you can connect to and see not only your running stats, but also your gait and cadence.
• It offers “Cross Circuit,” meaning you can do more than just ‘run’ on the machine – you can easily attach strength bands to make it a full-body workout.
• It’s really suitable for everyone – from a casual exerciser all the way to elite athletes.
• It’s perfect for prehab, active recovery, and the always dreaded rehab.

The Zero Runner is a really impressive machine, and one that I want to own. So naturally I was jealous when one of the event attendees won one (spoiler: it wasn’t me)! I can honestly say that I left the event feeling more inspired to be diligent about my cross-training and injury prevention than I already was. Now I just need to figure out how I can get one of these into my apartment!

Feel free to check out Octane Fitness and the Zero Runner on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to learn more!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Octane Fitness.

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