International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 6 authors, 11 centres
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This 5-year prospective cohort study of 469 high school students in a structured marathon training program found that 39.6% sustained musculoskeletal injuries, but most were minor, requiring only 1–2 treatment sessions. The study supports the safety of adolescent participation, though it is limited by its single-program design and lack of exposure calculation.
This study aimed to document injuries in a cohort of adolescent novice runners participating in a structured marathon training program over five years. The DREAMFAR program involved 469 high school students with a conservative 30-week training schedule progressing to 35 miles per week, including running and cross-training. The primary outcome was the occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries. Key results showed that 39.6% (186/469) of all registered participants reported injuries, with 226 total injuries reported by 172 of the 448 completers. The injuries were predominantly soft tissue (68.1%), with the ankle/foot (23.4%) and lower leg (21.2%) being the most common sites. A mean of 1.8 ± 1.6 treatment sessions were required per injured participant, indicating low severity. The study found no statistically significant differences in injury type, location, or treatment frequency by sex. Limitations include the single-program design, inability to calculate injury rates due to missing exposure data, potential for under-reporting of minor injuries, and lack of anthropometric or skeletal maturity data. The authors conclude that the injury profile is consistent with lower-range estimates for adult novice runners and suggests that the program's conservative design may contribute to the relatively low injury proportion and severity, supporting the safety of such programs for adolescents.
