QUERY:
A reader and marathon clinic participant writes, “Hey Doc, last year when I joined the Honolulu Marathon Clinic, I developed shin splints. Fortunately they went away and I completed my first marathon. Now I’m beginning to run again and I don’t want them back.
RESPONSE:
This is a good news bad news situation. The good news is shin splints are usually a “first year” phenomenon and when individuals train properly, shin splints rarely return in the second year of training.