The Elizabethtown cross country team has acquired a new treadmill, and it comes with new technology that will change the way Etown distance runners can train.
Most treadmills are simple machines. They usually have a rubber belt that rotates at a speed set by the user, and they were useful inventions that assisted many athletes with training indoors or during extreme weather, as they could still provide a good training stimulus despite being stationary. Additionally, they assist athletes who might struggle with pacing, since they can maintain a constant speed.
Boost treadmills work the same way in principle. However, they have a unique system of bungee cords and an air bubble that can adjust a runner’s body weight and make a runner lighter, thus decreasing the impact on the runner’s bones, joints and muscles.
The Boost treadmill received by the cross-country team costs $48,000. Despite the price, the funding is coming from the Track and Field program, and as such it will be exclusive to the team. Director of Track and Field and Head Coach of cross country Brian Falk firmly believes that the price tag is worth it, since many different teams have access to similar machines, and many of Etown’s runners will significantly benefit from having this new device to incorporate into their training.
“The two main reasons we got it are for rehab and helping those who need it increase mileage,” Falk said. “It will be an incredibly beneficial tool for the team.”
The significance for this system is that it can help both reduce the likelihood of injury in runners who are prone to injuries while still allowing them to maintain or increase their volume, and it can help injured runners ease back into training without compromising the quality of that training. Many of the cross-country athletes are excited about this new tool, since it increases their ability to maintain fitness through an injury without having to resort to cross training.
Kaiden Miller, a sophomore on the cross-country team said, “I think this is going to be revolutionary. It might seem like a big investment, but this treadmill will let us push ourselves physically, and it will keep us from getting injured and help those that are injured come back.” Miller has struggled with overuse injuries in the past, so this device will be groundbreaking for his training.
The treadmill was successfully installed on Sept. 30, and Assistant Coach Tony Masters was the first to use it.
“It felt like running on the moon,” Masters said. “They had me at 30%of my body weight, and I found it incredible.”
The machine still needs to finish a long setup process, but once that process is complete, it will be used almost daily by Etown runners.
