Jake Chanin

There is nothing like the perfect race. I felt like I was gliding through the streets and over the first few bridges at the TCS New York City Marathon. And of course I was running on perfect pace to hit a PR. But then quickly I noticed that my left leg was hurting more and more. My perfect race ended at mile 16 on top of the Queensboro Bridge.

It turned out for weeks I had been harboring a small stress fracture in my left tibia, and during the race what had initially been a minor ache in the weeks before was now a terrible problem. I dropped out of the race and hobbled home on crutches to quickly make an appointment with Dr. Metzl and the HSS team the next day. It was then that I discovered I had developed a medial tibial stress fracture in my left leg from months of overtraining.

While I was sad that my hard work and preparation ended at mile 16, the next few months of rehabilitation that followed were some of the best training I had ever had. Julie Khan and the Sports Medicine Rehab team got me back running faster and safer than I could have imagined. But it was more than just physical therapy, I learned exercises that I should have been doing all along. With Julie's help, I've adopted specific strength training into my weekly routine. Additionally, I have added an occasional massage with Lisa Gray and personal training with Jamie Osmak to help me come back stronger and faster than ever.

Less than 5 months after injuring myself, I was back running and found myself at the Boston Marathon finishing in 2:53. I can't express how thankful I am to my team at HSS for getting me back in the game and better than ever!