You may have heard of Dr. Lewis Maharam, M.D. FACSM, as he is one of the world’s most credentialed and well-known sports physicians. You may also recognize the name as he’s the genius author behind the Running Doc’s Guide to Healthy Running, which we proudly display in the retail portion of our studio. With such an extensive resume - more on that in a bit - and an incredible practice right here in NYC, we couldn’t be more excited to tell you that Dr. Maharam will be guest-writing for HIGHwire on a routine basis, answering running-related questions that you email us! Simply send an email to marathondocasst@aol.com and use the subject line “For Dr. Maharam”. Now, a word from the doctor:

They call me Doc. Running DocTM. The name fits because over the years, I probably see more runners than anyone. Although I am boarded in “Sports Medicine” and see all injuries from all sports, having been the Medical Director of the NYC Marathon and all the Rock ‘ n’ Roll Marathons and Half Marathons, everyday and professional runners come to see me from all over the world.

I am so pleased to be a consultant to the Mile High Running Club. With this Column you can write to me at marathondocasst@aol.com with a question and we will pick questions that will not only benefit you, but benefit others as well. All answers will remain on the website with an index of the topic so you can search for past answers. Unfortunately we cannot diagnose over email and the internet and we cannot answer each and every question, but I will try to get to as many representative questions as possible. So send in those questions, I look forward to hearing from you.

So, why am I doing this? I am not getting paid to do this and I am not paying to do this as an advertisement. I am doing this because I strongly believe in Mile High Run Club and what it offers runners. Runners normally put on their running shoes and do a run outside, either in the streets or at a park. They do not get coaching and workouts on a regular basis. Some say running is a beautiful thing because you don’t need instruction and you can just go run. I say, if you want to be a better runner, faster and achieve goals, instruction in some way is important. Mile High Run Club, with its treadmills, club lighting and music and classes with coaches that vary speed and incline give runners the opportunity each time out to get better. Mile High Run Club fills a void that runners previous to this did not have. I hope that creating a dialogue with runners through HIGHwire will draw more attention to what the club is doing so that more people will continue to make running a part of their life.

I am looking forward to helping you with your aches and pains and hopefully providing useful tips for both recovery and prevention. We all know downtime is difficult to accept as a runner. Fortunately sports medicine is designed to get you back fast.

Enjoy the ride!

Dr. Lewis Maharam, Running DocTM