The Central Performance Running Centre
Are you a runner who’s sick of picking up injuries? Or are you looking for help to break that performance ceiling that’s been frustrating you? We can help.
The Central Performance Running Centre brings together everything a runner needs in one great facility. We have professional coaches, experienced physios with advanced training in the management of running injuries, and specialist strength and conditioning programs for runners.
Maximum Results For Runners Of All Abilities
We love working with runners of all ability levels, ages and experience. If you are just starting out we can get you on the right track with a running gait assessment to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success. Having the right technique will increase your running efficiency, meaning that you can run faster for longer with less risk of injury. We can also give you a program for your weekly runs to get the best results from the time and effort you put in.
Once you have a established a solid foundation of running technique and fitness, it’s time to work on your performance. You have the option of either in-person or online coaching programs that will help you consistently hit your goals for speed and distance. Your program is fully tailored to your situation and takes into account factors such as the time and frequency you have available for running, your target races (eg City 2 Surf, 5k and 10k fun runs, Parkruns…), your running history, and any injuries or other factors that can influence designing the best program for you.
For our advanced runners we provide high-level personalised coaching programs, plus we can also add in run-specific strength and conditioning with our degree-qualified coaches. Adding the right gym program to your running training is like adding fuel to the fire. You build a stronger body that can perform at higher levels for longer, plus you build resilience so that your risk of injury is minimised.
Elite Running Coaching Groups
For elite runners our invitation-only junior and senior squads provide the perfect environment and support you need to compete at the highest level. Our runners regularly win state and national championships plus compete internationally, including at the Tokyo Olympics. We have also had several runners receive full athletics scholarships to USA universities. For more information, including qualification criteria, please email Ben Liddy at ben@centralperformance.com.au.
Running Coaching – Professional Coaching From Certified Coaches
Ben Liddy, our Head of Running Performance, is one of only a few Level 4 World Athletics Certified Coaches in Australia. He will help you improve your technique & program your runs to increase running performance and minimise injury risk. Ben is regularly involved with Athletics Australia projects involving coaching and injury management.
Most clients begin their coaching program with our unique RunRight Program. This treadmill-based program optimises your running technique and starts to program your weekly runs for maximum gains.
For some runners, once they have completed the RunRight program they are able to go and continue their running journey independently, confident that they have a great foundation to build on. For others, they choose to continue working with Ben with either in-clinic or online coaching options available.
Running Physio
For runners, nothing is more frustrating than injuries. It takes you out of action or reduces your running, which drops your fitness and can take away many of the gains you have made over recent training blocks. As well as the physical effects, disruption to your running training can take a toll mentally because many people use running as a way to destress and clear their heads.
We approach the issue of running injuries from two sides: minimisation (prevention), and treatment.
Prevention Of Running Injuries
Obviously prevention is better than cure, so our physio’s and coaches are very experienced in helping clients with load management in their running programs. Load management is the balance of loading (running volume, frequency, intensity, speed, hills…) with recovery. It also takes into account cross-training and gym work.
Effective load management helps you safely push your performance by balancing your training load with the right recovery. This, alongside other factors like having the correct running technique, strength and conditioning, nutrition and sleep, will minimise your risk of injury.
Physio Treatment Of Running Injuries
If you do pick up and injury, you want to get it treated by physios who really love & understand running. Whenever possible we keep you running while you recover, and guide you through cross-training options to maintain your fitness and running capacity.
We focus diagnosing the cause of your problem, not just treating the symptoms. This is especially important for recurrent or persisting injuries. Clients often report that niggly injuries go away if they stop or significantly reduce their running, or if they have had symptom-based treatment in the past. But the problem just recurs when they restart running or begin to increase their volume again.
Recurrent or persisting injuries are a sure sign that there is an underlying cause of the problem that has not been addressed by rest or symptom-based treatment. Managing these types of injuries is what really sets our running physio team apart. We have all of the knowledge and experience of managing running injuries needed to break down and identify the root cause of the problem. This can vary from technique issues to load management, strength deficits to mobility restrictions.
Once we identify the underlying cause of the pain, we talk you through a treatment plan that will correct these factors and give you lasting resolution of the problem. Most problems can be effectively managed with physio and strengthening however, if any scans (MRI or x-rays) or specialist referrals (eg to a sports physician) are needed we work with a network of leading clinics in these areas so we can help you arrange these if necessary.
Many running injuries are due to tissue overloading, where the amount of stress placed on a tissue exceeds the capacity of that tissue. Load management is a key factor in this (as described above), however using strength training to increase your tissue’s capacity to take load once your symptoms have reduced is an area that is often overlooked. We focus on this so that as your symptoms reduce we guide you onto a structured strength program to increase the load-bearing capacity of the tissues, thereby minimising the risk of the injury recurring.
Running Strength & Conditioning
Strength and conditioning (or “gym work”), is an area that is traditionally undervalued by runners. This is unfortunate because it can bring big benefits to your running.
Many runners just want to get out and run, so taking time away from this to spend in the gym is hard. But adding even a small amount of well-designed strength work can deliver significant results in performance improvement as well as protection from injury. Increasing the strength of your body’s tissues means they can produce more force more quickly, leading to boosts in running performance. This increase in strength also increases the resilience of your body’s tissues, allowing them to take more load without injury. Combined, these effects mean adding some gym work to your running program can give you big gains in both performance and injury reduction.
We provide personalised strength and conditioning programs for runners to improve performance & protect from injury. We have a fully equipped onsite gym, and our degree-qualified coaches love working with runners from beginners to advanced. Our programs are tailored for your current level of strength and fitness, any injury factors, your training experience and exercise preferences. You have the option of private or partnered sessions at flexible times that suit you.
Many runners just want to get out and run, so taking time away from this to spend in the gym is hard. But adding even a small amount of well-designed strength work can deliver significant results in performance improvement as well as protection from injury. Increasing the strength of your body’s tissues means they can produce more force more quickly, leading to boosts in running performance. This increase in strength also increases the resilience of your body’s tissues, allowing them to take more load without injury. Combined, these effects mean adding some gym work to your running program can give you big gains in both performance and injury reduction.
We provide personalised strength and conditioning programs for runners to improve performance & protect from injury. We have a fully equipped onsite gym, and our degree-qualified coaches love working with runners from beginners to advanced. Our programs are tailored for your current level of strength and fitness, any injury factors, your training experience and exercise preferences. You have the option of private or partnered sessions at flexible times that suit you.
We Love running As Much As You Do
We love helping runners of all abilities get the most out of their running. Whether you have an injury that needs physio to get you back on the road, want to check your technique to make sure it’s right, or want to really work on your performance with coaching and strength and conditioning, we are here to help.
If you would like any more information about our running centre services please call us on 9280 2322 or click below for more information or to book online.
Ben Liddy – Head Of Running Performance
Our coaching team is headed up by Ben Liddy, one of the few Australian-based World Athletics Level 4 Certified middle-long distance running coaches. With a history of running at the elite level himself, Ben really understands the physical and mental demands of running, as well as the process of recovering from injury.
As Head Of Running Performance Ben spends almost all of his time managing running injuries as well as running coaching to improve performance. He is extremely passionate about running & loves working with both our recreational and elite athletes.
As well as working with recreational runners Ben also coaches our elite run squad, Central Performance Track. This invitation-only squad includes runners from state to national level. He also works with our coaching team in developing our junior track squad, Central Performance Juniors.
