SCOTTISH MARATHON & ULTRA RUNNER UNDERGOING BUNION & HAGLUND’S DEFORMITY SURGERY
- a personal account by Neil Renault of his journey from decision through to (hopefully & eventual) return - which hopefully will be useful to others!
-intro is below, but check out the blog for the story & updates
A BIT ABOUT ME
My first race was a 5 mile road race on 5th November 2000, which it turns out was
exactly 20 years to the day before my last outdoor run on 5th November 2020 !
Over the last 20 years I've run for Deal Tri, Medway & Maidstone AC, Nottingham university, Long Eaton Running club, Scotland and Edinburgh AC.
As a younger athlete I started running with distances of 5-10 miles on the road and never really knew about track or cross country. I ran my first marathon after a year (Paris - 2:57) at 18 yrs old and was subsequently coached by the McNeill twins (James for 2 years and Andy 12 years), where I progressed my road times of 5k, 10k, 10 mile, half and full marathon to 14:38, 30:04, 48:48, 64:48 & 2:18:21 respectively.
In 20 years of running there were numerous road race wins, a few track and trail race wins and not a single cross country win. I competed for a GB marathon development team in 2007 in Toronto, twice for Scotland over 10 miles and was fortunate to run in some amazing road races around the world. Highlights include winning several half marathons and full marathons including Nottingham and Essen. Podiuming in other marathons such as Edinburgh, Chester & Wurzburg, as well as a 10th place at the Great North run and 14th place at the London marathon, as well as numerous road race course records.
In 2018 I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and I take Methotrexate which is an immuno-suppressant. Its hard to say how much this has suppressed my performances (both when I experienced symptoms for 6 months in my upper body and since being on the medication).
More recently I've moved to the ultra distances but still quite new to it with decent runs at the Glen Ogle 33 (CR), Gloucester 50k & Deeside 33m.
Preceding the timing of a move to ultras has coincided with significant feet pain, particularly on my right foot where I've developed a large bunion and a Haglund's deformity on the heel.
The bunion causes the big toe to move inwards which causes dysfunction in the joint and compression in the other metatarsal joints. Even putting on Crocs feels tight! The forefoot feels stiff and the bursa on the side protrudes through the shoe material as it becomes agitated.
The Haglund's deformity is a boney growth on the outside curve of the heel close to the achilles attachment. Over the years the agitation causes further growth and a calcaneal bursa to form. Fast and long running causes inflammation which subsides with rest & ice. A steriod injection in Dec 2019 helped for 3 months, but the bone growth will be of continuous agitation and causes further pain. Technically its defined as insertional Achilles tendonitis plus retro-calcaneal exostosis
Both of these combined I decided to have surgery. Over the past 2 years these issues have caused pain and swelling which have restricted my training in terms of recovery, volume, speed and biomechanics. An on-going issue on my left foot is likely linked to my pain in my right and change in biomechanics.
I hope from surgery and gradual (6 months+) rehab to have reduced pain, regained function and an eventual resumption to running activities, with aspirations to once again running for Scotland (I was selected for the ACP 100k in May but this was postponed & cancelled due to Covid) and Covid has probably accelerated my decision for surgery given the uncertainty around race calendars, as well the pain, and my wife and I expecting our first baby in Feb 2021! 3 months to get back on my feet.
Neil Renault (November 2020)
