How Pilates Helps Runners Reach Their Full Potential
I never thought I’d be one of those people that loves running. One of the first things I noticed when I started running over two decades ago was how dedicated runners are to their sport—yet they rarely did any strength, conditioning, mobility, or core work consistently. This was the complete opposite of gymnastics, the sport I grew up with. Gymnastics is 80% conditioning movement patterns and skill preparation and only 20% acrobatics. It’s a sport built on grit, not just glam, and while I loved it, I welcomed the shift to running—a sport that allowed me to escape the hours of planks, dish holds, rope climbs, and inversions. Running was a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively, and I loved how simple it felt.
At first, everything went well. I placed in the top 10 at the national cross-country championships, ran PB after PB on the track, and felt unstoppable. Until I wasn’t. My first major injury—a fractured sacrum at 21—took me out of the sport for nearly two years. What followed was nearly a decade of injuries, including over 30 stress fractures. And still, I resisted strength training and Pilates.
From Injured Runner to Physiotherapist
As I struggled to return to running, I was also working full-time as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist in private practice and with various sporting clubs. I spent nearly as much time as a patient as I did as a practitioner, and I felt frustrated by my body’s inability to handle the impact load of running.
I saw the same patterns in my running patients—injury cycles that never seemed to break. That’s when I turned to clinical reformer Pilates. I loved the shift in focus toward preventative care rather than just treating pain after it appeared. Runners who added Pilates to their training built better muscular endurance, posture, core strength, and pelvic stability. Not only were they preventing injuries, but they were making performance gains.
The Mat Pilates Pivot & The Running Boom
When the pandemic hit, like many other physios and instructors, I pivoted to mat Pilates in my living room. With reformers unavailable, runners turned to bridging, single-leg stability drills, and core work on the mat. The results were incredible.
Distance runners who had never done Pilates before started feeling stronger, more mobile, and, most importantly, more resilient. They had fewer injuries, less joint pain, and better running form. What started as a temporary solution during lockdown turned into a performance-enhancing and injury-preventing tool that runners genuinely enjoyed.
At the same time, the ‘running boom’ saw a surge of new runners taking to parks, trails, and bike paths. With that came a massive increase in overuse injuries—Achilles tendinopathies, stress fractures, patellofemoral pain, and ITB syndrome. As a physio, I couldn’t treat these injuries fast enough. That’s when I knew I needed to create something runners could access anytime, anywhere. And so, forRunners.app was born.
Training Olympians & Elite Athletes
The Tokyo Olympics brought an unexpected opportunity—I started working with elite marathoners in hotel quarantine post-Games, guiding them through mat Pilates sessions via Zoom. It was eye-opening. These were some of the best endurance athletes in the world, yet Pilates exposed areas of weakness—core stability, single-leg balance, posture, and endurance.
Many of these Olympians, including Genevieve Gregson, Jess Stenson, and Sinead Diver, continued training with me beyond quarantine. We meet weekly on the mat, and when they travel, I send them on-demand sessions to maintain their strength. It’s a reminder that Pilates is the ultimate equaliser—whether you’re a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, it challenges everyone.
Why Runners Need Mat Pilates
Running is a high-impact, repetitive sport, leaving little room for biomechanical error. The injury risk is significant—one in five runners will sustain an injury requiring more than two weeks off within their first six months of training. The three most common injuries—Achilles tendinopathy, patellofemoral pain, and plantar fasciitis—can all be prevented with proper strength and stability work.
The beauty of Pilates for Runners is how well it complements the demands of running. It strengthens endurance, improves single-leg balance, builds deep core control, enhances hip stability, and refines breathwork. Plus, breaking down running mechanics into Pilates movements allows for improved efficiency and injury prevention.
My Own Running Experiment
I put my own method to the test with an experiment: What is the minimal viable run dosage to complete a marathon while supplementing with Pilates?
For eight weeks, I capped my longest run at 10km, running just four times per week, while doing mat Pilates six times per week. Compared to elite runners logging 150-180km per week and amateurs running 70-90km, my approach was unconventional.
The results? A 3:03 debut marathon, no injuries, and a completely enjoyable race experience.
My own journey showed me I needed to create something for every runner, that’s when the for Runner app was born and after many challenges we developed an app that integrates with Strava, features leaderboards, gamification, in-app challenges, and specialized programs, including yoga for runners, pregnancy running programs, breathwork injury rehab modules and more.
The Future of Pilates for Runners
Pilates and running go hand in hand. Whether you're an elite athlete or just starting your running journey, Pilates can improve performance, reduce injury risk, and enhance longevity.
Through forRunners.app, I aim to help runners stay strong, healthy, and resilient—one bridge, plank, and lunge at a time.
Physiotherapist, passionate runner, and the founder of forRunners.app, a specialised platform that integrates Pilates with physiotherapy to enhance running performance and prevent injuries. Drawing from her background with as an elite gymnast and distance runner, Alice combines clinical expertise with athletic experience to empower runners worldwide. Her innovative approach has garnered collaboration with Olympians all over the globe looking for the edge in their performance which she believes starts on the mat. Alice's mission is to provide run specific strength, mobility and rehab to all level runners at any stage of life that they can do anywhere, anytime.