The Runner's Academy

The Runner’s Academy is one of the latest health and wellness studios to hit St. Clair West. However, co-owners Janie MacDonald and her husband Dr. Kris Sheppard employed their expertise to carve out a niche; their clinic is the first in Toronto dedicated solely to delivering comprehensive support for runners.

Janie and Kris, along with a team of specialists, provide a holistic approach to rehabilitation with massage, acupuncture, chiropractic services and personal training. For more in-depth fitness assistance, clients can participate in a six-week Building Better Runners program for guided support in perfecting their running technique. “Just as someone may take tennis lessons to become a better tennis player, we offer lessons — and take clients through a specific protocol to enhance their style — so that they become more efficient runners,” says Janie.

Posture is a key component of performance, and the clinic offers a video-recorded running gait analysis as part of the Better Runners Program so clients can visualize their technique. Many clients are surprised to learn they’ve been slumping forward, leaning backwards, or twisting through the torso. Sometimes even the slightest tweaks in posture can provide drastic results.

Perhaps the greatest performance-enhancing tool among the clinics offering is the anti-gravity treadmill, otherwise known as the Alter-G Treadmill. The Runner’s Academy is only the second clinic within the GTA to make this treadmill available to the general public. The space age-machine is patented technology developed by NASA and is designed to remove up to 80 per cent bodyweight, which aids in pain reduction and rehabilitation for lower limb injuries and enables increased endurance.