GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Airmen wishing to improve their running or experiencing pain while running can learn new techniques and proper running ergonomics at the running clinic offered at the Health and Wellness Center here.

The clinic is coordinated and instructed by Leah Melquist, HAWC health promotion manager, who encourages Grand Forks AFB members to sign up if they are looking for ways to improve.

"If becoming a better runner or running with less pain interests you, you should probably come to the running clinic," said Melquist.

Melquist, who is credentialed in the discipline, oversees the clinic and continues to keep it on its feet.

She said most of the Airmen that come to the running clinic are there because they experience pain while running, but they don't necessarily have anything physically wrong with them. This pain, whether shin splints, runner's knee or back pain, is often caused by poor running form, wearing the wrong type of shoes while running or a combination of both. She is usually able to determine the cause of their pain by watching them run and correcting the issues, she said.

Senior Airman Morgan Mesa, an aircraft structural maintenance apprentice with the 69th Reconnaissance Group, said he attended the running clinic because he was experiencing knee pain and shin pain from running. Melquist was able to determine the source of his pain as poor running form, and correct it.

"A lot of the stuff that I've learned about running in the past is the exact opposite of what I learned in the running clinic," said Mesa. "I had been running the wrong way the whole time and not known it until Ms. Melquist told me how to fix what I was doing."

Mesa said that he also learned that the type of shoe he was wearing was the bare minimum, which only added to his injuries while running.

"It is important to practice the correct running form and to run regularly to avoid injuries," Melquist said. "You also need the right kind of shoe for your running style."

Melquist also teaches several different lower body exercises to help strengthen the muscles that are used to run. Keeping muscles trained by consistently running is just as important as consistently training them with strength exercises.

"If it hurts to run, there's typically a reason for it," said Melquist. "When people get hurt they're usually doing too much too fast, or they don't do any strength training and only run when they're told to."

Melquist believes the running clinic is important because running plays a huge role in the Air Force culture, so it is important for Airmen to learn how to avoid injuries while doing so.

For more information about the HAWC's running clinic or any other programs offered there, call 701-747-5546.