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Anybody own a Zerorunner?
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Curious if anyone out there owns a Zerorunner and uses it regularly. I'm already at that point where running more than 35mpw hits my ankle arthritis, so I'm looking down the road as to mitigated the pounding. I actually love aquarunning and that's my main plan for moving some of the higher impact miles off the joints (particularly sprints/VO2max stuff) but it would be nice to have a home device that could also do that.

And yes, I'm aware cycling and the Vasa erg are non impact and I could just amp up on those, but my first love was and will always be running, so I'm looking to keep that going as long as possible at as high a level as possible.
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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I’ll be interested to see if anyone has experience with this.

Do you own a treadmill? I did 9 miles yesterday on the Santa Monica boardwalk. It was a beautiful morning and the setting is spectacular. My body was telling me a treadmill would be better because at least I could change the pitch from time to time. The treadmill would also have been softer than that rock hard concrete.

Dave Jewell
Free Run Speed

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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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The YMCA closest to me has two ZeroRunners (they are side by side & only one is available due to the virus) and I have occasionally used one. It's not 100% like running on the road, but much better than an elliptical machine. It's definitely a low impact way to run. I like to use it now & then & concentrate on keeping my stride the same on my left & right. The display on the ZeroRunner draws a graph as you run & you can work on maintaining a consistent "circle". I've never liked running on a treadmill, mostly just running on one when I was traveling & that was the only option for getting in a run. I've been running for over 40 years & I've been lucky to avoid serious injury that has kept me from running long term, but when you are trying to come back from an injury (I broke a bone in my foot earlier this year), you can use the ZeroRunner to get started before running on the road or even soft surface. One thing I think they could improve is the way the arm action works. You don't run moving your arms back & forth parallel to the ground, but that's the way the ZeroRunner works. Doesn't impact what's happening with your legs, it's just not the same arm action that you would normally run with.

If you can, I would certainly try one at a gym before buying one. It's one of those things that you need to see for yourself whether you like it or not.
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [drkoontz] [ In reply to ]
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I used one for about 15 minutes at the local Precor retail store before COVID, over a year and a half ago.

I liked the nonimpact nature of it, but found it hard to get my HR up on it. I'm not sure it would translate well to running, but I'm open minded.

I do think it's telling that on ST, not a single person has come forth with owning one of these things. And you KNOW there are tons of STers who have disposable income to burn and would love to keep running except for their arthritis. (The $30k+ for Endless pool installation threads are always interesting.)
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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I own one and use it weekly to supplement my running . I'm 64 and injury prone. I don't really consider myself a runner having only run about 1000 miles this year. I find it much better than an elliptical, but it isn't quite running either. It works for a slower runner like me, 9:30 per mile pace, but I wonder how someone that actually can run would find the experience.

It did what I bought it for, which was to reduce my running and still allow me to finish IM Florida this year. You should try one before you buy. It only took me a minute or two to get the motion down, but my wife gave up before mastering the motion and sticks to the treadmill.

Good luck,
Greg
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [alfaholic] [ In reply to ]
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That's helpful thanks!

What is your typical run to zerorunner weekly breakdown?
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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I have used one in the past, but do not own one. As others have mentioned, it mimics running better than an elliptical, but I found it cumbersome to use. It would not be something I would want to use on a regular basis, but would be good for coming off an injury or for lessening the wear and tear on your body. If you were using it exclusively, you would need a transition period for running outside. It is no substitute for the fatigue that builds up from outdoor running.
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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I used it for two runs per week. General they were slower zone 2 runs. I tried faster intervals, but those didn't work as well on the Zerorunner, so I did those outside. I found that an hour on it was all I could tolerate. Ellipticals and the Zerorunner make my feet go numb. I guess that isn't that uncommon.

Greg
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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I have a good friend that has one. He tends to be prone to stress fractures and so when those pop up he runs quite a bit on his. He has trained for Ironmans and possibly even Kona while using the zero runner for a majority of his running. Let me know if there is anything specific you want to know and I can ask him.
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [jpay] [ In reply to ]
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jpay wrote:
I have a good friend that has one. He tends to be prone to stress fractures and so when those pop up he runs quite a bit on his. He has trained for Ironmans and possibly even Kona while using the zero runner for a majority of his running. Let me know if there is anything specific you want to know and I can ask him.


Yeah, if he could share his ideal Zerorunner:real running ratio would be great, thanks. I foresee myself going down this route as I age up and my arthritis becomes more of a training limiter. For now though, it's big cushy shoes and bouncy treadmills mixed in with road miles.
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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As far as the ideal ratio, it's always going to be as much as you can handle real running. There is just no substitute that can prepare you for the pounding of the marathon at the end of an Ironman.
However, I know from experience that the zero runner can adequately prepare you to perform at a certain percentage of your capability. And sometimes to do what you love, i.e., race an Ironman, you have to train through an injury. That's really for me where the zero runner has earned it's place in my pain cave.
The few items I've learned by putting countless hours on that beast is the following.

1-there is still some stress put on your soft tissues and it's not 100% non-load bearing like aqua jogging. If you have pain on the zero runner then you should likely go back to aqua jogging for a time. That being said, zero runner is waaaaay better than aqua jogging to develop running fitness and durability.

2- you can do intervals and higher stress type sessions on the zero runner, but I really question whether it would be more advantageous to save that intensity for bike sessions and stick to aerobic base type efforts on the zero runner.

3-i dont pay attention to the pace shown on the display, it can be manipulated pretty easily by the "stride length" and in the end what are really trying to achieve is trying to mimic real running. So, I simply go by heart rate and use my running HR zones. I also try to not use the handles very much, forcing me to keep balanced and controlled. I have found this also engages the small stability muscles if the lower legs so that when I get back to real running those small muscles are a bit more prepared.

4- I always use the highest resistance. Once the oil or whatever is in there heats up then it's too easy on the light resistance. It takes about 5-10 min to heat up.

5-while it's again impossible to compare time on the zero runner to real running, I would say that zero runner time would equate to about 70% of outside running in terms of developing running fitness and durability. So, you may need to spend a bit more time to get those long runs in.

Hope that helps. Just to give you an idea of how effective the zero runner can be, Santa Rosa 2017, only had 2 weeks of being able to run prior to the race. Other than that it was all zero runner. Finished fine, marathon time was prob about 10-15 min slower than it would have been had there been no injury, by my estimation anyway.😉
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [bricewilliams] [ In reply to ]
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Wow that's really impressive that you did a full IM with so much Zerorunning. Sounds legit, I'm going to seriously consider one down the road, thanks!
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Re: Anybody own a Zerorunner? [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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I have had one for 3 years. I train for Olympic and 70.3 and run a 1:35 half marathon.

I do 3 runs outside per week never exceeding 1 hour. After my weekend run, I then jump onto the zero runner for another hour to extend my run length.

I also try to fit in a shorter session on the zero runner weekly when I can.

When training time ramps up prior to races, I rarely increase my outdoor running. And just keep adding more zero running. They get up to 1:1 some weeks.

I am a bad runner.
I met Javier Gomez once.
I don't speak in miles.
I have opinions.
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