Serenbe is full of runners, so when Dr. Kate Edwards opened a second location of her PT practice Precision Performance & Physical Therapy, it was welcomed with open arms. And knees and
Serenbe is full of runners, so when Dr. Kate Edwards opened a second location of her PT practice Precision Performance & Physical Therapy, it was welcomed with open arms. And knees and hips.
If you’re a runner or exercise regularly, it’s inevitable that an injury occurs, whether it’s a twisted ankle or achy joints. In Kate’s work with professional runners and collegiate and high school athletes, she started to notice trends as to why people were getting injured.“A majority of the injuries runners sustain are from over training or training errors,” said Kate. “A lot of those that show up are preventable. In fact, most in the clinic were preventable. [But] the biggest problem in healthcare is that physical therapy is usually the fifth or sixth doctor our clients have seen.”
So she started Fast Bananas, a running company providing “a place where [runners] can come and get any information they absolutely ever needed to run.” There’s so much advice available online, andKate realized if people were going to go there first for diagnoses there needed to be a platform with all the resources athletes at any level would need to stay healthy. Fast Bananas’ platform, RunSource, is just that and the only one like it on the market.
RunSource members can join tracks tailored to their specific needs – Banana Bump for pregnant or new mom runners, Bruised Banana for injured runners, Green Banana for new runners, Banana Smoothie for adolescent runners, etc. – but it’s not a social platform. Fast Bananas is expert driven. They’ve brought together more than 30 experts, from across the country and also from Precision Performance. “Some of Precision’s DPTs are experts for Fast Bananas because they ARE the experts for running in Atlanta,”said Kate. “The companies are separate but they intersect, and Precision uses RunSource for clients that have injuries or ailments that aren’t necessarily PT related.”
The RunSource experts provide knowledge, tips, and support on sports psychology, sports medicine, sports nutrition, and strength training. There are coaching, medical, and performance perspectives, and even professionals guiding you in yoga, meditation, and breath work. “The body is the dumping ground for our thoughts and emotions. So if we don’t address our mental and physical health it’ll show up in our physical selves,”said Kate.
One way Kate likes to take care of her mental and physical health is by running the trails, so it only made sense for Fast Bananas to host this year’s Fall Trail Race at Serenbe to celebrate their 1st birthday..
“We’re aware of the connection of research around the benefits nature has on the mind and the body. The Fast Bananas TrailRace at Serenbe is a celebration of that,” said Kate. “It would be silly for us to have a road race, trails make more sense.” Fast Bananas are all about the silly though. They’re encouraging people to run in banana costumes, and even want to break a world record in 2024 for the most bananas running a trail race.
It’s also important to Kate to have the whole Serenbe community involved. Precision Performance & Physical Therapy and the Gym at Serenbe are hosting two 6-week training sessions that will pair strength training with RunSource tips to keep runners injury free. Big PeachRunning Company and Fleet Feet will also come in for shoe fittings, running form clinics, and informational sessions. And after the race, Serenbe Yoga will do an outdoor recovery class after the race.
After all, “it’s Bananas not to take care of yourself!”
Listento Kate’s story on the Serenbe Stories podcast, Season 5, Ep 9