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Most of us would think twice about lifting a 25-pound exercise ball, much less carrying it further than across the room. Richard Sexton has carried one for an entire marathon — and now plans to do it again for the equivalent of 28 marathons over 30 days! What drives a successful business executive to perform such a feat?

“This is a great opportunity to do something really big — bucket list-type big,” says Sexton. By BIG, he means doing something outrageous to raise money and awareness for a great cause. His excursion, a trek from the North Carolina border near Murphy to Myrtle Beach, will support the Myrtle Beach-based nonprofit CAN — Champion Autism Network. Sexton met its founder, Becky Large, at a furniture industry conference in Boston years ago, and was impressed by her energy and positive attitude. He wants to match that inspiration with the Carolinas Can Ruck for Autism challenge — a multi-marathon journey with a purpose.

“At the end of the day, what is it all for?” remarks Sexton about his plans. “How do you contribute to the general welfare?”

Sexton knows his share of success in business already. His art and furniture gallery in Concord, Carolina Rustica, jumped into internet sales early in the game in 1998, and grew into a $10 million company before Sexton sold it in 2012. From there he launched a digital marketing agency while earning his credentials as a substitute teacher, often working with special needs children in Cabarrus County schools.

In 2016, Sexton carried his 25-pound slam ball, nicknamed “Slappy,” on his back for the entire Myrtle Beach Marathon to raise awareness for CAN, stopping to do a slam ball press at every mile. This time, he will carry Slappy in a rucksack (military backpack) and skip the extra push-ups to stay focused on the long journey. Slappy’s name, says Sexton, comes from the feeling of being totally spent — or “slap happy.”

“There’s definitely going to be some ugly parts, but I’m prepared mentally for it,” says Sexton. To put it bluntly, “Every endurance athlete knows about ‘the suck.’ You gotta let it happen, then pull yourself out of it. It’s all mental.”

His mental toughness is borne out of seeing the positive way families with children on the autism spectrum approach each day and carry on with energy. Slappy represents that extra load carried each day by those with autism and their families and caretakers. Yet he refuses to call that load a “burden,” instead using the word “challenge.”

“They are really amazing how they come in every day with a positive attitude,” says Sexton. “Their challenge is very different for them than for us.”

Sexton started training with Slappy 5 years ago, before the aforementioned marathon. He always had it in the back of his mind to do it again — but bigger. But a job change a year ago and a serious bout with COVID in June solidified his resolve to make it happen. He’s been training for 8 months now, and that, in itself, was a journey. He worked with a coach to increase his endurance incrementally.

“We built up the distance with the slam ball first, a few times a week,” he says. “Then we compressed the days together, until I could do a couple days in row. We’d spike it up, and back off, and then do it again a little higher.”

His journey starts on Wednesday, April 28, at the NC border, very near where North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia meet. His goal is to run a marathon every day, sometimes starting each day at the end of the day’s route and doubling back to hotels he stayed at the night before. The goal is to run the distance every day with Slappy, even if the segments aren’t end to end. The journey winds through Charlotte the weekend of May 8-9 — Mothers Day — where he’ll “camp” at home.

Sexton also has a built-in break in the middle of the route, to drive home and see his daughter’s dance recital. (Some things you can’t miss!) From there, it’s on to his final destination at Surfside Beach, SC, on May 26 — in time for his 25th wedding anniversary. He’s researched Google Street View for the entire route, to make sure roads are safe for runners. Volunteers will trade off driving support vans along the route to stay close and help him stay focused.

“They’re meeting me halfway through every day to have a real lunch,” says Sexton. “Nutrition is going to be a challenge — I need 5-6,000 calories every day.” Gulp.

He credits sponsors for helping him get started, and his F3 workout partners for continued motivation. He says he’s “tired of training” and just wants to hit the road and meet people to share his purpose.

“The awesome part will be the people — meeting them and sharing about autism sensitivity and awareness,” he says, noting he has a “ton” of cards to give out. “In that way, we’ve already helped a little.” Sexton has already raised $10,000 of his $50,000 goal.

“It’s really humbling,” he says. “People have been really generous.”

But he and Slappy have a long way to go, though, to reach his destination and his financial goals. He knows it will be worth it, but getting there is the challenge. How will he do it?

“Step by step,” he says.

For more details on Richard’s journey or to follow his route, look him up here:

https://www.carolinascanruckforautism.com/home

I know we sometimes say that staying in shape can be a pain, but we also know running shouldn’t cause pain. The calves, knees, and back can quickly tell us when we’ve done too much. But if running becomes a literal pain in the butt, it might be piriformis syndrome. The main cause of piriformis syndrome is overuse during exercise — like overdoing a new workout routine — or sitting too long.

The piriformis muscle runs from the lower spine to the top of the femur, on top of the sciatic nerve. If the piriformis gets tight or stressed, it can press on the sciatic nerve and cause pain. While the origin of sciatica is different from piriformis syndrome, they often share the same symptoms like pain in the lower back, buttocks, and down the leg.

A doctor can help you sort out whether your pain is a serious problem, or if it’s just sore muscles and a few stretches can help. We asked Will Hayes, Performance Manager at Novant Health Sports Performance, and Taylor Pigg, Clinical Exercise Physiologist, for suggestions. They remind us to do these gently, especially at first!

Foam Roller

“If your piriformis is tight and you want to alleviate that, and low back discomfort, you could use soft tissue work,” says Hayes. “If you have a foam roller, you can use that for soft tissue manipulation.”

Roll for about a minute on each side with the roller or a ball. It will take the tightness out of the tissue and allow the muscle to relax.

Figure 4 Stretch

Lie on your back and bend one knee up, and cross it over the other. Pull the bottom knee up to your chest. A couple of other variations include twisting the opposite way to stretch the muscle, or pulling the knee up to the opposite shoulder.

“Piriformis is a hip flexor and also external rotator, and Figure 4 will open that up,” says Hayes. “Lower back pain is usually caused by tightness above and below the sore area.   When we open that up, we alleviate those symptoms,” he says.

Seated Twist

Sit with legs criss-crossed and place your right foot over the left knee, pointing your right knee upright. Place your left elbow on your right knee and gently twist to the right. Hold, then switch legs and repeat.

“The key to relieving piriformis irritation caused by over tightness of this muscle is to gently get in poses that lengthen and release the tightness and ease the inflammation of this muscle,” says Pigg.

Standing Forward Fold

Stand with feet flat and legs mostly straight, but knees slightly bent. “Fold” over and touch the mat in front of you, stretching the lower back. If you can’t reach the ground right away, take your time. You’ll get there eventually.

Pigg likes both the seated twist and standing forward fold to gently lengthen the piriformis muscle, while strengthening the surrounding muscles.

“It’s important to note that the piriformis muscle is the key muscle in keeping the SI joint stabilized,” says Pigg. “A lot of times, when there is tightness in the piriformis muscle, the sacrum may be out of proper alignment. Once you have found some ease in the piriformis joint by gently stretching this muscle, you can then refocus on building proper pelvic alignment.” From there, says Pigg, you can work your way into the Tree Pose, which strengthens the piriformis muscle.

Pigeon Pose

And while you’ve got your mat out, slide into the Pigeon Pose. Facing forward, bend one knee under you and slide the other leg back. Bring the foot of the bent leg towards the opposite hip and gently lean forward.

“This targets your piriformis area,” says Hayes, “and will bring relief.”

These are great stretches to do before and after running, too. Don’t forget that part, Hayes reminds us. Getting muscles into work mode prevents injuries, and taking time to cool down afterwards allows the body to “rest and reset” after the “fight or flight” activity of exercising. Hopefully, this will let you both run and sit more comfortably.

We get it — this has been a rough year, and we’re itching to get back to normal. But there’s one itch we could live without: Spring allergies! Oh yes, we love when the cold weather breaks and cool, clear, sunny days lift our spirits. But if you’re an allergy sufferer, a long run means an itchy nose and watery eyes and maybe even a full-on allergy attack. Yikes.

And here’s a fun fact: Charlotte is typically ranked in the top 50 cities in the U.S. for worst allergies reported, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Ok, so probably not such a fun fact.

Running in a mask is always an option, but we’re pretty tired of those things, aren’t we? (Doctors say you should still wear one when you’re around people, or indoors — but outdoors and alone is our chance to be free of the fabric, right?) And they won’t filter out the smallest allergens, either. Your best bet is to know your allergens.

“In spring, we have tree pollen,” says Dr. Puja Rajani, a Novant Health Pediatric Allergy & Immunology Specialist. That’s a change from the Fall. “In Fall, we have weed pollen and mold because it’s the rainy season, which means increased mold.”

Before you cut down your giant blooming magnolia, realize that the flowering trees in your neighborhood likely aren’t the problem.

“Heavier pollens, like magnolia and pine, aren’t usually a trigger,” says Dr. Rajani. “The size of antigen — it’s too big. It won’t trigger asthma.” The larger pollens (including those flowering bulbs we associate with spring) will simply fall to the ground, and aren’t likely to get kicked up in numbers to cause a reaction. The culprits in the spring are the trees we love so much in North Carolina: elm, cottonwood, cedar, oak, birch, hickory/pecan, and sweetgum trees. Other culprits are black walnut, sycamore, maple-box elder, mulberry, bald cypress, ash, and willow.

Oh, and welcome to Tree City, USA. We have an official designation, you know. But even if you remove your trees (or grass or other allergens) from your yard, pollen travels, and you can’t do much about your neighbor’s landscape. So what do you do if you love running outdoors in our perfect Spring weather?

“You should never let allergies stop you from doing things you want to do,” says Dr. Rajani. There are solutions. “Local” treatments like nose sprays treat nasal tissue at the source (hence, “local”). Flonase and Nasacort are two good ones. It may take a couple of weeks to see the results, says Dr. Rajani, so plan their use around your runs.

For allergy pills, consider the chemical make-up — which ones may make you sluggish or hyper. For instance, Allegra (Fexofenadine HCl) doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier, but Claritin (Loratadine) and Zyrtec (Cetirizine) have been shown to cause drowsiness in 10-15% of patients, says Dr. Rajani.

For holistic relief, turmeric can lessen symptoms for the long term because of its anti-inflammatory properties. A neti pot or nasal rinse can also relieve symptoms temporarily without side effects, but aren’t a long-term solution. You may need to try a few things to learn what works best for you.

And here’s the biggest piece of advice: Don’t try something new the night before or morning of the race!

If your allergies go beyond the mild and quickly treatable, you may consider immunotherapy — in other words, allergy shots. Skin tests can determine what your triggers are so you can treat them.

“That’s the only way we have that doesn’t just put a Band-aid on symptoms, it actually treats the underlying cause,” says Dr. Rajani. “We teach the immune system that it doesn’t need to be reactive.” Allergy shots help your body to build up a resistance to allergens. If severe allergies keep you from doing what you want, or induce asthma, shots might be a good option.

You can track daily allergens on popular weather apps, like WeatherBug, My Pollen Forecast, or Plume Air Report. That will let you know to have meds handy in case you need them. You can also control your environmental factors, by washing pets if they go outside, keeping your air filters clean, and taking a shower after every run. Washing your linens, especially your pillowcases, can help, too.

And as always, if in doubt, ask your doctor. Spring in North Carolina is beautiful — go out and enjoy it!