Memorial SportsCare symposium to feature speaker on barefoot running

[July 23, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- Memorial Medical Center's SportsCare will present its annual Guerry and Michelle Suggs sports medicine symposium on Aug. 3, at Memorial Medical Center. This year's featured speaker will be "Barefoot" Ken Bob Saxton, president of the Los Angeles Barefoot Runners Society, who will discuss barefoot running.

Saxton is considered the leading instructor of barefoot running in the country. He is the co-author of "Barefoot Running Step by Step," a guide to teach runners how to train their feet and body to run barefoot properly and in a way that will dramatically reduce injuries.

Other speakers will discuss common lower body injuries, common knee injuries and more. Presenters also will help participants better understand running mechanics through a running, foot and gait analysis.

The symposium will begin at 8 a.m. in Memorial's Wedeberg Conference Center and will finish with a trip to Memorial's SportsCare for a barefoot running demonstration.

Information presented during the symposium is intended for health care professionals, coaches, athletic directors and parents with an interest in sports injuries.

The event will conclude at 5:15 p.m.

For more information, call 217-862-0444 or visit MemorialSportsCare.com.

Memorial Medical Center is at 701 N. First St. in Springfield. The Wedeberg Conference Center is on the hospital's lower level, near its main entrance. Memorial's SportsCare is located at the corner of Archer Elevator Road and West Iles Avenue in Springfield.

[Text from file received from Memorial Medical Center]