WITH the benefit of hindsight, Dewi Griffiths now realises that a stumble as he went to pick up his drinks bottle during the London Marathon last year was a signal that something was wrong.
His time of 2:11:46 in finishing third Briton had still earned him a place on the team for the World Championships in Doha but the Welshman would ultimately not make it to Qatar.
The 28-year-old who had impressed so many with his marathon debut time of 2:09:49 in 2017 could not put his finger on why he didn’t feel right – and things got worse.
His third place at the ASICS 10k in London in July proved to be his only road race of the summer as headaches and chronic fatigue meant that his training eventually ground to a halt and priorities were forced to change. “It wasn’t just a case of when I’d be back running it was more a case of ‘can I just have a normal day?’,” he admits.
Not knowing the cause simply added to the anxiety and frustration and Griffiths admits that he began to wonder if he would ever be able to compete again.
It wasn’t until October, thanks to a physio “thinking outside of the box” that Griffiths uncovered the source of his problems.
The vestibular system includes parts of the inner ear and brain that help to control balance and eye movements. If that system is disrupted in any way by illness or injury then symptoms such as vertigo and dizziness can develop.
“I eventually found out I had a vestibular problem which meant my balance was out,” explains Griffiths. “It probably explains why I fell over the table in London when I went to pick the bottle up.
This story is from the January 23, 2020 edition of Athletics Weekly.
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This story is from the January 23, 2020 edition of Athletics Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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