How One Detroit Runner Got Back on Track After Injury

Professionally and personally, running has been a part of Megan Warzecha’s life for as long as she can remember. “It’s my hobby and my work” she says. Growing up, her dad was a runner, and she began taking interest while in middle school.

"I ran a little bit here and there in middle school and ran cross country and track for a couple of seasons in high school," says Megan who resides in Detroit. In 2013, she started racing and training consistently and began coaching distance runners in 2016. The former teacher currently oversees marketing for Trivium Racing, a race hosting and event management company.

Megan is also actively involved with the race day operations team for the Detroit Free Press Marathon and counts the Detroit Free Press Marathon, Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Indy Marathon and the Highball to Thurmond 50 K in West Virginia among the racing events she has participated in. During the COVID-19 pandemic when most races were cancelled, Megan also did her own self-supported 50k event.

“Needless to say, running is a significant part of my life, and I love the running community in Southeast Michigan,” says Megan.

Injury strikes after years of racing

In the fall of 2022 Megan faced what so many athletes fear in their athletic journey.

“At this point, I knew injury was coming on. My mechanics felt off and my running became slower. I just kept pushing through, though.”

Megan could tell her body didn’t feel the way it used to. She continued training in spring of 2023, but she noticed her hip started to hurt. So, she reached out to her friend, Stefanie Heyser, physical therapist at Henry Ford Health, to get some advice. Stefanie advised that she meet with orthopedic surgeon, T. Sean Lynch, MD, and got her an appointment.

Upon meeting with Dr. Lynch, Megan was diagnosed with a bulging disc in her lower back and a labral tear in both of her hips.

“One thing I really appreciated about my care at Henry Ford is that they treated me like an athlete and did everything they could to get me back to running. They gave me the choice of how to proceed after my diagnosis and I felt empowered," said Megan, “I chose to continue with physical therapy at the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center instead of surgery, and Dr. Lynch and the whole team respected my decision.”

Gaining strength and stability

Megan began physical therapy in May of 2023 and spent the rest of the year rebuilding her strength. Her physical therapist, Stefanie Heyser, said, “When Megan came to me, she was lacking hip and trunk stability. I began working with her on her running posture and strengthening her hips and core.”

In many cases, lack of strength and stability can cause a ripple effect of additional issues. In Megan’s instance, she experienced issues in her upper and lower back as well as her hip joints.

“What I appreciate about Megan is that she’s a good problem solver and detective. She is an asset to the running community. She also understands the “why.” So, when I asked her to decrease the number of days she was running per week to reduce her joint inflammation, she was compliant and diligent. She went above and beyond throughout her entire rehab process,” said Stefanie.

Megan was discharged from physical therapy at the beginning of 2024 and was ready to begin running again.

Lessons from a painful setback

Once Megan got back to running, she had to significantly cut back her mileage while training and work her way back up.

“I could feel I was getting stronger, but my running mechanics still didn’t feel good. I felt clunky. I ran the Rock CF Half Marathon on Grosse Ile and didn’t cause any reinjury, so I signed up for a half marathon in Toledo in April of 2024, and the Chicago Marathon in the fall of 2024,” said Megan.

By all accounts the Chicago Marathon did not go as planned. “Despite thinking I was ready for it, I experienced significant pain throughout my body and had to be walked across the finish line by medical personnel.”

Megan says it was an important lesson in her recovery. “The challenge is you still want to be competitive, but you can't follow a traditional roadmap. I didn't cut back enough in the training and my body did not adapt which ended up leading to pain and discomfort.”

Megan’s physical therapy team helped her to better assess pain versus soreness. They also gave her an arsenal of exercises and strength training to do on her own as she trained for races in the future.

“I kept doing all of the exercises that I learned from PT, and I kept progressing with more weight training and advanced exercises leading to a better understanding of how to adjust the schedule and the rest days and through this process I kept getting more and more optimistic about running in the future,” says Megan.

With more time and experience listening to her body, Megan had her sights set on the Highball to Thurmond 50 K in West Virginia held in May of 2025, a race that her company is also involved in organizing and promoting.

“I ran the trail ultra in the Appalachian Mountains which is different than a flat road marathon. In this race you're climbing a few thousand feet. It’s a longer distance but you go slower,” she explains. “I think it was helpful because my body is not going back to where it was when I was 38 and didn't have an injury. I was able to complete the race and then because my company produces the event, I worked six hours on my feet after the race,” she says. Considering my last big race ended in a wheelchair, it was a great sense of accomplishment.”

Megan coached herself in preparation for the race because she felt she was going to be the only one who was going to be capable of making the on-the-fly modifications based on how her body was feeling. With the successful race behind her, Megan has recently hired a coach to challenge her to new heights.

Looking ahead with optimism

“I’ve been running since I was 12 and I will be 42 this year. The most important goal I have is to continue to do what I love and that is running. With the tools I have learned from the physical therapy team to help manage pain and overcome injuries by building strength and letting my body heal, I still hope to be running when I’m 78 years old, whether it means I have to continue to go to physical therapy or occasionally take time off, I’m fine with that because this is fun.”