IT scored a thumbs up from elite athletes, and now a Corbridge physio is hoping his first published book will prove a hit with a global market.

Olympians Paula Radcliffe, Steve Cram, Laura Weightman and Ross Murray all received a draft of Paul Hobrough’s self-help book Running Free of Injuries: From Pain to Personal Best and gave glowing reviews ahead of its publication.

In fact, Olympic silver medallist Cram felt compelled to write the book’s foreword and the others put their name to it with testimonials for the cover.

The positive feedback from the top athletes gave Paul, the owner of Corbridge-based Physio & Therapy UK, the confidence to send in his final draft to publishers Bloomsbury Publishing, and the product is already proving a hit around the world following its recent release.

On the first day, Amazon ran out of stock online, while it has been flying off the shelves in bookshops across the UK, America and Australia.

Once translated, it will be on sale across Europe and China in January.

Paul, who writes a monthly online column for the Hexham Courant, said: “I’ve treated the likes of Paula Radcliffe, Steve Cram, Laura Weightman and Ross Murray, so I sent a copy of my draft to each of them to see what the elite athletes thought of it.

“It was really important that those people got to read the book, even with typos and bits that didn’t really make sense, to see how people at the top viewed it, and they were happy to endorse it.”

Paul’s book is an in-depth, step-by-step guide to all the injuries that can be picked up by runners, advising people how to prevent, detect and then recover from the various ailments.

While researching the book, he worked closely with clients who have suffered from the various ailments, and a number of case studies using their experiences of different injuries have been included.

The book comes complete with recommended training programmes too.

Paul said: “I’m really proud of the book and it should help a lot of people suffering from injury, although it is running specific.

“It should act as a guide to people to get 25 to 50 per cent down the line before seeing a physio.

“It’s unlikely that people could ring me up and get an appointment today because I’m so busy, and I have a much better chance of fixing them if they follow the guidelines correctly!”

Following the initial success of the book, Paul is in discussions with Bloomsbury to write a follow-up.

A book signing event with Steve Cram, in conjunction with Corbridge-based Forum Books, to launch Running Free of Injuries: From Pain to Personal Best has been arranged for November 1, and will be held in The Angel Inn, Corbridge.