How to Run Further (Without Getting Injured)

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Crafted by Mikey

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Running is awesome. It gets you fit, you get to see new places and you get to make new friends. It’s only natural that you’d want to do more of it; more running equals more fitness equals more fun right?

Well, yes, but hold your horses just a moment. Before you get carried away and start bumping up your mileage, you should know that there’s a right way and a wrong way to do so. If you’ve got a couple of minutes then this article will show you exactly how to run further without getting injured.

running girl

How your body gets fitter

First things first, we need to understand how your body gets fitter. There’s basically a cycle it goes through called Stress, Recovery, and Adaption (SRA for short). SRA describes the process through which Stress (aka running) is applied to your body, you then Recover (by eating and sleeping) and your body Adapts by upgrading your heart, lungs and circulatory system to get fitter and run further. There is a great range of tips to get more sleep!

Where most people go wrong

Where most runners go wrong is they give their body way more stress than it can handle. This means your body can’t recover, and if your body can’t recover then you don’t get fitter. What’s worse, if you do this for an extended length of time you risk injuries. Running with pain is not recommended and only the most experienced running can enter the pain cave.

As a runner, it is critical to be able to listen to your body. Look for symptoms of exhaustion, and if noticed in the early stage, you can prevent them and lower their negative impact on your training and body.

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The Solution

What you need to do instead is give your body sensible amounts of stress step by step, increasing the amount of stress just a tiny bit each week. How much extra stress each week should you give?Something in the region of 5% extra should be perfect.

An Example

Let’s say you go running twice in a week. On both runs, you travel 5km, so in total, you ran 10km that week. Next week you’ll add 5% and can try running a total of 10.5km. So you’ve added an extra half a kilometre. Now, before you panic and think that your progress will be too slow, I’m going to ask you to remember that 5% per week is 250% across a year! Even if you only added half a kilometre to your total training each week, you would still be able to run 36km by the end of the year, which is pretty amazing.

running shoes

For me, I think of running like travelling. Yes, I would love to see the entire world, but there’s no way I can see every country in the world in the next week or two. I have to take my time, save my money and travel to each country or region one at a time. The exact same is true for running, I need to take my time, be patient and improve little by little.

Listen to your body

Sticking with the theme of patience, sometimes it’s best to listen to your body and have a rest every now and again. I know it can be tempting to keep on running and push through the pain, but those little niggles can turn into bigger issues if you don’t give them enough time to recover. Sometimes it’s better to have an easier week and come back strong the week after.

Running girl

Remember, little improvements over time are better than massive improvements followed by injury (because then you can’t run properly for months!)

Cross Training is Your Friend

Just because you want to run further it doesn’t mean you have to spend loads of extra time running. If you’re looking to improve your fitness there are plenty of other ways to do so. I’m actually a big fan cycling.

  1. Because they’re fun and I get to see cool new areas!
  2. Because they’re low impact on my joints, giving my knees and hips time to recover

So before you add an extra run to your weekly training, think about adding a swimming or cycling session instead. You’ll still improve your fitness but you might just reduce your injury risk whilst doing so.

So to summarise:

  • Be patient and improve by 5% each week,
  • listen to your body and rest when needed,
  • use low impact cross training to reduce your injury risk.

I hope these tips can help you increase your distance, stay healthy and reach your running potential!

20 thoughts on “How to Run Further (Without Getting Injured)”

  1. I like that – thinking of running as travelling and taking things a little at a time. Years ago I wasn’t a great runner and that’s basically what I did…gradually increase the amount of running I was doing, spaced out with walking, and now I have no problem running for a decent amount of time. You definitely are right….have to listen to our bodies. Some days I know I’m just too tired to run what I normally would and other days I’m full of energy! I’ve mixed some rowing in lately too and it’s definitely a nice change up. Great post 🙂

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  2. Great tips! Your point about not increasing too much each week is SO important. This is definitely where I see most beginners go wrong and end up getting injured!

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  3. I haven’t tried running but I’m planning to soon. Thanks for the tips here… and thanks for dropping by my blog! It’s so nice to meet you.

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  4. These are great tips! I pulled my back and haven’t been able to exercise in months. I have just started back exercising with modifications and incorporating running. I am building up slowly. These are great tips that I will take in consideration. I am hoping to work up to a 5k soon!

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  5. I’ve only recently started running again, and this is great advice. I was really into running about 5 years ago and fractured the sesamoid in my right foot (and had to limp home more than a mile on the poor broken thing!), and that put me off of it for a while… but I’m back! Sort of 😉

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  6. Hi Agness,
    I’ve started running recently (one of those New Year resolutions), and I’m a bit confused about the intake of water. Should a drink little by little while running, or drink a larger quantity after running is over? Also, I’ve noticed I often have headaches after running – have you ever experienced anything of the sort?

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    • Hi Antonina,
      I try not to carry water with me when going for short runs (below 5K) because I like running freely without any extra weight or equipment. I drink plenty of water before and after my run but when it’s super hot outside, I buy water on the way back home. When I decide to go for a long run (6K+), I always take a bottle of water with me and drink while running. Regarding your headaches, do you keep yourself hydrated throughout the day? Maybe your body is dehydrated, thus you suffer from these headaches.

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  7. I often get pain in my knees and ankles when I run from years of netball. Thanks for these tips! I’ll give it a go.

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  8. Hi, great advice! I am training for my third half right now and cross train with rock climbing and yoga. Always looking for ways to improve!

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