Lots of good recommendations already.

I'd also recommend strength work. I used to get so incredibly sore and tired post long-runs. While I was careful to build mileage carefully, that soreness would continue to linger. I think only through the addition of strength work am I beginning to feel much more comfortable handling the stresses associated with long distances.

I can go through a number of examples of weak muscles leading to deficits in my running, leading to injuries.

Unless you have a biomechanical issue, most injuries come from increasing too quickly, which is different from doing too much. High mileage is generally fine if you build up to it gradually, but if you build up quickly, it's a recipe for disaster. Generally you want to look at your total weekly mileage and make sure it's not too much higher than the week(s) before.

Here's an article about it which also links to some studies.

You can also reduce your risk of injury by taking care of anything that comes up as quickly as possible, i.e. stretching, massage, ice, physio, whatever the issue requires. If you let them linger without dealing with them while you're increasing mileage, there's a good chance they'll get worse with time.

Honestly, from what I can tell from watching peers, it's to spend some time before the marathon training cycle getting your body used to a base amount of mileage, running frequency, and long runs so that your body is adapted structurally to the impact forces. I don't think it needs to be on the order of years like some people claim, but at least a few months of consistent running at least 4 times a week with many of those runs being 5+ miles and some longer runs of 10+ miles. There's a coach Jason Fitzgerald who claims that he thinks it's a poor idea to start a marathon training cycle if running 10 miles is a big deal to you; then maybe your focus should be on shorter races for a little bit first.

You train properly and you don't jump from 3 miles to a marathon in a matter of a few months.

Former collegiate distance runner here. Soft surface (grass or dirt), good shoes from a specialty running store, and making sure to “keep easy days easy” all go a long way to preventing injury.

Anecdotally, most new runners that I’ve known have gotten injured by wearing worn down shoes and being a bit too gung-ho by not taking their easy runs as easy as they should. Soft surface also decreases impact and force your body to incorporate slightly different muscles for stabilizing.

You know I only link to two things: Pfitz's pool running schedule, and Hutchinson articles :)

Strength training and do the minimum amount of mileage necessary. If you google “how to avoid running injury” you’ll find aome good prehab routines. Foam roll, stretch, but those are secondary to strengthening. Also focus on the bike- you can get massive aerobic gains for minimal injury risk. I was on limited run volume in the spring leading into Oceanside due to some niggles and I was doing 7-10 hours per week on the bike. When I came back to running this summer my run paces had improved dramatically. It doesn’t work forever but I think that’s one of the great things about tri- plenty of cross training to do and always something to improve upon

About 99% of runners/triathletes that start strength training after an injury say that they wish they would have started sooner. If you aren't doing a consistent strength training regimen....this is as close of a "must" as it gets.

• Manage volume/intensity to the best of your ability. Overuse is one of the most common factors...especially in the feet/ankles.

• Recover by eating enough and getting the best sleep you can.

-There is no guaranteed Injury Prevention. Injuries can be complex based on multiple factors. But we can control what we can control....do your best to manage volume/intensity, eat enough calories and protein and strength train atleast 2x per week.

• Things happen. Every great runner and triathlete has faced injuries at some point. Dont let fear of injury get in the way. Your body is resilient and respond to keep you as healthy as possible. If it didn't....you would have never adapted and been able to do the exercise you are doing now. #trust

I don't want to be a crazy miracle cure guy, but here I go anyway. Cold Plunge. I'm lucky to have gone 25 years in triathlon without injuries. But then, things started aching fairly regularly. For several months (a couple years ago) my knee just hurt all the time and I just got used to it. But, unrelated I got a cold plunge and started using it regularly. Not too long after I realized my knee didn't hurt anymore. I took some time off of plunging this summer and my hip started hurting, so I started getting in and it's now feeling better. Of course, both of those could have gotten better on their own, but I really think the cold plunge has a lot to do with it.

As I’ve gotten older, injury avoidance is the driving factor in my workouts. Second is trying to improve.

There will be a lot of answers. But 99% of prevention is sleep, nutrition, and strength activities or "pre-hab".

Sprinkle in a little bit of whatever your genetic propensity is for injury...and that's what you have to work with.

Aside from all that. What I see more often than not is people simply go to hard on easy days.

Squats before starting, run less far or stop when the pain starts. I did that. Regular runs and slowly increase. Not from 5k to 8k. 5 to 6, regular 6k's then push to 7 etc. My most recent run was 17k, no pains. I have been running 10/11 k twice a week for a while before I started to increase distance on one run.

Could be related to ACL or IT band. Make sure you are doing run specific strength training: train glues, quads, hamstring. Do regular activation and stretches.

Before run do activation and warmup.

After run do cool down and stretch each major lower body muscle: gluteus, quads and hamstring.

Post run stretch and cross train

https://blog.mapmyrun.com/7-exercises-to-treat-and-prevent-it-band-syndrome/ No equipment required. Two sets of each exercise takes about 10 minutes. Knock it out 1-2 times per week����

Knowing your body helps a lot more than people realize. Knowing the difference between discomfort and an injury can be a complete game changer.

Another rule of thumb for my easy runs is that I should feel comfortably capable of running for another 5-10 mins at the end (my runs currently are mostly around 5-10k). So I finish while I'm still feeling fairly strong.

Zone two only. If you cross into zone three, stop running and walk until you’re deep in zone two again.

Someone posted a three-part series on injury prevention broken down into recovery, training, and strength training a month or so ago that has a lot of helpful information!

Many months/years of slowly building up your ability to run long distances plus proper rest and spacing out your runs during training. I’ve run some marathons and you shouldn’t continue to be in “marathon shape” year-round. It’s unsustainable for all but a handful of people in the world. Even Olympic-level marathoners take time off between races so they don’t get injured.

Most distance runners will have an “off-season” where they recover, run much shorter distances, and, if they’re working to get faster (perhaps to qualify for a specific race), practice short runs on a track at a higher pace. (Running on a track or grass is easier on the legs than road running.) There’s really just a lot of recovery time involved in distance running and it’s almost as important as the running part.

Also, some people just aren’t built for it and do get injured. Some of the fastest sprinters struggle to run a few miles because they were just built to do something else.

Often times running injuries that have nothing to do with a fall, break or sprain, are related to faulty posture. By this I do not mean your running form—although this is incredibly important for you to get right—but the way your joints are aligned.

It seems to be the case that runner’s knee, and most other forms of semi-chronic pain are a result of, in particular, poor pelvic mechanics. There are a number of reasons for this, including lifestyle, but also because there ARE natural, universal, and ignored asymmetries in the human body.

Most rehabilitation and strength training programs treat the body as a symmetrical unit. It is anything but! This is often why standard of care physical therapy does not work, or the same injury comes back to haunt after some time.

If you want to learn more of have any questions, feel free to send a DM to me on IG: Project_Rehumanize

Best of luck!

Any sharp or stabbing pain: stop running immediately and walk.

Rest on rest days. Don’t “run through the pain.” Eat something other than junk.

99% of the people who tell you they had to give up running as they aged is an excuse, not the actual reason they stopped running.

People make up a lot of excuses to refrain from admitting they are just too lazy, or they just lose interest and go to something else.

Running doesn't damage your knees or the rest of your body.

Do you follow a consistent / progressive stretching or mobility routine, and / or do you follow a consistent / progressive resistance training routine?

Consistent strength training, and religious foam rolling/lacrosse ball action to the glutes, hips, and legs before every run and often again before bed. Most issues start with poorly functioning hips/glutes so if you can keep those happy while training appropriately you should be in much better shape to tolerate the work.

Stretching and mobility work are very important.

Lots of foam rolling as a daily habit, also to release any tension.

You can't afford to allow tension to build up in your body. Release it and stretch it out with PNF stretches.

An amount of strength training will help too (also with mobility).

I have similar issues. Does someone have a list of exercises to be shared that help this

35F teacher too! Strength training is so important to stay injury free. If you’re getting pains in your hips and knees it’s likely due to weak glutes. Incorporate lots of single leg exercises like bridges, squats, lunges, dead lifts. Also add in some banded exercises like monster walks, lateral leg lifts, etc.

I’m gonna give you the magic secret, or what has worked for me anyway. 

Do the myrtl routine daily, lunge matrix if you have time, and the gambetta leg circuit once or twice a week. 

Don't do too much too soon, you'll be surprised how quick you go from feeling fine on a run, to feeling awful

Just chill out, don't rush it, don't try and hugely outdo yourself. Eat good, train consistently, and you probably won't get injured

Always have at least one rest day.

Do core training exercises one or two days a week.

Make sure you are working on flexibility

And just start of slow and build up

HAVE FUN

Run slow and easy for almost all runs. That's the main tip and the rest are far behind.

Buy good running shoes and stay aware of your surroundings.

If you can afford it and you have access, a "wellness appointment" at a good PT can make a lot of difference.

There are common strength and flexibility issues that can lead to running problems, and if you can head them off ahead of time it's a great thing to do.

My PT did an detailed strength and flexibility check, and then we went outside and she watched me run for while to see fi there was anything she noticed there.

It's hard to say without more details about injuries themselves. Even if you run 10k daily, you shouldn't feel pain anywhere in the body.

I would recommend you look for imbalances in your lower body. Mainly in the hips. Try standing on one leg and squatting (single leg squat), if your knees start to wobble and bend inwards then your hips/glutes are the issue. Similarly look at other single leg movements.

Another thing I would recommend is to warm-up pre-run, stretch after run, and incorporate strength training. In the past, I had developed IT band issues because I was skipping on pigeon stretch (I used that one for post-run glutes stretch). After resting and resuming the stretch all is good in my running world.

You can't run daily without minor issues. But you need to know when an issue is transient and when it is an actual problem. Usually you can judge that if the same issue persists for more than a week, or you need to push through pain on a daily basis.

Do you also do strength training regularly ?

Warm up, diet, recovery, proper running form, cool down, stretching and massage, rest, sleep. If you do all them i guess you will be fine. Atleast it works for me.