Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

There are a lot of running myths or other sayings that people like to say just because they have heard it from someone else. Just because it’s something you’ve always heard, doesn’t mean that it is true.

Here are a few:

You’re not a runner unless you…

This usually ends with “run a certain pace” or “have a certain body type.”

This one is easy. Just go to the start line of any race of any distance. There you will see people of all different shapes and sizes that will be running at all different paces. Being a runner just means that you run, it doesn’t mean you run a certain speed or look a certain way while you are running.

Running is Bad For your Knees

I always heard people saying this when I was growing up. There have been a lot of studies on this and mostly everything I see now actually says that running can help to strengthen your knees and other joints and that it can be particularly good for long-term joint health.

The issues arise with overuse or an injury that could then make running difficult. Just like with all aspects of running, it’s important to be smart. Don’t do too much, too soon. Ease into your training. And be patient with your progress.

You should stretch before running

Let me start this one off by saying that I have never been much of a stretcher. I rarely stretch before runs and never stretch after them. However, I do know that there is a school of thought that dynamic stretching is the best way to go, which makes the most sense to me. But that still doesn’t mean I do it…yet.

I am really hoping that I can make stretching a part of my routine soon. I think that there could be a lot of benefits to regular stretching and foam rolling.

Runners can eat anything they want

If only this was 100% true!

Yes, maybe runners can get away with eating a few extra calories here and there because they will burn them off through exercise.

There are a few reasons why this isn’t true though. I know from personal experience that there are things that I can’t eat before or during a run. And there are also things that I continue to eat that I believe affect my running, but just maybe not enough for me to stop doing it yet!

There are many foods that can help your running and your recovery. Do some research, try some different foods out, and figure out what works best for you!

It’s all about the mileage

I’ll be the first to say that I have fallen victim to this at times. Actually, I still do.

I set weekly, monthly and yearly mileage goals, so I would definitely say that the number of miles is very important to me. That being said though, the most important thing to me is to continue to improve in some way. If running more miles is a way for me to improve my running or overall fitness, then I will do more miles. If I think the best way for me to improve is to run more miles any given week or month, I’m probably still going to do it.

Do you agree or disagree with any of these? Or have any other sayings that are similar?

---

More From RunPatRun:

• Next Week: Part 3 of my Race Series: Favorite Race – Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon San Francisco. In 2018, I decided that I wanted to travel somewhere for a race and made the great decision to register for this race.
• I’m currently in Utah getting ready to race in the Grand Circle Trailfest. I’ve have a full report and overview on the blog in a couple weeks!