Every September, the daylight saving change and the warmer weather send half the bay back out running. By mid-October we're patching them up. Most of the injuries are the same four, and they're all avoidable.
The 10% rule, but properly
Don't increase your total weekly mileage by more than 10% week over week. This is the rule everyone has heard and almost nobody follows. The "almost" matters: people who go from 0 to 25km in three weeks because they used to run a lot in 2019 are the people we see with shin splints in week four.
If you haven't run consistently for over a month, treat your starting point as zero. Three runs of 2-3km in week one is plenty. Build from there.
Run-walk for the first fortnight
Even if you can run continuously, don't. Run-walk intervals (something like 4 minutes run, 1 minute walk) for the first couple of weeks lets your tendons and connective tissue catch up to what your cardiovascular system thinks you can do. The fitness comes back faster than the structural tolerance. That gap is where the injuries live.
Your shoes are probably tired
Running shoes last around 600-800km. If your last serious mileage was a couple of years ago and you've kept the same pair, the foam is dead even if they look fine. Dead foam means more impact going up your leg, which means tibial stress, knee aches, and the plantar fascia issue you got in 2022.
You don't need expensive shoes. You need ones that aren't done.
Strength is part of the program, not a separate thing
Two short strength sessions a week — calves, glutes, hamstrings, core — drop your injury risk significantly. We can give you a 15-minute home program that doesn't need any equipment. Most running injuries are weakness injuries dressed up as overuse injuries.
The honest one nobody likes hearing
If you've had a previous running injury that flared up the last time you tried to come back, get the assessment done before you start, not after the same thing happens again. We can usually find what's underneath in one session and give you a plan that avoids the rerun.
Ring us on 07 394 4227 if you want to book that. Or just go run and see how you go — we'll be here in October either way.
