Choosing to pick up running as a new habit is an exhilarating milestone. Whether you’re trying to get fit, clear your mind after a stressful day, or train for a local marathon—the mental and physical rewards of hitting the pavement are truly unmatched.
What’s not as exhilarating is landing yourself a nasty injury, especially one that prevents you from running any further.
If you’re new to the sport, learning how to start running safely and properly requires a bit of strategy. It’s common for beginners to experience unexpected aches and pains within the first weeks of training.
The good news? The vast majority of early running setbacks are entirely avoidable. By understanding how to prevent running injuries and adopting a few foundational habits, you can protect your body, build sustainable stamina, and nurture a good relationship with the sport.
Why Do Running Injuries Happen?
The vast majority of running-related musculoskeletal injuries (RRMIs) stem from a primary culprit: overuse. According to the Journal of Sport and Health Science, the overall incidence and prevalence of running injuries sits at over 40%.
Running injuries are unique: they are typically caused by relatively small physical loads applied over many thousands of running cycles.
Basically, when you run, every single foot strike sends a ground reaction force traveling through your feet, ankles, shins, and knees. Your bones, muscles, and tendons are highly adaptable but require plenty of time between sessions to recover and grow stronger.
An overuse running injury happens when you commit a “training error.” This can mean too much distance, too much speed, or running too often before your body’s tissues have time to develop the capacity to handle that mechanical load.
And another one that many people don’t consider: flawed footwear choices. Running in worn-out and improperly fitting shoes fails to provide that shock absorption and stability.
7 Common Running Injuries & How to Prevent Them
If your question is how to prevent injuries from running, the first step is to learn about the most common ones. Understanding what to look out for can help you catch potential pain before it becomes a chronic problem.
Take a look at some of the most common running injuries beginners experience:
1. Runner’s Knee (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome)
This dull, aching pain can be felt right behind or around the kneecap. It also flares up when you are navigating stairs, crouching or running down long hills. A runner’s knee is the result of your kneecap tracking incorrectly along the femur and causes cartilage irritation.
How to Avoid It: Focus on strengthening your quadriceps, glutes, and hip abductor muscles. Stronger muscles mean greater stamina, so your muscles act as a natural stabilizer, keeping your kneecap aligned while running.
2. Achilles Tendinopathy (Tendinitis)
Tendinitis usually manifests as inflammation, stiffness, or aching pain located at the back of the ankle and right above the heel. The Achilles tendon connects your calf muscles to your heel bone and absorbs massive structural stress during the push-off running phase.
How to Avoid It: Avoid sudden spikes in hill training or speed intervals, especially if you’re new to running. These particular activities place an intense load on the tendon. Additionally, incorporate regular calf raises and stretches into your routine to build up tendon resilience.
3. Shin Splints (Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome)
A throbbing, tender pain along the inner front of the lower leg bones, otherwise known as the tibia. These splints are most common among beginners who run on hard surfaces like concrete sidewalks.
How to Avoid Them: Keep your initial running volume low and gradually step up your mileage by no more than 10% per week. Also, try to blend your routes and run on softer surfaces like dirt trails, tracks, or grass to minimize ground impact.
4. Stress Fracture
Unlike a sudden break, a stress fracture is a microscopic crack in a bone, typically in the tibia or small bones of the foot. It causes sharp but localized pain that worsens under weight-bearing pressure and doesn’t fade even when you warm up.
How to Avoid It: The most important tip is to never run through severe localized bone pain. Diet is also key. Make sure to include extra calcium and vitamin D to support bone remodeling. You can also cross-train with low-impact activities like swimming or cycling to give yourself time to heal.
5. Ankle Sprain
This occurs when the foot rolls or twists awkwardly inward or outward, which leads to the tearing or stretching of the tough ligaments that stabilize the ankle joint. An ankle sprain is most common when navigating uneven trails or stepping off curbs.
How to Avoid It: Improve your balance and spatial awareness by performing single-leg balance exercises, on a foam pad if you have access to one. Always keep your eyes focused a few feet ahead of your path when running.
6. Muscle Pull (Strains)
A sudden and sharp tear or overstretching of muscle fibers, most commonly occurring in the hamstrings or calf muscles. It usually happens during a sudden sprint or when attempting to run without warming up.
How to Avoid It: Do not run on stiff, cold muscles. Instead, dedicate 5-10 minutes to a dynamic warm-up. Leg swings, lunges, and high knees are great running injury prevention exercises. This increases your blood flow and muscle elasticity before you step up your pace.
7. Plantar Fasciitis
This sharp, stabbing pain on the bottom of the heel or arch of the foot is caused by structural micro-tears in the thick band of tissue supporting the foot’s arch. The pain is also typically most severe during your first steps out of bed in the morning.
How to Avoid It: Avoid wearing flat shoes with zero arch support. If you have flat feet or high arches, selecting specialized, supportive running shoes for plantar fasciitis is an essential step to distribute impact forces evenly across your feet.
Other General Tips for Preventing Running Injuries
To give your body the best possible defense against a foot or ankle injury, keep these foundational rules in mind during your first year of running:
Follow the 10% Rule
To avoid overusing your body, never increase your total weekly running mileage by more than 10% from the previous week. Slow, incremental progress gives your system the necessary break to calcify and strengthen properly.
Prioritize Rest and Active Recovery
Muscles don’t grow overnight. Consistency is key, but make sure to schedule at least 2-3 rest days per week as a beginner, and you’re getting quality sleep to maximize tissue repair. Muscles actually grow stronger between your runs, so taking care of your entire body is just as important as pushing yourself to go on a run.
Pay Attention to Your Running Shoes
Footwear also has a lifespan. Running shoes are precision tools, but their internal cushioning and structural support break down. Most specialized running shoes need to be retired every 300-500 miles.
Don’t underestimate the importance of wearing fresh running shoes for injury prevention, but also to give your feet the right kind of support for the type of running you’re doing. The shoes you need for running on a trail, for example, might not be the same shoes you need to take a jog on a track.
You may also want to consider rotating running shoes to spread wear and tear evenly across different pairs.
Give Improperly Fitting Sneakers a Second Life
What should you do if you find that your current pair of running shoes is the root cause of your stubborn shin splints or ACL injury? Finding the perfect fit involves some trial and error, but it doesn’t mean your rejected sneakers have to end up in a landfill.
Millions of running shoes sit at the bottom of the trash pit that clutters our planet. Instead of adding to global textile waste, consider an option like the Sneakers4Good Main-In Reuse Bag, which helps you give your sneakers a second life.
The process is easy: request a prepaid shipping bag, fill it with adult athletic sneakers you no longer wear, and ship it to Sneakers4Good at zero cost to you.
The running shoes you provide will be redirected to international small businesses, giving them affordable inventory to continue advancing their missions. You can clear out the improper footwear that held your training back and feel good about making a global difference.
Ready to take your running journey to the next level? Claim your mail-in bag from Sneakers4Good today!
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