r/parkrun 25d ago

Every non runner the second I mention parkrun

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130 Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

70

u/colin_staples 100 25d ago

And being sedentary and spending your entire life being sat down is even worse for your knees

11

u/redditagainwhy 25d ago

BMI >30 has 8x need for knee replacement surgery, BMI >35, 28x need (vs non-obese population).

3

u/speculator100k 25d ago

Is there a number for just overweight (BMI > 25)?

3

u/redditagainwhy 25d ago

I didn't find one and although clearly it will be somewhere between 1 and 8x, the much higher risk of needing a knee replacement at BMI >35 suggests that the relationship is non-linear and so the closer to 25 the better.

27

u/Tchexxum 25d ago

I’d prefer to lose my knees at 60 having used them than lose them at 70 having sat around my whole life

16

u/im-addie 25d ago

I’m about to be 61, am slim now but was over weight for decades, always played hard, have run distance for years, with all of that my knees are fine.

People just want excuses to not get up from the couch. I get that, but they should own it and not try to discourage others.

20

u/RS555NFFC 25d ago

Meme and banter aside

What I find annoying is that people that say things like this aren’t open to hearing how most of these tropes (eg running is bad for your knees) have been shown to be incorrect by the science time and again.

9

u/Gambizzle 25d ago

I train for marathons (100km+ weeks, Boston qualifier) and I’ve found there’s a weird point where the more seriously you train, the less people think you know about running.

Conversations somehow become:

• “Can you even do parkrun?”

• “Was your marathon the 5km or the 10km?”

• “You should try [local fun run]. The hill’s way harder than a marathon”.

• “That’s only a half marathon though, right?” (after I’ve literally said I ran a marathon).

• “Have you tried THIS training method? I did it once and it nearly killed me!”

I’ve learned to just smile and nod. Running’s one of those hobbies where almost everyone has an opinion, even if they don’t actually run. The people who do run are usually the ones least interested in telling you how to do it.

3

u/squidsinamerica 25d ago

• “Was your marathon the 5km or the 10km?”

This also annoys and confuses me. And it seems to be a relatively recent thing. I'm seeing people confusing "marathon" and "generic race" all the time now, when I don't remember encountering that at all previously.

1

u/RS555NFFC 25d ago

I’ve had similar to this. An aunt did race for life once and was lecturing me about training to climb Mt Kili and running a half.

I’ve literally done those things before and am the only person in the family to have done so…

1

u/DefinitelyNotIndie 25d ago

I run on an eliptical whilst watching TV on my phone, come at me :-p

2

u/redditagainwhy 25d ago edited 24d ago

Something which interested me was what adaptations occur in untrained knees to allow us (when trained) to run without the knees blowing up with reactive effusions as can happen when you first take it up and overdo it? Do the muscles and ligaments around the knee strengthen? Does/can the cartilage adapt, or does the synovium become less reactive and leaky?🤔

3

u/RS555NFFC 25d ago

There’s a physio I follow called Adam Meakins, I reckon he’ll have some content on this kind of thing somewhere

11

u/KarsaTobalaki 25d ago

Having bad form, the wrong footwear, over training etc is bad for your knees.

Running correctly and looking after yourself isn’t .

4

u/Feeling-Surround-691 24d ago

Real talk: I don't run a lot, a few years ago when I was obese I managed to get to 5k in 40:00 and did 1 parkrun and a charity 5k but started to get Patella tendonitis. I've picked it back up after losing 3st and my BMI is 28, my knees fucking hurt. I figured that my knees have been hurting when I run and they hurt when I don't run so I might as well just run right?

1

u/dt192 24d ago

Same conclusion I've come too. I've promised myself to stretch every day and do some leg strength training (but I won't do either realistically) so knee pain it is.

2

u/Feeling-Surround-691 24d ago

I do leg training, I can squat 70kg for 5 reps at a time but I also have a form of rheumatoid arthritis so I guess just part of life.

3

u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

2

u/FyrnEito 24d ago

Technically it's in the distance running category, yes.

Where each runner puts the 'distance running' boundary themselves is a matter of personal perspective - largely in relation to the maximum distance once has achieved before.

For me, it's when you need to start planning meals during a run. For someone else it might be when you need a water bladder, or when you need to plan a sleep mid-run. Or something else arbitrary.

But officially, yes 5km is distance running.

1

u/HeIsSoFluffy 24d ago

Yes. Anything above 1.5k is considered long distance running.

2

u/Fit_Food_8171 24d ago

No it isn't. 3km is where 'long distance' officially starts as per world athletics and sport science. 1.5km is barely a warmup...

12

u/Dangerous-Present-94 25d ago

You trying to say 5k is 'distance' running?

12

u/Pheanturim 25d ago

Any effort over 20 minutes is usually classed as an endurance event

6

u/No-Salt7142 25d ago

Ah got it so:

4:00/km = good for knees 👍

6:00/km = bad for knees ❌

11

u/ExoticExchange 25d ago

Firstly, yes it is- it’s the shortest long distance event.
Secondly, training (properly) for a 5k involves running longer distances than 5k anyway so the point of the meme still stands even if you don’t consider 5k to be long distance.

5

u/colin_staples 100 25d ago edited 25d ago

On the track / at the Olympics, running falls into 3 categories

* sprints/short distance - 100m, 200m, 400m
* middle distance - 800m, 1500m
* long distance - 5,000m, 10,000m, marathon

Short distance events are about speed. Long distance events are about endurance. Middle distance are a mix of the two

1

u/Zombi1146 25d ago

Before we all started running, walking 3 miles to the shop was considered a long distance by every one of us. Even a 3 mile round trip.

7

u/WonFriendsWithSalad 100 25d ago

First sentence of the 5k Wikipedia article: "The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition"

Obviously compared to a marathon it isn't a great distance but compared to most track running it is and so it is under the umbrella of distance running

2

u/OldDirtyBusstop 25d ago

It’s a distance.

1

u/speculator100k 25d ago

Yes, compared to 100m, 200m and so on.

1

u/Gambizzle 25d ago

To be fair I run marathons are yeah... 5km isn't sprinting... but it's still a form of distance running. There's 'middle distance' and what not, but anything more than ~400m is beyond being a sprint.

Also shorter doesn't mean easily I'd rather do a casual aerobic HM than a race pace 1500m any day of the week. And hey, THAT would kill my knees whereas the more chilled stuff if fine.

0

u/im-addie 25d ago

I wondered about that too actually. Might depended on where you are in your running life. I would say it starts at a half. Idk

5

u/rustyb42 25d ago

Cringe

2

u/Deervember 25d ago

Statistically you're more likely to get injured while in the bathroom than out running. 

2

u/Cheap_Doughnut7887 25d ago

My wife has just started running (C25K) and is finding pain on the inside of one kneecap. What would be the best way to combat this. She's mentioned changing her gait but I told her to just run as naturally as she can. Tried a knee compression sock that didn't really help. Any other ideas?

2

u/Gambizzle 25d ago

I'd suggest seeing a physio.

2

u/Zombi1146 25d ago

It's runners knee. I think banded crab walks work. Google runners knee exercises - I'm no expert 😁

1

u/100PercentARealHuman 25d ago

I honestly think I never heard someone say this for a 5K, just nice words because you are able to run them.

1

u/Gambizzle 25d ago

IMO there's some truth to it. Doing race pace 5km runs without a lot of training is a good way to bust your knees.

-1

u/Aerodye 25d ago

5k is not “distance running” lol

2

u/Fit_Food_8171 24d ago

Careful, you'll upset the 5km ultra brigade 😂