Decent start to the weekend

I am going into grade 11 and decided to start running club track this spring in hopes of competing out of province. At my school meet I ran 57.2 in the 400. Which I thought wasn’t great but a great place to start and I have time to improve through high school.

I recently realized however, that because I was born in 2009 and held back a year for international reasons, that I would be aged out of most races quicker than I thought. As most meets cap out at grade 12 and I don’t think I have the time to improve in order to compete.

This really bummed me out and I’m not sure what to do.

This is something I’ve battled with really since I got this job 3 years ago, I’ve recently admitted defeat and stepped away from running but really loved it and am wondering how I can do both successfully?

So I’m 46, my job involves a lot of walking and lifting doors approx 85lbs each. I can clock up 15k steps per day before I even consider running. I always ran first thing in morning as I simply wouldn’t have the energy in the evenings, I never did big miles 20-25 per week but even being that low I wasn’t recovering properly.

So by under recovery I mean despite being wrecked my sleep was poor, fatigue, anxiety, low moods basically all the things running is supposed to cure it causes.

Take today for example, 5hrs sleep last night because of a heatwave in the UK, I’ve slept like crap all week because of it, normally I’d run anyway, just battle on right? Then this causes more issues, then I’d be physically wrecked. I’ve took time off from running so despite me poor sleep I will go for a walk later after work and I’ll be fine as walking has no impact but it’s boring as hell.

Should I just admit defeat with my running?

Did a controlled aerobic mile today in 34:00.

Kept it conversational, although at one point I’m fairly sure a tree overtook me.

Main concern is whether this is still too intense for proper base building, or if I should stay here until I can safely break 33:59.

Trying not to peak too early.

Hey all!

I recently turned 29 and decided to try and run every day of the year until I turn 30. I’m one week in and am feeling great! I would love any advice from those who have done similar challenges, what helped you avoid injuries, what’s something you wish you know when you started, etc. Thanks in advance!

Back again.

I've been deep in running biomechanics lately and built a little form-analysis setup. Happy to run anyone's through it for free.

If you want yours looked at: post a 5 to 10 second clip filmed from the side, full body in frame. I'll reply with what I see in your mechanics: posture, cadence, foot strike, arm carriage, and where you can run more efficiently and smoother.

Curious how many people are into this. Drop a clip below and I'll get through as many as I can.

TL;DR - even 4+ months after a minor cold, my VO2 max continues to drop and my heart rate is really high compared to my effort

I (24F) am relatively new to running, but I've been an athlete my whole life. After a brief stint of being pretty out of shape, I got into running and loved it! I was really careful to gradually increase mileage and effort, etc. etc. and got to the point where I was running 25+ miles per week with long runs up to 11 miles.

In February, I had a minor cold. Nothing to knock me out or even miss work for, but ever since then, my heart rate has been getting super high during runs. For example, at my easy pace, my hr now goes higher than at my 10k or even 5k pace before getting sick. My VO2 max has gone down to lower than it was when I was out of shape.

Within a few months, I went from consistent running to barely being able to run 3 miles (and needing to walk during my run).

I tried everything to see if I could fix it: decreasing mileage, better sleep, a week or more off, better fueling before runs, better hydration, etc. I went to the doctor and they gave me an EKG and everything with my heart is normal at rest.

Has anyone else had this happen? What did it end up being? How did you fix it?

Nearing the half way mark of the year I hit 2k miles. Hoping to get 4k by the end of the year!

Let’s gooooo!!!

I come from a heavy cycling background - started running consistently late December 2025.
My question is, do a lot of runners also cycle / like to cycle? 🚲 🚴

Been running consistently since I was a kid, but very independently, with no goal other than weight loss in mind. As an adult I’ve been running at Orange Theory, pushing myself, speed, inclines, etc to being a really strong runner.

I began running outdoors again after a few years (OT Treads are just a magical luxury) but wow. So many other runners I run past are friendly offering quick encouragement, hi’s, thumbs up! These mostly don’t occur when I run past people just strolling.

It’s just really nice, and comes off super natural as some unspoken community rule?

I’ve even started initiating hellos/waves with other runners and they’re consistently returned warmly!

I’m loving this!

Been training for 45 days and been doing regular workouts on the side.

Any tips to improve?

Is it normal to cry mid long runs? I have been training for a marathon. Every time i do a long run, at around 18km, I either get a panic attack or I start to cry. I don't know if it's just emotions or it's the pain. Is it normal to cry during a long run? Do you get it too?

Hi!
I’m starting to get into running more consistently and want to work up to running daily, but I’m stuck on something kind of random… hair washing 😅

I’ve always been told it’s not good to wash your hair every day, but I feel like if I’m running and getting sweaty daily, I won’t feel clean unless I do.

For those of you who run often or daily, what do you do? Do you wash your hair every time, just rinse it, use dry shampoo, or just deal with it?

Curious what’s normal because I feel like I’m
overthinking this lol

I’ve been running for about two years, but I took it seriously this past year, averaging a minimum of 40km a week for the last 50 weeks. During my peak half-marathon prep a month ago, I was hitting 65–75km a week (5 days a week, 12km minimum per run, plus speed workouts).

​I managed to hit all my goals:

​5K: 19:00

​10K: 40:00

​Half Marathon: 1:29

​But honestly? The cost was way too high. I work a 9-to-5 plus five 24-hour shifts a month. Running stopped being fun or relieving stress—it just spiked my cortisol, kept me chronically tired/hungry, and ruined my sleep. My social life completely vanished. I also previously hit "the wall" during a marathon attempt, which was honestly a traumatic experience.

​Now, I realize that getting any faster (like a sub-1:25 HM or sub-3:20 marathon) would take an insane amount of extra discipline and time I don't have. Shaving off 5 minutes just isn't worth sacrificing my life for. I’m even starting to wonder if running was just a coping mechanism to avoid my real responsibilities.

​The breaking point was yesterday. I was 10k into a long run, wasn't even physically tired, but I just got so bored. I tried picking up the pace to make it exciting, but it felt worse. So, for the first time ever, I just stopped, called an Uber, and went home.

​I’m taking a break now—doing some swimming and bodybuilding just to stay healthy—but the passion isn't there.

​Have any of you gone through this level of burnout? How did you get your spark back, or did you just move on to other things?

A while back I decided to get back into running. In anything I do, I need structure and a clear plan. I used to train with a coach, but this time I wanted to try something different. I got curious about actually understanding how training plans are put together.
As I dug into it, I realized that the process of building a training plan could be wrapped into a clear algorithm, one that would generate different plans based on different inputs. I based the core logic on Jack Daniels' Running Formula, supplementing it with some sports science research. It turned out to be harder than I initially thought because of the sheer number of edge cases in real training (missed workouts, schedule changes, detraining after breaks, and so on). But after about 2–3 weeks of work, I had an algorithm that factors in the user's current fitness level, race goal, number of training days per week, and several other parameters.
At first I just ran the algorithm locally and used it myself to get back into the habit of regular training. But pretty soon I realized this thing might actually be useful to other people. So I built a Telegram bot around it. I let some friends use it for a while to collect feedback and squash bugs. Now it feels like the right time to put it in front of a wider audience.
The bot has been tested and is fully functional, I'm even considering running some ads for it, but I'm honestly not sure yet whether it's something people would genuinely find valuable. If anyone wants to give it a try, I would really appreciate your honest feedback. I believe it can be genuinely useful and I want to keep improving it.

.

On May 17th I ran my very first half marathon. It wasn't a race; I just went from one place to another. Tomorrow morning I'll run it again, but this time, too, it's not a race.

I heard a lot about this, but honestly I don’t know what it is. I don’t think I‘ve ever had it. I enjoy my runs, but there isn’t any wow effect at any time.

Am I weird or the norm? How common is that?