When we train, we all have a specific goal in mind. We invest our time and effort with the hope of seeing tangible results.
Running has become extremely popular, and, as a result, there is a lot of information about how to train, what to do, and what not to do. With the abundance of sports gear and gadgets on the market, choosing the most suitable approach can be challenging, especially for beginners.
Mistakes happen to everyone, even the pros, let alone those just starting their running journey.
In this article, we’ve compiled a list of the 35 most common mistakes runners tend to make. To make it simple for you, we’ve grouped these mistakes into five categories: training, race day, recovery, gear, and behavior at sports facilities.
Contents
Mistakes in the Training Process
Let’s take a closer look at the 10 most frequent training mistakes so you can avoid them whenever possible.
1. Setting unrealistic goals
Your goal is what motivates you to start running. It could be for the sake of maintaining good health, losing weight, conquering a marathon, or achieving specific time targets. Regardless of your goal, it should be attainable.
If you’ve never run before, attempting a marathon in just 2 months is not a realistic goal. Starting with a 5K or 10K race is a more sensible approach.
Are you aiming to lose weight? Trying to shed 20 pounds in a month without compromising your health is unrealistic. A safe weight loss rate is 4-6 pounds per month. It may be slower, but it’s a healthier approach that increases the chances of maintaining weight loss.
Do you currently run 10K in around 60 minutes? Achieving a 40-minute time in a single season is highly unlikely. However, getting closer to 50 minutes is a much more reachable target.
There is nothing more demotivating than pursuing an unattainable goal. You put in effort, train hard, and push your limits, yet you don’t reach it. From a psychological perspective, it’s better to set realistic goals, even if they’re not as ambitious.
As you work toward and achieve these goals, your brain releases dopamine, giving you a sense of accomplishment, lifting your spirits, and motivating you to keep progressing.
2. Comparing yourself to others
No doubt, great runners can be a source of admiration and inspiration. Even when you see fellow amateur runners outperforming you, it can be quite tempting to aspire to the same level. However, it’s crucial to understand that everyone begins from different starting points:
- Some have been into sports since childhood.
- Some have flexible schedules, allowing them to train when it suits their natural rhythms.
- Others might not have family or kids, which means they don’t have the draining household responsibilities.
- Some deal with demanding, exhausting jobs that consume most of their energy, making it hard to train and recover effectively.
Remember, everyone’s starting conditions are unique.
The most valuable comparison you can make is with your past self—your performance from a week, a month, six months, or a year ago. Only such a comparison offers you a clear picture.
If you’re making progress, that’s wonderful. If not, it could be due to external factors like illness, work-related trips, moving, or other life stressors. Or it might be something under your control, like missing training sessions without a good reason, disruptions in your routine, and so on.
3. Training without a plan
The main goal of training is to push your body beyond its comfort zone, encouraging it to grow and adapt. In the context of running, this means developing endurance through consistent and sustained effort. Engaging in regular running helps your body get used to these challenges, allowing you to make progress.
If you train sporadically, like a few weeks before a race or only during the summer, you won’t achieve the same results. This is why having a well-structured training plan tailored to your specific physiology is crucial.
4. Running the same distance at the same pace consistently
Similar to running without a plan, sticking to the same distance and pace in every run isn’t the most effective strategy. True progress only occurs when we push our boundaries and face new challenges.
When our running routine gets too comfortable, our bodies stop evolving, and our endurance doesn’t grow.
That’s why it’s vital to introduce variety into your routine. You can do this by altering the distance, intensity, and type of training from time to time. This ensures that you continue to stimulate adaptive improvements.
5. Blindly adhering to your training plan
While having a training plan is undoubtedly beneficial, it should not be regarded as an inflexible rule. Even professional athletes face situations where adjustments are necessary, whether due to illnesses, injuries, or simply not feeling at their best. For amateur runners, in addition to these issues, unexpected emergencies, work commitments, vacations, personal matters, and household responsibilities can all disrupt their training regimen.
All of these factors may require changes to your training routine. For instance, if you’re feeling unwell or dealing with an illness, it’s best to skip your run. After recovering, ease back into your training gradually, reducing the intensity by about 30 percent.
This adaptability extends to breaks unrelated to health concerns.
Ideally, it’s beneficial to work with a coach because no pre-set plan can fully account for your unique characteristics. A training plan serves as a valuable roadmap to help you achieve your goals, but it can’t adapt to your daily mood or current physical condition.
When working with a coach, open and regular communication is vital. Make sure to share any discomfort or concerns you may have and provide honest feedback about how you’re feeling after each session. This way, your coach can promptly make necessary adjustments to your plan, reducing the risk of overtraining, injuries, and other potential issues.
6. Overexerting yourself with intense training
Athletes often tend to push themselves to the limit. Many believe in the “more is better” approach, but it’s wiser to embrace the idea of “slowly but surely.”
Exceeding your current fitness level with intense training can lead to various problems. This includes overtraining, injuries, a decrease in performance, and even a loss of motivation.
Frequent runs in heart rate zone 4 and, especially, 5 can potentially result in serious heart issues.
Similarly, attempting to tackle ultra long distances without a properly conditioned musculoskeletal system can pave the way for injuries such as dislocations, sprains, fatigue fractures, and herniated discs.
That’s why it’s wiser to aim for a slightly less intensive workout rather than pushing your limits too hard.
7. Going all out in every workout
Save your absolute best and maximum effort for race days. Your regular runs are intended to prepare your body to perform at its highest level when it matters most.
Pushing yourself to your absolute limit every single day is not advisable, as it can lead to significant health issues. This could include severe heart issues or a weakened immune system, resulting in frequent illnesses.
Even someone as accomplished as world record-holder Eliud Kipchoge doesn’t exert himself to the maximum during routine runs; he usually limits his efforts to around 80%.
8. Exercising despite pain
Pain is the body’s way of signaling that something is wrong, and ignoring it isn’t a good idea. Pushing through pain during or trying to alleviate the discomfort with pain relievers, simply masks the symptoms.
Ultimately, this approach could lead to the need for a longer break from training to recover properly.
9. Overdoing strength training
Strength training is beneficial for beginner runners, as it helps enhance overall muscle strength. This is particularly valuable for those who are new to sports or physical activity.
However, advanced runners should take a more tailored approach because traditional strength exercises involve movements and muscle activation patterns that significantly differ from those used in running.
They require distinct ranges of motion and engage muscles differently. Moreover, lifting heavy weights stimulates muscle growth, and excessive muscle mass is not something runners desire.
Therefore, it’s better to focus on specialized running and jumping exercises that match the specific demands of running.
10. Neglecting running drills
Engaging in running drills is essential for refining every aspect of your running stride. This, in turn, contributes to the development of a more powerful and efficient running motion.
Therefore, if you aim to run faster and enhance techniques such as pushing off, hip extension, and foot engagement, it’s crucial to include specific running drills into your training routine.
To boost your running endurance, diversify your training routine with intervals. Mix high-intensity running with recovery breaks to enhance your maximal oxygen consumption level. The aim is to gradually adapt to this stress, delaying your anaerobic threshold.
Furthermore, runners need flexibility, but not in the traditional sense, like being able to do splits, as it won’t make you run faster.
During running, our muscles function like springs, storing and releasing energy when we push off. Passive stretching, where you hold a position for an extended period with external help, can reduce this muscle elasticity.
That’s why it’s important to engage in specific exercises to mobilize your joints. Aim to work within a wide range of motion and perform these exercises independently.
Common Race-Day Mistakes
The mistakes runners make during races can have even more significant consequences than those made during training. The pressure is higher, and if something goes wrong, it can significantly hinder our goals.
Here are 8 typical race-day mistakes to avoid:
1. Overeating before long-distance races
The results of eating too much before a race and choosing the wrong foods can be quite unpleasant. This may include feeling a heaviness in the stomach, experiencing heartburn and nausea, or needing unexpected restroom breaks.
As a general rule, it’s advisable to have a meal a few hours before your physical activity, including your warm-up. Opt for a meal low in fats and high in complex carbohydrates. For instance, plain oatmeal or toast can be excellent choices.
Dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and nuts can lead to bloating, so it’s better to avoid them. While bananas are often seen as a good pre-exercise snack, they can cause heartburn in some people due to their high potassium content.
2. Experimenting with new sports nutrition
It’s difficult to predict how your stomach will react to a particular product, especially when you’re engaged in intense physical activity.
That’s why it’s a good idea to try out gels and other sports nutrition products during your training. It will help you avoid potential issues and prevent the inconvenience of having to spend precious race time in the restroom.
Related: 10 Tips to Avoid Toilet Breaks During a Race
3. Running at full speed right from the start
The pre-race excitement, and the surge of adrenaline, can tempt you into a sprint right from the beginning. This temptation is especially strong for less experienced runners who struggle to control their pace.
However, beginning with a sudden burst of speed can lead to an accumulation of acid in your muscles, making it challenging to maintain a consistent pace throughout the race. The race experience may become quite grueling, especially in longer distances where the challenge is greater.
It’s wiser to start a bit slower than your target pace and gradually increase your speed as you settle into your rhythm. If you have energy left toward the end, you can pick up the pace.
This approach boosts your mental state and motivation, as it’s much more satisfying to finish strong rather than struggling and gasping for breath.
4. Running the entire distance at an overly high heart rate
The desire to showcase the maximum of your abilities in a race is completely understandable. After all, that’s why we train and take part in these events. However, it’s essential to avoid pushing yourself to the absolute limit.
Maintaining an excessively high heart rate for an extended period can place a significant strain on your heart and potentially result in severe complications.
The goal of training is to help your body adapt to sustained running at a particular intensity without elevating your heart rate to extreme levels.
5. Stopping abruptly to rest
Suddenly stopping your physical activity during intense exertion places significant stress on your heart.
Imagine this: Your heart has been working hard, pumping blood and delivering oxygen to your muscles, and then, all of a sudden, everything comes to a complete stop. It’s akin to slamming on a car’s brakes, and with frequent hard stops, something is likely to suffer damage.
This is why, whether you’re in a regular run or a race, making an abrupt stop is not advisable. Instead, gradually reduce your pace, and if necessary, transition to a walking pace, but avoid a sudden halt.
Furthermore, abrupt stops can disrupt other participants. If you do need to stop, move gradually to the side, and then shift into a walking pace.
6. Running at an inconsistent pace and following an unpredictable path
While interval training has its benefits, it’s not the best approach during a race. Sudden accelerations can lead to quick fatigue, causing your average pace to drop.
After a series of these quick surges, you may find yourself having to switch to walking. Ideally, it’s wise to maintain a steady pace throughout the race and, if you still have the energy and opportunity, consider increasing your speed as you approach the finish line.
Furthermore, making sudden accelerations and unpredictable moves can discomfort other runners. It’s crucial to maintain a consistent path and pace on the course to avoid disrupting other participants.
Getting back into a running rhythm can be quite challenging once your pace has been disturbed.
7. Skipping aid stations on long runs
When you’re running a half-marathon or a marathon, it’s a good idea to use specialized nutrition. You can carry energy gels with you or grab nutrition provided at the aid stations along the course.
Ensure you stay well-hydrated by drinking water and consider taking isotonic drinks or salt tablets to help maintain your electrolyte balance.
Ignoring proper nutrition during long runs, especially in marathons and ultra marathons, can result in low blood sugar levels, discomfort, dizziness, chills, and other negative effects.
8. Starting a race while being sick
Preparing for the main race of the season can take a year-long commitment. It demands your time, energy, nerves, and financial resources. Getting sick just days before such an important event is undeniably frustrating.
The worst choice in this situation is to go ahead and participate in the race when you’re unwell.
Even if you manage to finish it, you won’t achieve a good result, and there’s a high risk of serious health problems and needing an extended break from training. So, as unpleasant as it may be, it’s better to skip the race when you’re not feeling well.
To protect yourself from such unfortunate surprises, it’s a good idea to register for several races that take place around the same time. This way, if you have to miss one due to illness, you can look for another suitable race to participate in.
If you’re in good health on the day of the main race, give it your all and treat it as your primary event, using the others as training sessions.
However, if something goes wrong on the day of the main race, you’ll know that you have backup options.
Mistakes in the Recovery Process
Recovery is just as vital a part of your training as the runs themselves. If you run regularly, it’s crucial to pay proper attention to your recovery.
Neglecting recovery is a big mistake. This can result in injuries and overtraining. Adequate recovery is the key to maintaining yourself in good shape and advancing your progress.
Let’s take a look at some typical mistakes that many runners make.
1. Sacrificing sleep and not getting enough rest
Getting sufficient sleep is crucial for proper recovery.
When you’re involved in intense physical activities, it’s essential to aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night, ideally with a bedtime before midnight. This is because, between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., your body naturally produces melatonin, the sleep hormone, ensuring a restful and restorative sleep.
Furthermore, during the nighttime hours of rest, your body experiences a surge in growth hormone levels. This hormone is crucial for muscle tissue development and overall recovery support.
2. Consuming low-quality foods
The quality of your nutrition is almost as important as your actual training.
Fast food, sugary snacks, sweetened beverages, and especially sodas, are all packed with empty calories. These foods lack the essential vitamins and minerals, don’t provide enough protein, and are primarily composed of simple carbohydrates that don’t keep you feeling full.
To properly fuel your body for the demands of exercise and achieve results from your training, it’s crucial to consume high-quality foods rich in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates, which are essential for effective endurance training.
Additionally, ensure your diet includes a variety of fruits and vegetables to meet your vitamin needs.
Strive to incorporate minimally processed foods into your meals. If you eat meat, opt for whole cuts instead of processed alternatives like sausages. Also, try to limit your intake of foods where identifying the ingredients is challenging, such as pre-packaged meals and sauces.
3. Underestimating the importance of massage
Muscles require relaxation too. If you only subject them to stress, you could experience muscle spasms, overexertion, and injuries.
While a professional manual massage is unbeatable, it may not always be readily available as often as needed. This is where percussion massagers and specialized tools for myofascial release, like massage rollers, can be helpful.
Moreover, it’s a good idea to include stretching routines in your training regimen. You can do flexibility exercises either after your main running session or as a separate practice, dedicating more time to them.
4. Neglecting sports nutrition and supplements
In today’s fast-paced world, obtaining all the essential vitamins and minerals solely from food can be quite a challenge. That’s why, during periods of intense physical activity, it’s advisable to use sports nutrition and various supplements to ensure your body receives the essential nutrients it needs.
However, it’s crucial not to begin taking these supplements without seeking advice from a specialist and undergoing the necessary tests.
5. Dealing with constant stress
Stress has a significant impact on the body. Sustained high cortisol levels can hinder normal recovery, impede muscle growth, disrupt sleep patterns, weaken the immune system, boost appetite, and, as a result, elevate the risk of obesity.
Therefore, to fully experience the positive results of your training, it’s essential to reduce stress levels.
Interestingly, running itself has natural antidepressant properties and can significantly lower stress levels.
If you’ve been feeling worried and anxious about something, a long run can help you calm down and change your perspective on the situation. What initially appeared as a significant issue may not seem as troublesome after a good run.
Mistakes in Choosing Running Gear
Even your choice of gear can influence your running experience. Uncomfortable, bulky sneakers, tight-fitting socks, or a shirt that causes chafing can quickly dampen your enthusiasm for running. Here are 5 gear-related mistakes to watch out for.
1. Selecting ill-fitting clothing and footwear
When it comes to clothing, the rules are quite straightforward: it shouldn’t be too tight or uncomfortable, but selecting the right footwear can be a bit trickier.
Running shoes should typically be half a size to a full size larger than your regular everyday shoes. The reason is that during long runs, your feet tend to swell slightly, and shoes that fit “true to size” may start causing pressure and friction.
On the other hand, excessively loose shoes can also lead to blisters and chafing because your feet will have too much room to move. Therefore, opt for shoes with a slight allowance to ensure your feet feel comfortable and stay securely in place.
2. Giving preference to natural fabrics
You’ve probably heard the saying “Natural is better.” In most cases, that’s true, but when it comes to sportswear, it’s a different story.
Clothing made from natural fabrics such as cotton and wool tends to absorb moisture, hinder your body’s ability to breathe, cling uncomfortably, increase the risk of chafing, and even lead to rapid cooling in cold weather.
Conversely, synthetic fabrics are excellent at wicking away moisture. They allow your body to breathe and can retain heat when needed.
Therefore, choose specialized sportswear made from synthetic materials.
3. Running in the same shoes every time
There was a time when remarkable feats were achieved barefoot or in thin-soled sneakers. However, the sports industry is constantly evolving, and it would be unwise to ignore its advancements.
Professional athletes have multiple pairs of shoes and select them based on the specific type of exercise. Ideally, runners should also consider owning several pairs, at the very least for slow, long-distance runs, and high-intensity speed training sessions.
More experienced athletes can benefit from shoes equipped with carbon plates and spikes, ideal for training and competitions at stadiums. These shoes enable higher speeds but offer less cushioning and demand well-prepared feet, so using them regularly is not recommended.
4. Dressing inappropriately for the weather conditions
There are two potential mistakes when it comes to dressing for running: either wearing too many layers or conversely, not wearing enough.
If you overdress and wear too many layers, you may experience issues such as overheating, dehydration, heatstroke, and heart problems.
On the other hand, if you underdress and don’t wear enough layers, you may catch a cold.
During the warmer seasons, it’s a good idea to choose breathable clothing made from light-colored fabrics. Additionally, it’s wise to protect your shoulders to prevent sunburn and remember to wear a hat.
In colder weather, there’s a risk of wearing too much clothing, especially for beginners. We recommend dressing as if the temperature were about 10 degrees warmer than the actual temperature. Using a few layers of clothing is crucial:
- Start with thermal underwear as your first layer to retain warmth.
- Choose moisture-wicking fabric for the second layer.
- For the third layer, opt for windproof and waterproof materials.
You can adjust this clothing combination according to the temperature.
5. Neglecting running devices
It’s hard to imagine a modern runner who doesn’t use a running watch that tracks heart rate, distance, and other useful metrics. However, such runners do exist.
Smart devices are significant helpers in training. They allow you to efficiently organize your training process, monitor recovery by measuring stress levels and sleep depth, and track the dynamics of essential indicators such as maximal oxygen consumption and anaerobic threshold, as well as training effectiveness. Therefore, using smart devices is highly recommended.
Nevertheless, excessive dependence on these gadgets can have adverse consequences.
For instance, on race day, your smart watch may fail to turn on, malfunction, or display inaccurate data, among other issues. If you’re accustomed to solely relying on it, this could result in setbacks on race day, primarily on a psychological level if it triggers excessive anxiety.
Furthermore, these devices may occasionally give inaccurate measurements for certain metrics. Specifically, they may overstate your maximal oxygen consumption, resulting in unreliable predictions about your performance in various race distances.
That’s why it’s important to learn how to listen to your body, trust your own sensations, and feel the pace. Moreover, occasionally running without the constant monitoring of pace and heart rate, simply for the joy of it, can be refreshing for your mental state.
Inappropriate Behavior at Stadiums and Indoor Arenas
1. Running clockwise
At stadiums and indoor arenas, the standard practice for athletes worldwide is to run counterclockwise. Deviating from this practice can lead to dangerous collisions, putting both you and others at risk of injury.
Running clockwise goes against the established protocol, and any comments from fellow athletes regarding this are entirely justified.
Related: Why Do People Run Counterclockwise in Stadiums?
2. Choosing the wrong lane
The outer lanes are designed for warm-up and slow-paced runs, while the inner ones are reserved for high-speed training. To avoid potential collisions, be sure to yield the outer lanes to faster runners.
3. Stopping abruptly
A sudden stop can lead to a collision with a runner trailing behind you. That’s why it’s important to slow down gradually, turn around, and, without inconveniencing anyone, move to a lane designated for slower running.
4. Improper overtaking
When you intend to pass a fellow runner, remember to glance back to ensure it’s the right moment, as someone else may also be planning to overtake you at the same time.
Typically, overtaking takes place on the outer edge of a lane. Once the maneuver is completed, run faster instead of slowing down in front of the person you’ve just passed.
5. Sudden lane changes
To ensure the convenience and comfort of all athletes, it’s crucial to maintain predictability. Stay within your designated lane, and avoid sudden shifts, rapid speed changes, or unexpected lane transitions.
6. Running with earphones
For a safe running environment, you need to be aware of your surroundings. This becomes especially critical in races with numerous participants or during runs where your route crosses roads.
While you may follow traffic rules when crossing roads, opting to run without earphones enhances your situational awareness and overall safety.
7. Running in large groups occupying all lanes
Running in a group and engaging in conversations about the latest news, upcoming races, and more, undoubtedly adds to the enjoyment of the sport. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to be mindful of others, especially when running in a stadium or indoor arena.
Stick to a lane that matches your pace and save detailed conversations for post-session coffee chats at a nearby cafe.
Conclusion
The list of things runners should avoid doing could be extensive. In this article, we have compiled the most common mistakes that runners, especially beginners, often make.
Structuring the training process correctly is one of the most challenging aspects. Follow a systematic approach, assess your exertion level, and avoid overtraining. Also, track your progress by comparing it to your past performances, not those of others.
Progress depends not only on training but also on lifestyle choices. Make healthy decisions, break bad habits, manage work-related stress, and maintain a balanced diet. Prioritize rest and effective recovery techniques.
Your gear plays a significant role. Comfortable, technologically advanced clothing, specialized footwear, and modern devices enhance performance.
Since we train and compete in public spaces, maintain a respectful code of conduct by being considerate of others and avoiding awkward situations. If you are at a sports facility, be sure to follow the specific rules there as well.
