The worst pieces of running advice I’ve ever heard

In my two+ decades of running I’ve been told, as I imagine many of us have, some absolutely bizarre (to put it politely) pieces of advice. The issue is, as a new, naive runner I didn’t know just how nuts they were at the time. It’s taken years of experience and a lot of self confidence to see these (often unsolicited) nuggets of “wisdom” for the nonsense that they are.

While you’re reading this I’ll just be home from my holiday to Vegas- fingers crossed newly loaded from all my slot machine winnings. Or, at the very least, still in one piece since I won’t have jet lag combined with a hangover to contend with (stopping drinking post 40- now that is a good piece of advice). So today I’m keeping it short and sweet and sharing with you the worst pieces of running advice I’ve ever received/overheard/seen on Facebook.

Feel free to add yours in the comments!

In no particular order…

“You need to lose weight to run fast”. Er, no you don’t. Eating healthily and working with your body rather than against it will help you get stronger, fitter and stay injury free.

“To run faster just pretend you’re being chased”. “To run fast you just need to run fast”. Make it make sense.

“Why do you need to learn how to run, you just put your trainers on and run!”- I actually would be rich if I had a dollar for every time I’d heard this one. Running is so much more than putting your trainers on and heading out of the front door.

“Running on the pavement will destroy your knees”- Another one I’ve heard so many times. No running will not destroy your knees- not warming up or cooling down properly, not eating the right food, and running fast in every run are just a few things that will contribute to destroying your knees.

“You should be running until you throw up” - I was told this by a “seasoned” club runner when I first started running. My friend Becky and I joined a club and we were chastised for not throwing up at the end of each session because it “meant we hadn’t worked hard enough”. We left pretty sharpish (not least because of the smell).

“Run through the pain” - pain is subjective and some discomfort is ok but continuing to run and ignoring your body will lead to disaster.

“Treat yourself to a new outfit for the big race” - Please. PLEASE don’t wear anything new on race day- it will end in tears and a lot of chaffing. Learnt this one the hard way.

“Go hard at the start of a race and then just hang on until the grim death” - I’ve seen this so many times, starting out too fast and finishing in pain and misery. Start slow (10-15 secs slower than race pace) and finish strong.

“If you run a lot, you can eat what you want” - sadly no, you can’t. You need to eat nutrient dense food that will fuel your body, same as everyone else.

“You don’t really need to fuel for a marathon” - again, some advice I was given. Guess what? I paid a price for listening to it!!

“Of course it’s ok to have a McDonald’s the night before a race!” - if you eat something your body isn’t used to then you’ll pay for it the next day when your digestive system gets rid of it, usually when you least expect it and get caught short. I'm just… guessing.

“You’re too old to run!” - The craziest of the lot- I’ve coached a 71-year-old to run her first 5km. You’re never too old to run.