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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think I could run a marathon with a torn meniscus

159 replies

alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 18:43

Well, a suspected torn meniscus.

I injured myself last year and have been running since then, but I finally saw a physio at the start of this year who has referred me for imaging. She has a pretty confident feeling that I’ve torn my meniscus with potentially some ligament damage. My first consultant physio appointment is in three and a half weeks.

I still love running. I’ve had to reduce it over the last few weeks because of pain, but I think part of that is down to running in some seriously worn out trainers that are not designed for running. Think Primark £10 memory foam trainers 😬 I keep seeing the marathon runners this year and I really, really want to do it.

AIBU to think I could? Should I just shelve this dream?

OP posts:
simpsonthecat · 24/04/2026 21:58

My meniscum tear was bad. I sleep on the right side of the bed of my bad knee and I couldn't wait to wake up in the morning and just hang my leg out the bed loose.
It's a horrible thing to have OP. You have my sympathies, I'm old I can honestly say it got better after a year.
Good luck, be careful 🙂

FloralDeerPattern · 24/04/2026 21:58

weareallcats · 24/04/2026 21:48

I don’t think it’s helpful to compare symptoms - my tear didn’t ache all the time but there was a lot of sharper pain when aggravated and would randomly lock when I was walking. The GP and consultant both stuck their finger in a place in my knee that would make me wince, but it wasn’t constant pain. I think it varies. I have also had a label tear and that was referred pain down the front of my thigh (excruciating at times) but nothing in the hip joint at all.

edited to add, my point is that everyone experiences it differently and pain doesn’t necessarily correlate with severity of injury.

Edited

I agree with this. I don't recognise a lot of what people are saying here about their pain. Mine was a sharp pain when aggravated like yours but I was fully functional, still walking the dogs, still driving, still continuing my day to day as normal, just not running. I was surprised to be honest when the mri showed that I had torn my meniscus because my pain didn't seem that big a deal apart from the fact that I couldn't run.

WyrdHag · 24/04/2026 21:58

alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 18:43

Well, a suspected torn meniscus.

I injured myself last year and have been running since then, but I finally saw a physio at the start of this year who has referred me for imaging. She has a pretty confident feeling that I’ve torn my meniscus with potentially some ligament damage. My first consultant physio appointment is in three and a half weeks.

I still love running. I’ve had to reduce it over the last few weeks because of pain, but I think part of that is down to running in some seriously worn out trainers that are not designed for running. Think Primark £10 memory foam trainers 😬 I keep seeing the marathon runners this year and I really, really want to do it.

AIBU to think I could? Should I just shelve this dream?

If you want to never run again, crack on.

Of course you can't run a marathon with a torn meniscus.

Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:57

AlbieJiggered · 24/04/2026 21:56

I'm done with this thread.

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I wasn’t talking to you, was I?

OP posts:
AlbieJiggered · 24/04/2026 21:56

alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:55

I think you’re being over dramatic and to be honest a bit of an arsehole. In what world is a gentle 3k run going to turn into an ambulance being called for fucks sake?

Edited
Show quote history

I'm done with this thread.

Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:56

weareallcats · 24/04/2026 21:54

Better to err on the side of caution, surely? There’s very little blood flow to connective tissue, so it takes longer to heal. I know it’s frustrating to have to rest - I was injured at a time when my work was very physical, but honestly a bit of rest now might save your ability to run for longer in the future. I get it - I cried on my consultant for my hip because I desperately didn’t want to be injured and for it to impact my plans.

Edited
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I think it gets to a point though where you’re young and stuck in limbo. Yes I see a consultant physio next month but if it then takes another three or four to get a scan, and another two after that to see a consultant I’m going to go insane without getting outdoors and being active. Especially over summer.

OP posts:
AlbieJiggered · 24/04/2026 21:55

I can only go by what you say, @alittlebitdelusional . I'd be thinking of training to do a nice 10K when you're better.
Small friendly races are usually a lot more enjoyable.

Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:55

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I think you’re being over dramatic and to be honest a bit of an arsehole. In what world is a gentle 3k run going to turn into an ambulance being called for fucks sake?

OP posts:
weareallcats · 24/04/2026 21:54

alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:50

I think that’s all you can do before you’re actually seen though. Part of me wishes I’d just gone to the doctor when I bloody fell on a hike, but I didn’t expect it to be going on for this long!

Show quote history

Better to err on the side of caution, surely? There’s very little blood flow to connective tissue, so it takes longer to heal. I know it’s frustrating to have to rest - I was injured at a time when my work was very physical, but honestly a bit of rest now might save your ability to run for longer in the future. I get it - I cried on my consultant for my hip because I desperately didn’t want to be injured and for it to impact my plans.

Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:51

AlbieJiggered · 24/04/2026 21:49

We're not being unfair. We're just not telling you what you want to hear.
Going from 3 x 5K to a marathon is being ambitious without the injury.

Fancy new running shoes will not mean you don't need to get over your injury before running again.

I don’t think everyone is, just that one poster in particular.

im aware it’s a lot - I’m not committed to it yet (as in, I don’t have a marathon place), I’m going to do a gentle re-introduction to running plan, designed to protect from injury and go from there.

OP posts:
Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:50

weareallcats · 24/04/2026 21:48

I don’t think it’s helpful to compare symptoms - my tear didn’t ache all the time but there was a lot of sharper pain when aggravated and would randomly lock when I was walking. The GP and consultant both stuck their finger in a place in my knee that would make me wince, but it wasn’t constant pain. I think it varies. I have also had a label tear and that was referred pain down the front of my thigh (excruciating at times) but nothing in the hip joint at all.

edited to add, my point is that everyone experiences it differently and pain doesn’t necessarily correlate with severity of injury.

Edited

I think that’s all you can do before you’re actually seen though. Part of me wishes I’d just gone to the doctor when I bloody fell on a hike, but I didn’t expect it to be going on for this long!

OP posts:
AlbieJiggered · 24/04/2026 21:49

We're not being unfair. We're just not telling you what you want to hear.
Going from 3 x 5K to a marathon is being ambitious without the injury.

Fancy new running shoes will not mean you don't need to get over your injury before running again.

weareallcats · 24/04/2026 21:48

I don’t think it’s helpful to compare symptoms - my tear didn’t ache all the time but there was a lot of sharper pain when aggravated and would randomly lock when I was walking. The GP and consultant both stuck their finger in a place in my knee that would make me wince, but it wasn’t constant pain. I think it varies. I have also had a label tear and that was referred pain down the front of my thigh (excruciating at times) but nothing in the hip joint at all.

edited to add, my point is that everyone experiences it differently and pain doesn’t necessarily correlate with severity of injury.

Stuckinteeth · 24/04/2026 21:48

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Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:47

simpsonthecat · 24/04/2026 21:46

Maybe not so much as me then. I had endless physio and exercise to correct my gait as it was affecting it. It actually took nearly a year to mend, I had scans and everything. Probably not so bad for you as you are younger.

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It’s just seriously so bizarre. One day going up the hill I live on can be fine, the next it can really aggravate it. There’s no rhyme nor reason to it either - I can do the exact same thing two days in a row and it can feel really different between the two. I think I’m just going to go gentle on it and prioritise protein and hydration (apparently hydration is quite important for soft tissue injuries?), and see where we go from the physio appointment

OP posts:
simpsonthecat · 24/04/2026 21:46

alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:44

This is the thing, no. I can go a day or two, sometimes even more, with it barely niggling. And some days it’ll be achy no matter what. It’s so, so strange.

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Maybe not so much as me then. I had endless physio and exercise to correct my gait as it was affecting it. It actually took nearly a year to mend, I had scans and everything. Probably not so bad for you as you are younger.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 24/04/2026 21:45

alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:28

I don’t think wanting to be fit and healthy is daft.

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You're not going to be fit and healthy if you permanently bugger up your knee by running on it for about 100 miles in the training period (assuming you actually attempt a conservative schedule over 20 weeks) shortly having introduced a significant risk of increasing the severity of the injury, are you?

Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:45

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I’m going to get my new shoes, see how I feel on a short jog (2 to 3k), and go from there. I’m not going to engage any more with you because you’re just being rude and unfair.

OP posts:
Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:44

AlbieJiggered · 24/04/2026 21:42

I didn't think that everyone was thinking you were going to rock out of bed and run a marathon.

Seriously, you were a complete numpty to run in crap shoes, and 5K 3 times a week is not much.

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Yes I was silly to do it, but what’s done is done and I can’t go back and change it. It was a lot for me, a total non-runner before last summer.

OP posts:
Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:44

simpsonthecat · 24/04/2026 21:41

I had a bad torn meniscus (and I'm probably twice your age!) and it only got better with time.

It was so painful. Is it aching continually?

This is the thing, no. I can go a day or two, sometimes even more, with it barely niggling. And some days it’ll be achy no matter what. It’s so, so strange.

OP posts:
Stuckinteeth · 24/04/2026 21:43

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AlbieJiggered · 24/04/2026 21:42

alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:08

I’m aware it’s a lot of training and I’m not entirely sure why everyone thinks I’m on about rocking out of bed and running one

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I didn't think that everyone was thinking you were going to rock out of bed and run a marathon.

Seriously, you were a complete numpty to run in crap shoes, and 5K 3 times a week is not much.

simpsonthecat · 24/04/2026 21:41

I had a bad torn meniscus (and I'm probably twice your age!) and it only got better with time.

It was so painful. Is it aching continually?

Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:41

weareallcats · 24/04/2026 21:40

Have you had a scan? I had an mri to confirm and decided to try rest before going to surgery - I did rest (including changing my car) and it did get better.

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On the waiting list for an appointment to get a scan (despite the original physio saying I just needed a scan), because that’s how my trust operates. Trying to push as many people as possible to go private, I guess.

OP posts:
Original poster
alittlebitdelusional · 24/04/2026 21:40

This reply has been deleted

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As you keep saying. It’s just coming across that you’re unable to read what I’m saying.

OP posts: