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Original poster

To the injured runners out there, encouragement please

32 replies

Boobyslims · 11/03/2026 11:59

i was at the end of a half marathon training block, to be my first half and was enjoying it all. I had goals, Plans, I was eyeing up the possibility of the full marathon in my city in the latter half of the year…

And then i got foot pain on a longer run. It was very mild but slightly worse next run (a sensation like you’ve done your laces up just a bit too tight, just enough to make you aware). This developed rapidly and now I’ve not ran in five weeks. My MRI is this Friday. It hurts any time I weight bear.

I saw a GP, a physio, an urgent care small fracture doctor and a private sports consultant. I was given different advice and because of how the system works here, I had to get X-ray done first to rule out a big obvious fracture. Just system delays all round with admin errors - wrong phone number, wrong foot marked on the first mri request so it was rejected etc

my frustration is, this is taking forever to get a diagnosis, nevermind even begin rehab. My foot is not getting better with time. Improvement has stagnated.

Honestly I’m so despondent. I’m 51 and running gave me such a buzz and an outlet and a sense of achievement. I find myself eating crisps now and not caring (and not enjoying them either!)

I work full time and have two under 12, I am a single parent. Life is busy and this has affected my life outlook more than I would ever have expected. My drive for life is in the toilet.

I decided to do upper body workouts instead and I pulled something so badly I couldn’t move correctly for eight days while the spasm released itself. Lesson learned and physio has said just leave the hiit classes alone for now and chase the diagnosis.

feel so silly… it’s not like I was heading for the Olympics but my friends are not into running/sport in general so I am venting here I suppose. Sorry this has been so long. Also, I hate admitting I’m broken!!!!

I would love to hear post-injury happy stories of getting back into sport… please!

OP posts:
Muckypig · 11/03/2026 21:38

So mine was a classic presentation of posterior tibularis irritation so easy to spot. My BIL is a physio. The issue is is that tendon blood supply is poor compared to muscle and skin, and they are slow to heal and easy to annoy. Top tip was to "rest and respect it". If it's hurting, leave it alone. Ice helps when it's aggravated and has been used, but heat can be more comfortable in the morning when it's stiff. I exacerbated mine by whacking up the mileage one week - try to stick to the 10% increase rule. I'm now back up to about 40 miles running a week plus about five miles a day walking. And then strength and mobility stuff on top of that (in front of the telly for these 😂).

MJalltheway · 11/03/2026 16:46

Not a runner but I do lots of other exercising, also in early 50s. I started as part of weight loss last year and added more and more and now it's a central part of my life. I injured my back a month ago and tried to push on for a bit which didn't work then have rested for a bit which helped until I did any exercise which flared it up again. I've started physio this week which I'm hopeful will get on top of it but it's likely to be another month I reckon before I can go back to exercising anywhere near the level I want to. It's so frustrating, just when I'd transformed my life, my health and my fitness! But I have to remind myself in the grand scheme of things it's going to be a short blip.

Whataninterestinglookingpotato · 11/03/2026 16:39

I feel ya!! I run about 35 miles a week. More when marathon training.

I got injured back in November (my own fault a ran a fast half marathon when already a bit injured) and was out completely for 4 weeks. Then another 4 weeks of taking in steady and the straight into a marathon training block, starting at nowhere near the place of fitness I was supposed to.

the weeks of no running killed me. Really I came back too soon as there was a race I wanted to do. I taped up and hobbled round and then as I managed I started to ease myself back in slowly.

now, nearly 5 months on I can still feel the injury. I can do most things now but still have to use tape if I’m going far or fast or I end up sore. Physio says it’s been long enough and I can continue as I am, but because I keep aggravating it it’ll take a while to feel right. I haven’t reinjured as such but I probably should take a few weeks off and let it all settle. But 5.5 weeks out from a marathon I don’t want to do it. I am ok as long as I remember to tape and it is still improving. Just not as fast as I had hoped.

someone recommended peptides to me and I have been taking them for about 6 weeks. I don’t know if it’s a placebo affect but they do seem to be helping and I seem to be making progress with healing again when when I started it had appeared to stagnate and I was worried whether or not I’d be able to run the marathon. I’ve managed 18 miles now so think I’ll be ok.

fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for you.

Original poster
Boobyslims · 11/03/2026 16:26

Hi @Onewildandpreciouslife that is very encouraging about the injuries and I suspect I am guilty of increasing distance and weekly mileage too fast - and it’s really brilliant too to hear you got so into distance running in your 50s!!! I love hearing that - I’m 51 and I would love to do a marathon. This was never even a one-cell notion in my head five years ago!

That quote is gold. I can relate to that!

OP posts:
Onewildandpreciouslife · 11/03/2026 14:44

Oh, I hear you @Boobyslims !! There is a great Josh Lynott quote “I like who I am when I run. I want to look after that person.” I completely understand how hard it is not to be able to get out there.

I’ve had 3 major “downtimes” in my running history (I started doing longer distances in my early 50s and am now late 50s) - a hamstring issue, a back issue and 4 months off completely for major surgery last year.

For the two injuries (both of which came about because I pushed myself too hard too soon), I found great physios who worked with me on my recovery. It needs a bit of patience, but it can be done, so all hope is not lost!

Original poster
Boobyslims · 11/03/2026 13:49

Ooooh thank you @Muckypig!!! So you are back, running again? 🙌

I did the initial “rest and then see” and it blew up too, what was when I stopped altogether. You are doing some serious mileage there!!! Amazing!

I think once I know what I can do - even as the rehab plan - I’ll feel I’m moving towards recovery I guess! I think I’ve exposed a weakness in me and I really need to incorporate strength work into my approach!

I've no real experience of injuries, can I ask how did your tendon injury get diagnosed? Are they tricky to get back to normal?

OP posts:
Muckypig · 11/03/2026 12:36

Oh I feel you! I run around 35-45 miles a week and I get so low when I'm injured. My most recent one was an ankle tendon, and I was crap at resting it when it first twinged and did the classic rest a few days, then test run, make it worse, rest again. I was out for about a month. However, I've added in a load more strength exercises and use my resistance bands in front of the TV and I'm nearly back to fitness now, including steep gradients and uneven surfaces. So don't lose hope. It's beyond frustrating, but hopefully you'll get there.