How to avoid runners face?

[Yadaaday]

I’ve been running for a little while now, only 5k but it makes me feel happy and satisfied.
My question is, am I likely to get runners face from running this amount? Or do you get it when you run longer distances? Is there anything I can do to avoid it??

Personally I don't the evidence is clear either way however as I said upthread the op doesn't have to worry.

I've been googling famous women basketball players (high impact sport, can we agree?), born 1985 or earlier. They don't look haggard, either.

My granny always said that after 40 you had to decide if you preferred to look ‘good’ coming or going.

It means that a bit of a plump backside likely gave you a plumped face, while a skinny or toned backside (lower body fat) meant your face was likely more gaunt and wrinkly.

Her generation seemed clear this was true. Of course, I never heard it applied about men, but I don’t see why not them too. Add the sun-exposure part and it seems reasonable that something called ‘runners face’ fits her theory?

I wouldn't worry too much. Make sure you use SPF and the rest is likely to be down to genetics. These two look fine and have clocked many miles between them!

There's that saying isn't there that women over the age of 30 have to choose between their arse or their face they can't have both.

Sadly it seems I have chosen to neglect both.

I run and am less than averagely wrinkly. I'm not thin, I avoid sun like a vampire and I run on softer trails/treadmill not road (mostly). And try to run with a good cadence so you're not bobbing up and down like a loon. It is better for running but also less impactful for your face!

'Looking good' is damn all use if you've got weight related arthritis and Type 2 Diabetes though, is it? Diabetes runs in my family and my brother (who is younger than me and only exercises under extreme duress) is very badly affected. So I'm going to not care about the fact that I no longer look 35, and take the other benefits that having a BMI and weight at the lower end of my height scale offer me!

I’d rather have runners’ face than drinkers’ face. I see a lot of women whose skin has been adversely affected by too much wine.

I've noticed how runners often look really haggard. It's not a good look.

I'm very sceptical about running.

I'd prefer a brisk walk, swimming any day.

A little fat on you is good...plumps out your face!

This is a thing.

My cousin is a few years younger than me. My children were astonished when they found out as they thought she looked a lot older. She is a very serious triathlete, very low body fat, no periods. She doesn't look healthy at all.

I’d rather have runners’ face than drinkers’ face. I see a lot of women whose skin has been adversely affected by too much wine

You don't need to do either...I don't run or drink.

I run and drink, both are fun and a smile is the most beneficial thing you can put on your face

I can’t help thinking there’s a hint of envy in some posters who seem to take delight in commenting on ‘runner’s faces’. The runners obviously prioritise their health over their vanity and good for them. I wish o had their dedication. Well I do actually have their dedication, but unfortunately it’s towards nuts, chocolate and red wine, preferably together. It’s my version of a triathlon.

That's not down to running though @redeyetonowheregood that's due to being unhealthily underweight

What on earth? Never heard of runner's face - and I'm a seriously hard-core runner.

The runners obviously prioritise their health over their vanity

Really? I'm not sure that running is that great for our health is it? I mean exercise is good in general but is running specifically good for us? I find a lot of women prioritise their figure over their face. They run to stay thin.

I can’t help thinking there’s a hint of envy in some posters who seem to take delight in commenting on ‘runner’s faces’. The runners obviously prioritise their health

What? You can be perfectly healthy without running. I eat healthy and walk everyday. When I ran regularly I actually put on weight from being so hungry afterwards, and would often get the shits. Running is also really bad for your knees.

Just get one of these

Running 5kms a few days a tek won't change anything, not your face not your weight not your health. I run 100km plus a week and am no more haggard than any other women I know of my age. But I'm considerably healthier and slimmer 🙂

Frangipanyes me too! I was thinking of those photos they send you after the race which are, ahem, rather unflattering.

Oh race pics. I'm always desperate to see them but then hate them all!!🙈😂 and half of them look like I'm walking. 2 feet off the floor is a win!!

“They run to stay thin”
Or maybe they just like running? The exhilaration that comes from fresh air and a good workout, often with a friend alongside?
Lots of recent research about the benefits of running for your heart, for example.

I run, a lot. People tell me I look 10 years younger than I did before I started running (I was fat, and also miserable, which probably contributed).

Certainly the older women in my running club, too, look and act far younger than their years.

People with very low body fat and who don't wear sunscreen may age prematurely, but no more than, say, smokers, or heavy drinkers, or those who don't run and also spend a lot of time in the sun. I don't think it's the running, per se. Few people have clocked up as many miles as Paula Radcliffe, and she looks incredible. See also Liz McColgan, Jo Pavey, etc.

Agree with those who say some people take a delight in claiming "runners face" is a thing. They're often the same people who bang on about bad knees...

I don't know any runners who run to stay thin, not serious runners (you know, the ones who do enough miles to get runners face, if it existed). They may have started a bit of jogging to lose some weight but once they become "runners" They have far more important things on their mind.

I know some who train seriously because they're competitive but for most it makes them feel good and becomes a large part of their social life and gives a sense of achievement.

No one really cares about their weight enough to take such extreme action, if they did giving up cake would be far less hassle. It's why weight loss for it's own sake rarely works, it's simply not a strong enough motivation.

It's really interesting to see the transition that happens when a weight loss "exerciser" gets the bug and becomes a runner. All of a sudden calories aren't the enemy but the fuel required to run and become a better runner and it's the quality, not the quantity of the calories that counts.

You can be fit & healthy without running though, it's not either/or. I love exercise.

I run between 20-40 miles a week depending on how lazy I am whether I'm training for a long race. I have a medium built and chubby cheeks, so I dont look haggard