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??

Running 5kms a few days a tek won't change anything, not your face not your weight not your health
Of course it will, depending on where you are starting from. If you are sedentary and doing no exercise it will make you much fitter and healthier. Not as fit as the likes of yourself maybe, but much healthier than taking no exercise.

"A good heart will help you to a bonny face, my lad and a bad one will turn the bonniest into something worse than ugly".
Emily Bronte

Really? I'm not sure that running is that great for our health is it?

Since I started running my resting heart rate has plummeted. So yes, running is good for you. By all means walk or swim, or sit on your arse if that's your jam. But let's not pretend exercise isn't good for you.

half of them look like I'm walking. 2 feet off the floor is a win!!

I look through the photos praying for "flying feet"

Ran for years plus swimming, cycling and spinning and still ended up with high bp and am on several tablets a day. Never smoked either, normal cholesterol too
I know a lady in her mid 60s who is a hard core runner, swimmer etc. Tbh facially she does look her age because she's so thin, almost gaunt but she's also vegetarian and seems to eat like a bird !

I think the woman with 'runner's face' looks good. Wrinkly but good. Her expression at the time will maximise any wrinkles. But I'd rather look like that than saggy and baggy.

I don’t think it’s due to running on tarmac. They just have less body fat, they’re just thin, that’s all.

Most people at my running club dont look haggard... 1 or 2 do but not the majority. I use this sun and wind balm (it's spf 64).
www.toddlebornwild.com it's slightly thicker than a normal sun cream.
I try and use hats as well to protect from sun/rain/wind.

Since I started running my resting heart rate has plummeted. So yes, running is good for you. By all means walk or swim, or sit on your arse if that's your jam. But let's not pretend exercise isn't good for you.

I said exercise is good for us. But what I was questioning was, is running specifically healthy or better than any other exercise that gets your heart rate up? Having such low body fat a woman's periods stop and her knees are knackered doesn't sound great to me.

Exercise levels have to be pretty extreme for women to loose enough body fat for their periods to stop.

Either that, or they're not eating enough.

Lots of sports run the risk of injuries - repetitive movements and twisting joints cause lots of injuries in ball sports.

The only heart-raising exercise I really enjoy is running, so it's good for me and I just stop running for a bit if anything hurts.

But of course there are other forms of exercise that are equally beneficial, and people who are prone to running-related injuries, so running isn't good for them.

I’ve been running for 11 yrs and I’m 46. I certainly don’t look like that.

I was told by a plastic surgeon (used to clean their house ) ,running will age you if drop to much weight but mainly it's running on hard surfaces ,breaks up the collagen and how you run .she said to go to a specialist shop and get them to check how you run and get the right shoes for your style of running .wont stop the aging completely but will help .also plenty of good fats ,water and also wear sun protection even in winter

I hardly need my asthma inhalers since I started running.

Yes, any form of exercise is good for you, as long as it gets the heart rate up, but running is the one that fits best in with my day (I can run with the dog and kill two birds with one stone - or 6.3 kgs, if you prefer). It also fits in with the day job, is free and I don't have to travel.

Again, I'd rather look my age (or even older) and be fit. I'm never going to look 40 (or even 50) again, so what does it matter if my face is saggy? At least I can get to the end of my road without having to stop for a sit down, and my body is flexible enough to do what I want it to without wheezing or aching.

I remember reading something about a skin specialist who said they could always tell when a runner walked into the room, so there must be something in it. I look about 102 on my parkrun photos.

You apparently have to choose between your bottom and your face as you get older, so I suppose I've chosen my bottom by running

Running is also really bad for your knees

Quite the opposite. Keeping your weight under control reduces the impact on your knees.

Why are all the non-runners so keen to tell us we are damaging ourselves by running? Life is damaging, arthritis can set in if you've never done anything more energetic than walking upstairs, your face can drop if you lose weight by diet alone. Age is going to come and get you (if you are lucky)!

If you'd rather turn 65 looking 50 that's fine. I'd rather be wrinkly and able to run 10 miles in under two hours. Nobody is going to be fooled into thinking I'm 35 again either way!

I have also read this thread wondering why so many people are eager to say how bad running is for you? Like all sports you risk injury but there are obvious huge benefits to running. The benefit to overall health is obvious.

Keen frequent/ distance runners will spend more time than average outside exposed to UV damage. Suncream, a cap and covering up can do a lot to mitigate that, the same as anyone else. Very low body fat is often not flattering. People do naturally lay more fat stores as they age, so the absence of a normal level of fats can be aging.

Running photos often aren't the most flattering due to expression, hair pulled tightly back, not using make-up. Would a lot of people with "runner's face" so obviously have it in their usual non-running style. There might be an element of mis-reading age initially due to posture and slim build. Poor posture massively ages people on first impressions.

I'm not too worried about runner's face. I use high SPF and a cap, and when I stop off for a break on my long distance route and buy an energy drink, I'm at risk of being IDed in my late 30s. Even borderline for 25, that's still looking a teenager's worth younger than I am despite looking like a desperate beetroot
I love a shocking race photo. Much more entertaining than jazz hands

It has to be hydration too doesn't it? The woman in the photo looks desicated. Fluids

Family history indicates pretty strongly that 100% of my body is unlikely to reach a ripe old age, and that I am likely to need to upgrade knees or hips at some point.

I'd rather go through arthritis and joint replacement lighter, with strong muscles and good health than giving up and using the joints excuse.

There's even studies suggesting that high impact exercise is good for cartilage because it varies the pressure and while there are cycles of high pressure on it, it's also got low pressure while your body is not in contact with the floor.

Humans are designed to be distance runners. We're not the fastest species, but we have good stamina to sustain a steady pace. Early hunters needed only to keep prey in sight and moving until they stopped sprinting faster and became exhausted creating an easier kill with little energy left to defend.

I agree Shiny.

I have quite bad arthritis in both feet, which is genetic. I'd rather suffer the arthritis whilst I run, than give up running, still have arthritis and put on weight which would make the arthritis even more painful and hard to manage!

I think if you have a healthy diet and wear sun cream it shouldn’t be a problem. People start to look haggard when they have depleted their fat reserves which suggests they aren’t taking on the required calories to healthily sustain the exercise they are doing.

I don’t think it’s just the sun it’s more like the sagging for the double pounding up n down ! Need like some sort of sports bra for the face !!!

Agree with Zapho.
OP get yourself a good cap and SPF 50 every day and you'll be fine.
I think the lady in the photo looks great, really happy. Her face looks a bit purple but mine does exactly the same once I'm warm (generally 20 seconds into it!] and I find that highlights my wrinkles!

The great thing about running outdoors is fresh air, seeing nature, noticing how different things look in different lights, exploring, and when you get into a rhythm it's almost meditative (sp?). So many benefits you don't get with other forms of exercise especially those done indoors.

Some of the comments on this thread (about the face/appearance of a slim lady - coincidence? ) aren't nice though.

goes off to find the thread about why Zumba is so bad for us ...

Why are all the non-runners so keen to tell us we are damaging ourselves by running?

Why are so many runners keen to say they look their age or younger? Why is the choice running & being fit/healthy & not running so therefore unhealthy/die young/overweight?

The OP asked a specific question which people have answered. I hate the narrative that if you don't like "X" or agree with "X" you're a hater.

I quite like the endorphins released from a jog but do lots of different exercise. I love ballet & weights, others may hate that. Who cares? I do what works for me.