Tips for Runners

By: Jonathon Hardcastle
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:22
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Running can be a great pastime. It's an activity that allows you to be in touch with your environment, get a nice workout, and have a great time. In this article, we'll discuss some general tips on helping to improve the quality of your runs, either through aiding your comfort or increasing your intensity.

It's important for any serious runner to have a good pair of running shoes. To choose the best shoes for your runs, you need to get form-fitting shoes that support your feet. To do so, try shopping late in the day. Your feet swell throughout the day, with their greatest size being achieved in the evening. If you shop for shoes in the morning, you may find yourself with some tight-fitting shoes that can cause blistering and other uncomfortable side-effects. Don't just try on the shoes that you're thinking of buying; walk around the store in them to ensure that they don't strain your muscles in a weird way. Also, make sure that your toes have room to wiggle around in the tip of the shoe. A shoe that gives your toes a tight fit can lead to painful friction when running.

Do your best to not wear the same shoes jogging for two days in a row. Your feet sweat when you run, and the perspiration drains into the shoes a lot of the time. If you don't give the sweat in your shoes enough time to dry out, bacteria can grow, causing odor to permeate from your shoes. Also, wearing the same shoes day after day causes any troublesome pressure spots in the shoe to rub against the same part of the feet every day, possibly leading to blisters.

Stretching is of the utmost importance to runners. A study conducted showed that runners who stretched three times per day reduced their risk of leg injury by 12%. To help keep your running muscles flexible, it's important to perform calf, hamstring, and quadriceps stretches. In addition to helping protect yourself against injury, having additional flexibility in your muscles helps you to avoid painful cramps.

Be sure to stay hydrated when running. One of the biggest threats of running is the chance of dehydration faced by those who are unaware of their body's needs. Perspiration causes the body to lose much of its water content, and you need to counteract this factor by regularly drinking water before, during, and after your run.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Sports, Golf, and Fitness

Article source: Expert Articles

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