28/11/2025
Most running setbacks happen because people base their return on symptom resolution alone, not tissue capacity.
Running produces 2–5× bodyweight of ground reaction force with every step.
Over a 5km run, that’s 6,000–7,000 high-load repetitions.
Pain tells you how something feels.
Load tolerance tells you what your tissues can handle.
These are not the same thing.
A safe and effective return-to-running plan considers:
1. Tissue Capacity
Muscles, tendons and bone adapt to load through mechanotransduction.
When load is reintroduced too quickly, microdamage exceeds repair = irritation, inflammation, flare-ups.
2. Strength Thresholds
Research shows that deficits in calf, quad, hip and trunk strength increase running-related injury risk.
Strength must meet the demands of impact loading before running begins.
3. Impact Management
Factors like cadence, stride length, footstrike and running surface influence loading rate.
ie - A higher cadence (165–180) reduces tibial shock and joint loading.
4. Progressive Loading
Your tissues respond best to gradual, predictable load exposure.
Alternating walk–run intervals, spacing recovery days and tracking RPE all help manage cumulative stress.
5. Symptom Behaviour
We expect some discomfort.
What matters is:
* Does it settle within 24 hours?
* Is irritability low?
* Is there increasing tolerance week to week?
Pain ≠ damage.
Capacity ≠ comfort.
Running readiness sits in the interaction between the two.
A structured return-to-running plan isn’t conservative —
it’s scientific stress dosing to rebuild durability, reduce recurrence and keep you running long-term
