Flint Township View

Athletic.net survey shows causes of runner injuries




A recent survey shows that most running-related injuries are caused by athletes not running smart or not wearing the proper footwear. Photo by Joe Oster

A recent survey shows that most running-related injuries are caused by athletes not running smart or not wearing the proper footwear. Photo by Joe Oster

AREAWIDE — A recent study conducted by Athletic.net, the main website for scholastic cross country and track, helped bring forth the main causes of running-related injuries.

Of the 6,536 runners surveyed, 53-percent were male and 47-percent female with the majority of the average age being between 15-18. Forty three percent have been running for 2-4 years with 33-percent exceeding four years of experience.

An eye-popping 94-percent of females and 91-percent of males have experienced injury or pain while running, 48-percent of which occurred in-season.

Some of the workouts have been responsible, including tempo runs, weight training, circuits, hills, intervals, speed work and long runs. The majority of the injuries, 46.6-percent, lasted less than two weeks.

However, the No. 1 reason for the injuries was that the participants weren’t running smart with the No. 2 reason being the wrong footwear.