I know, I’m preaching to the choir. It’s also something I might have blogged about a few times before and I’m sure I will a few times again.
That said, we have yet more evidence that running is good for your knees. Also, a little on why running might be good for your cartilage.
What does cause injuries?
Even with that useful information, we also know runners do get injured frequently. But why? What do we do that causes those injuries? I’m sure you’ve heard all the ideas. Too much volume, too rapid of an increase in volume, too much intensity, too rapid of an increase in intensity, running on hard surfaces, running on uneven surfaces.
What if it’s none of the above? What if it’s nothing specific?
Basically, we can’t look at one specific thing. We need to look at the individual and figure out what works for them and what doesn’t. I’ve said it before and this seems to back it up: we are all individuals. There is no one size fits all solution.
Death statistics – not so bad
Another thing we sometimes hear about because it makes news every time it happens – people dying during races. While each and every time this happens is absolutely tragic, it’s not at all that common.
Are women more susceptible to dehydration than men?
The short answer: we don’t really know. However, we should consider the possibility. Women carry less water proportional to their body weight than men. So it makes sense that it would take less fluid loss to have problematic dehydration.
That said, remember that most of us don’t have to worry too much about dehydration. While we don’t want to ignore hydration (and the fueling that usually comes along with it) during a marathon, for most runs, we can just start well hydrated and then rehydrate after the run. Even for marathons and other such events, there are plenty of fluids along the course. We just need to consider whether they are more necessary for women than men. Hopefully, more research to answer that question will be coming.