Marathon Training Mistakes That Cause 70% of Running Injuries

Sports medicine researchers have identified the training errors responsible for 70% of marathon-related injuries, providing runners with a clear roadmap for staying healthy through race day.

Top Mistakes

1. Too much too soon: Increasing weekly mileage by more than 10% per week accounts for 35% of all running injuries. The body needs time to adapt to impact stress.

2. Skipping rest days: Running every day without recovery prevents tissue repair. Two rest days per week is optimal for most runners.

3. Ignoring strength training: Runners who don't strength train are 2.5x more likely to get injured. Hip and glute weakness causes knee and IT band problems.

• 10% weekly mileage increase maximum
• 2 rest days per week optimal
• Strength train 2-3x per week
• Replace 1 run with cross-training weekly