Former Runners Who Have Stopped Running Due to Injury: What Injury Made You Stop?

In my late 40's I had a metal plate inserted into my left foot where the great toe joint used to be.

I came back from that and still ran competitively, but it probably threw my stride off a bit and it was not long before my back went out in a big way, followed later by my knee blowing out.

I was done at 51.

Going on 62 years old. Hit by car driving 100 k/hour in 1985 head on - multiple segmental fractures to the right leg from knee to ankle. Missed from August to January that year but ran the same day the external fixation device was removed. Probably missed a total of 12 months running over the course of the past 46 years including the six months after getting wiped out by the car. Knee problems kept in check by strengthening the ligaments/tendons whatever it is that dictates how the patella moves. It is frustrating but once I got into my late 50's I could no longer do track intervals without running an unacceptable risk of either hamstring or calf injuries. So I have to avoid top end speed but otherwise have no restrictions or limitations. I'm surprised to see how many achilles tendon injuries were career ending. I've always thought of this as an injury that responds to rest, stretching and heat/ice pretty well

This post reinforces how grateful I am to still be running. 78 and just went over 96,000 road running miles. Started logging miles in April,1976. I have been very fortunate, rarely injured. Looking back, I focused on longevity versus speed. Have run 95%+ of my miles at 2-3 minutes slower than my 5K pace over the years. Never broke 3 hrs in the marathon or 8 hrs in a 50 miler, but the joy of still running 40+ miles per week more than makes up for it.

I am sorry to those who have been seriously injured and unable to run. Hopefully you can walk, swim, cycle to keep fit. Nick🏃

Long Run Nick wrote:

This post reinforces how grateful I am to still be running. 78 and just went over 96,000 road running miles. Started logging miles in April,1976. I have been very fortunate, rarely injured. Looking back, I focused on longevity versus speed. Have run 95%+ of my miles at 2-3 minutes slower than my 5K pace over the years. Never broke 3 hrs in the marathon or 8 hrs in a 50 miler, but the joy of still running 40+ miles per week more than makes up for it.

I am sorry to those who have been seriously injured and unable to run. Hopefully you can walk, swim, cycle to keep fit. Nick🏃

Congrats.

3 months into an ACL tear, I can walk, but I can't even jog more than a couple hundred meters. I have recovered from numerous injuries, but I think this one is the game changer.

TrackCoach wrote:

3 months into an ACL tear, I can walk, but I can't even jog more than a couple hundred meters. I have recovered from numerous injuries, but I think this one is the game changer.

Did you have it reconstructed? Without reconstruction, the joint will become arthritic & you could eventually need a knee replacement.

Hi. Are you saying that you haven’t taken a break despite the pain? One of the biggest and most painful lessons I learned is to not try and run through pain. I’m under 50, yet I can only manage 2 runs per week, despite how bizarre that seems to me. Yet it’s all I can manage so it’s all I do.

The cartilage of my right patella deteroriated. I think they called it chondromalacia. Too high road mileage for mileage's sake.

Toenails

At times I’m 8-10 nails with black nails

Tried everything seriously everything

If I could get them all removed permanently I would

I’m a podiatrist dream patient.

My feet are trashed

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Achilles Tendonitis Blues wrote:

I'm pushing 60 and my both achilles have been giving me hell for 9 months. I'm starting to worry they will never completely heal. I hope I'm wrong. To former runners -- what injury caused you to have to stop?

Eccentric heel drops, also work to improve ankle and foot flexibility.

Depends on location of tendinitis. Evidence suggests this doesn't help with insertional, and if it is calcified, it might even make it worse by accelerating the process.

For normal Achilles tendinitis farther up, it works really well.

L and R talus fracture collegiate injury. Operation on both feet to remove bone chips and smooth remaining bone. Could not run for two years post surgery without pain. Thought I was done. Pain gradually subsided, and although I missed prime running years, I did eventually return to be able to run a few sub 5 min miles in my 30s and over 30 years post surgery I can still run but sometimes still have achy moments at the incision points. However, I have never been able to get past bouts of plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, and tight ankles and calves which tightness was likely the precipitating cause of the fractures.

wikid pissah wrote:

If I could get them all removed permanently I would

Didn't Arnie Briggs do exactly that?

Calf tears. Had two of them and decided it wasn’t worth it anymore to risk a third. This was at age 55.

I lost three years to peroneal tendon. Seems to be finally maybe better

Running...it's a hobby. Love it or leave it. Same can be said for painting in oils or collecting pennies. If it no longer works...move the F on. There's always golf or 10 pin bowling. Theres ALWAYS something!

Achilles tendonosis has me at 3-5 mpw, late 40s

I'm screwed but oh well. Spent 3 yrs completely off before this year

I presume I injure myself to limping/not being even able to walk soon enough just like every time I mildly get over this chronic injury

Summer, 2013 at age 48, started running, well running more than 2 miles on treadmill. June, 2013, I broke sub-45 minutes on a five mile tempo run. Sixteen months later at age 50, sub-39 10K! Shredded Achilles several months later, chasing a goal of sub-35 10K. Made numerous come back attempts since March, 2015. Running too fast, or too fast for my body, too many threshold runs. Ran sub-45 5 miles a few days ago. No more threshold runs. Looking to be sub-42:30 10K before 59th birthday.

Most severe injury was a strain high on the adductor (tendon). At first I thought it was osteitis pubis. I couldn't sit up, lie flat, turn over in bed or jog without pain in my left groin. Finally took 5 months off until the pain stopped. Gradually worked up to 90 minute runs without pain and 18:30 parkrun, but the tendon still gets stiff sometimes. Haven't run more than 30 mpw. It will need long term rehabilitation.

When I started running again I had high hamstring tendinopathy and multiple hamstring strains. This has taken a good 3 months of slow build up, continuous setbacks and strengthening.

I started getting achilles stiffness too. This isn't as bad as the other injuries but I need to rest it.

Shin splints. Happens when I do lots of parkruns / races / workouts. I think it is caused by surpination. Compression sleeves and toe taps don't help.