Describe how many times you've fallen while running and why.

Too many times to count over roots on trails

Two memorable ones:

I lined up to start my warm up strider, slipped immediately and face-planted like and idiot

8th grade mile run I was revved up to finally prove myself athletically. Tripped immediately and was trampled by the entire class. Still came third so not a total loss

Lithe and Coordinated wrote:

I don't think I've ever fallen on a run, and I do a fair amount of trail running, with more than three decades of running behind me. Strange to read people talking about 20 or more falls...

I have noticed that I'm pretty focused on where I plant my feet on the trails. Was doing some trail running along the Columbia River Gorge last weekend and missed trail markers at a couple of turns...probably because I was eyeing the ground too intensely.

I stopped running trails in the Gorge and even Forest Park because I stare at the ground too intensely, afraid of tripping. It takes all the fun out of trail running, so what's the point?

I have three memorable falls.

The first was in high school. I was running down a steep single-track trail and my toe caught a boulder. I went airborne, landing facedown. It happened so fast that I was hitting the ground by the time I realized I had tripped. No time to brace myself at all. I landed hard and got the wind knocked out of me. I was bleeding all over (side, hip, forearms, wrists, hands). The scary part is that I was probably 1 1/2 miles from the nearest road and it was a weekday morning. I thought I might be lying out there for hours. Luckily I got my breath back and walked/limped back to my car.

Second time was in college. There was snow on the ground and I was coming up on a small stream. The snow covered the stream, so I decided to run right over it. I didn't realize how thin the snow was on top of the ice. With my first bound onto the stream, my foot shot out from under me. I went down hard on my back. Again, the wind got knocked out of me. I was about 2 1/2 miles into a 9 mile run. I'm pretty sure I ended up jogging slowly the rest of the way.

The most recent time was last summer. I was going at a pretty good clip (probably 6:15 to 6:30 pace) when my toe caught a root. I was in the process of putting my arms out when I hit the ground. My elbow jammed into my ribcage. I ended up bruising a rib. It hurt to breathe, cough, laugh, etc. for three weeks. It was miserable.

Twenty five years ago, when I was so anal that I timed every run, I would stop my watch before I hit the ground.

Only two falls that I can think of. First was in college back around 1988 or 89. I was running on our cross country trail at night. At the end of the run, the trail empties out into a sports field. I forgot that there was a heavy chain running across the trail opening to prevent people from driving out onto the trails. I ran straight into the trail with my left shin and flipped headfirst into some mud. Still have a dent/scar from the chain though it did not bleed much at the time.

This past winter I was running in a snowstorm in the middle of the day. I was on a straight, relatively flat bit of snow-covered dirt road. I must have hit an ice patch under the snow because next I knew my feet were airborne. Just a couple of bruises from that one.

I've fallen more than I care to remember. The most memorable ones are...

1.) Running in my neighborhood during daylight and a busy morning. I was crossing the street and started running when my foot caught the curb and went face down. It happened right in front of a high school...

2.) About half a mile into the start of a marathon, I tripped on something and went face down. Skid my elbow, knee and stomach to the point it was bleeding a little-thought about not continuing b/c it hurt and stung but instead got mad about it and finished the race. Did run a personal best that day but had to seek the medical tent afterwards...

3.) Last month while up at altitude, I was running w/my daughter and we were running on a dirt trail and going down a small hill when my foot caught on a small rock and I went "face down" AGAIN! Skid my knee and elbow (usually the same side as previous falls which I find interesting...) and ran a 5k race the next day.

I've fallen twice, once was running pretty fast over a wooden bridge and it was wet after a good rain. The kind of bridge that when it gets wet, it gets super slippery like wet moss or something. Landed so hard on my hip, bruised for over a week.

Second time I was running on a trail in some really tight woods and tripped over a tree root.

I've fallen twice, both have been hard to forget. I now use training wheels during races to keep me from falling over.

Running barefoot on wet grass, feet lose grip if you take hard corners. This has happened to me a few times. The fall is soft though, because you're already leaning. I like practicing hard corners on lawns and over rolling slopes. I like getting right to the edge of traction and seeing if I can hold it there without my feet sliding out.

This spring I fell in a steeplechase. I have run the steeple for 3 years and had never fallen. Over a regular barrier I hit my trail leg and went down straight on my face. I got knocked out and don't remember anything. I came to on the infield, still thinking I had to finish warming up for my race. I had a pretty good concussion and started throwing up about an hour later. Its a good story, but it was hard doing class work when you have poor memory and are mentally slow from the concussion. Sadly no one got it on tape.

Too many to count.

Fell about 5 times running the Dipsea my first time, and once my second time. Rolled my ankle two years in a row at running camp from tripping and falling over a root.

Slipped on a tree root in a race, slid 20ft down a hill on my hands and knees (it was snowing, about 1/4" coverage at the time).

Another tree root, I sprained my ankle and my leg just gave out underneath me on the next step. I completely collapsed and had to limp 2 miles to find someone to help me get back to my house.

Slipped on ice more times than I care to think about, but I do not actually remember falling from any of them.

dented wrote:

Strangely, the first think i do when i fall is turn off my watch. The second, is to look around to see who saw it.

Ha, me too. In fact, both times I didn't realize I had done it until I finally looked at the watch several minutes later.

I've only fallen twice.

Once when I was running with my dog, and my father passsed us in the car and yelled hello. My dog knows better than to bolt after squirrels when we're running, but she's obsessed with my dad, and it was more excitement than she could bear. She cut right across my path and I hit the pavement hard.

The other time I was running on some pretty technical single track in a tight line with a group of guys. We were probably going under 6 minute pace, and we were so close together that it was hard to sight your footing in advance. I don't remember exactly how I misstepped, but I landed on my wrist against a huge, flat stone. It didn't bleed that much, but the swelling literally didn't go away for almost three months. The doctor said that's not unusual because there are so many small capillaries that can be easily ruptured by that kind of impact.

Had a string of many years without a fall and boom...two this week. One in Central Park and one along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. In both cases it due to tripping on lone tree root. In both cases I "ALMOST" caught myself up, but fell anyway flat on my stomach and hands.

Abrasions all over (torso, arms, hands and knees) but nothing major to report so feeling fortunate it wasn't worth.

Is it due to fatigue (not picking feet up enough)? I am at an all-time high in terms of mileage.

I broke bones in running falls twice in my 30s.

The first time I apparently slipped on an unseen patch of ice (it was below freezing and snowing lightly at the time), suffered a concussion and broke my humerus just below the shoulder. The concussion wiped out a bit of memory so I never knew exactly what happened--one moment I was running down the shoulder of a familiar road in a perfectly normal way, the next I was on the ground with my ears humming hard and the world spinning around me. I managed to get up and walk home very carefully, fortunately only about 1 km. Went to the ER and got the arm "realigned" (talk about painful) and put in a sling and brace. Couldn't run at all for about 4 weeks.

The second time I tripped on a tree root on a trail run and landed awkwardly with my hand under my rib cage. Thankfully my hand broke, and not a rib. Small cast for a few weeks to protect it while it healed. I ran right through the recovery.

Since then I've fallen a number of times when running before dawn on unlit country roads with uneven dirt shoulders, but never hurt anything seriously. Seven years ago I moved to a different area where there are street lights almost everywhere, and I have not fallen since the move.

I’ve had two memorable falls:

1. I ran through a public school campus at night where suddenly I was suspended in mid-air and dropped to the sidewalk. I had not seen the rusty chain that was strung between posts at each end of the main sidewalk. I had a chain-link bruise for a week.

2. Someone cut me off in the early miles of Boston but I somersaulted and popped right back up and continued. It was weird but ended up having no impact.

Have fallen twice -ome a state champiomships and one a national championship when I was one of the favourites

I was running on a trail and had to step off the track and onto long grass to avoid a group of walkers. Soon after passing them I stepped into what was likely the retaining wire from a car wheel cap. Some how my second foot ended up there too and I fell. Was kinda embarrassing.

I was running Christmas Day once at my local park. There’s a portion of the pavement that goes around a tree in the middle of the sidewalk, pretty awkward positioning and have to do a little jump to not run off the pavement and onto rocks. Tripped as I landed and slammed my hip on the ground right in front of this old man. Probably around 6 AM too