I started running after age 60. I participated in a charity 4 miler for God's Love We Deliver. I hadn't run in a race since High School. Afterward, I was constantly asked how I felt, and I said "Fine." After all, it took over 10 minutes a mile, so I didn't work that hard at it.
But I decided to join New York Road Runners and got the bug. I run about 30 miles a week now and have since run many races including 4 Half Marathons and the Long Island and New York Marathons (and took around 3 minutes off my 4-mile pace).
Running is a solitary activity, at least while you're doing it, and I'm often asked about aches and pains and how to avoid them. If you run a lot you will strain or tighten up from time to time, and there are a lot of ways to prevent or reduce the chance of soreness or injury. I think I've learned a little over the last couple of years.
Today I want to talk about the knees.
Running in New York City, there are lots of concrete and asphalt surfaces, potholes, and even random bottles or trash to step over. They say the surface is especially tough on your knees. I'm frequently asked about why I never seem to have a problem. Here are 3 things I think I've learned to help you run pain -free:
1 - Posture - Running often tends to make a person lean a little forward, especially if you're trying to go faster. While everyone has a different ideal posture, you should try to find the proper posture for you to run most comfortably, particularly if you're going for distance. If you having knee trouble, you may be leaning too far forward, putting extra pressure on the front step. Most of the time you run better relatively vertical.
2 - Stride - When you run, your stride is longer than walking of course. If you take larger steps you risk stressing your knees because your midsection has to catch up to stay in step. Your foot is also more likely to come down on the heel, which has more of a shock effect on the knee. You should try for a mid-foot foot strike. Worse, it may cause you to "bob" up and down, increasing the knee pressure because of the springing motion you create. So find a good stride that's easy to maintain.
3 - Pace - For longer distances especially, the proper pace is another way to reduce pressure on those vulnerable synovial joints(I took an anatomy class once, where else do I get to use that word?). So try to find a comfortable pace. If you run a lot, you will get faster if that's a goal.
But be sure to enjoy the journey.