Anyone else completely injured decades later from running high mileage (100+ mpw) in college?

the High Mileage Story's Injury wrote:

I ran for a high mileage team for 4 years.

We did 90 - 100 mpw during cross country season, and 120+ for sections of summer training.

I'm on the backend of my 30s:

- I can't walk without both achillis making loud popping sounds

- My knees are shot

- My foot gets injured within a few weeks anytime I try to take up running 3-4 miles a day

I'm hoping things don't keep getting worse.

I'm wondering if this is normal? I guess it beats getting CTE from the college football.

I also ran high mileage for about 4 years and was never injured. After about a 5-year break, I started running again and experienced fairly frequent injuries, but nothing that would cause me to miss more than a few weeks. Now, I don't run much anymore and don't have the symptoms you describe.

I don't know how old you are but it's likely to get only worse, but like you say, certainly better than CTE.

Old people in general cannot run as much as young people. Just get on the bike.

It’s not the high mileage that breaks you down it’s taking an extended period of time away from running/exercise. Trying to get back into running after taking a long break will obviously have it’s problems.

The injuries are more likely due to being sedentary for years after exercising regularly.

It’s not growing old that slows us down. It’s slowing down that makes us grow old.

I can't really call it high mileage--I rarely did more than 75mpw--but I guess it was high for me.

I blew out a foot at age 20. Haven't been able to run for 40+ years.

High mileage doesn’t cause injury. Imbalances in the body and improper moving do. You can’t get injured from running high mileage when you’re young and then starting up again. 0/10 for dumb

thisisdumb wrote:

High mileage doesn’t cause injury. Imbalances in the body and improper moving do. You can’t get injured from running high mileage when you’re young and then starting up again. 0/10 for dumb

"High mileage doesn’t cause injury."

Right.

This reminds me of the people who claim running is bad for you..... after they gain 50 lbs and drink for 20 years they try to run a mile at 35 years old and their “knees hurt” the day after. They go on claiming how tough running is on the body. Our bodies were meant to run, but not after being sedentary for most of it. I ran mostly 15 mpw in high school (so it’s obviously high mileage wasn’t my problem) and after a 15 year break it took me about 2 years of constant injuries to get my body back into the swing of running. I hadn’t gained a lb and was incredibly active, but I just hadn’t run. Been at 50-80 mpw + for about 2 years and no serious injuries... just took me a while for my body to adjust to the running lifestyle it was made for :)

Your still young. Not even a master yet. I used to ice constantly and it helped. A few weeks off here and there . I don't run the miles now that I used to but I'm ok.

You might want to try cross training if you're struggling. Just look at a lot of the older elite guys, e.g., Meb. A lot of the older guys seem to be able to prolong their careers with heavy cross training.

This isn't as much regarding your joints, but there is limited evidence that prolonged high-milage running accelerates muscle aging that might explain why many older runnings feel that years of prolonged pounding from running have made their stride feel less "springy." There's a University of Cape Town(?) study that observed something to this effect regarding DNA and its physiological age. Basically, "middle-aged" runners with the fewest running miles on their legs had the "youngest observed DNA."

binmanelite wrote:

drink for 20 years they try to run a mile at 35 years old

they sound like fun

If you had run 150+ miles per week I would entertain the possibility that it was the training causing your injuries...but even then why would high mileage cause longterm injuries?

Unless you tore up muscle tissue/ligaments etc then why would mileage alone cause your symptoms? Try massage, yoga, ART, physical therapy etc to loosen and balance your body

Too many exhaustive fast workouts on tight muscles would be more likely to cause these issues

Agreed.

I've seen this with many former teammates from both HS and university. The key is to never stop being active. I've been running for ~25 years and am rarely injured. Most injuries I've during that span other than stress fractures heal on their own in 1-2 weeks with ice and active (i.e. biking) recovery.

No big injuries yet a decade or so out. I can think of a few old teammates who are perma-injured-- they mostly got that way by racing through injury (usually tendinitis). Plus a few eating disorders that caused bone issues. But if anything the high mileage people are doing better than others.

Tiger concurs.

https://www.thescore.com/pga/news/1972751/tiger-running-pretty-much-destroyed-my-body-and-my-knees

Running high mileage for long periods of time does degrade cartilage and tendons. People here saying running 100+ miles a week for years on end has no consequences are ignorant of the impact running has on the body. Running is probably the college sport that leaves more young people disabled and perma-injured than any other sport.

It's in the hole wrote:

Tiger concurs.

https://www.thescore.com/pga/news/1972751/tiger-running-pretty-much-destroyed-my-body-and-my-knees

Wow, yeah, man, tiger has a point. He knows a lot about running. Looks like I'll stop now.

People here are wrong wrote:

Running high mileage for long periods of time does degrade cartilage and tendons. People here saying running 100+ miles a week for years on end has no consequences are ignorant of the impact running has on the body. Running is probably the college sport that leaves more young people disabled and perma-injured than any other sport.

.

Citation?

You mention the achilles.

Seems to be a big problem amongst pro athletes - Bekele and Rupp are the best names that come to mind. Interestingly enough both Gwen Jorgenson and Andy Butchart both battled haglund's/bursitis, and I have as well.

geez there must be a dozen guys on my club team who ran high mileage in college and are constant injury cycle people in their 30s and onward.

Almost none of our top masters guys was a mileage runner in college...a few mid-d people survived but no real distance runners.