At Texas Orthopedics, we’d like to think we always have our finger on the pulse of the running world. So, when Running USA – an advocacy group for the racing industry in the U.S. – released their trends on running races for 2017, we were all ears.
Via the group’s U.S. Road Race Participation Survey, we discovered that race entries were slightly down in 2017 from 2016 – 18.3 million vs. 18.5 million registrants.
Experts who study the running industry suggest two factors may have contributed to the decline: (1) higher entrance fees, and (2) the growing popularity of other fitness activities like triathlons, mud runs, and CrossFit.
The one factor remaining constant from 2016 to 2017 was the great number of women who ran races.
Approximately 59 percent of participants in all running races in 2017 were women. Women’s participation in the sport of running has increased steadily over men’s throughout the past 15 years.
The survey also revealed that the 5K proved to be the most widely-run event last year, followed by the half-marathon amounting to 13.1 miles.
The more we know about trends in running, the more we can help our Texas Orthopedics patients prep for big races or even just move their more casual but more frequent recreational runs.
To avoid the most common running injuries that we see like tendonitis, sprains/strains, and stress fractures:
- Stretch and warm up before running.
- Use proper form and well-fitting shoes.
- Gradually increase speed and distances–ramping up either too soon could be damaging.
- Stay hydrated and fueled up before, during, and after each run.
- Schedule rest days between runs.
If you have a chronic running injury or are set to train for a big event in the next few months, contact us to schedule an appointment with one of our sports medicine specialists to discuss treatment and/or your best training options.
(Adapted from (The New York Times-Well)
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