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How Running Can Make You Sick
Depending on how far you’re running
I was five days away from running my first half-marathon when I got sick.
It was just a regular cough and cold but I felt terrible, and I couldn’t believe the bad timing.
I’m certainly not an elite athlete but my training had gone from a standing start (quite literally) to running regularly for 90 minutes+ in just a few months.
During the last couple of weeks before the event, I was running further and harder than before. I thought it was just bad luck and even worse timing but I’ve since read that intense physical activity can make us more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.
I started running again at the start of the UK’s lockdown, and I have one eye on another half-marathon in the future but it’s a little unsettling to read, given the current COVID-19 pandemic, that long-distance running could mean you’re more vulnerable to getting ill.
Why Does Running Make Us Sick?
Running is good for us.
I was relieved to hear that recreational runners — people running for pleasure rather than for competitions — actually benefit from the immune boosting powers of running.
