Bounce back strongly from illness with our tips for a safe and healthy return to running

Words Dr Juliet McGrattan

Running helps to keep us physically and mentally fit. Many of us depend on it for life balance and health. When illness strikes, we can miss running so much and fear our hard-earned fitness is rapidly disappearing, meaning there’s often an overwhelming desire to get back out there as soon as possible. Tempting though it is to hit the road quickly, starting back up exactly where we left off, there is a better way to make a comeback.

We are all individuals and we all recover from illness at difierent rates, but knowing how to get back to running safely and healthily is key to a successful return. Read on to work out if you are ready to start running again and discover the best way to do it in a healthy, controlled and injury-free way.

Are you ready to exercise?

You need to wait until you are fully better before you run again. This may sound obvious, but when you’re eager to get back to it, it’s easy to overestimate your abilities and a full recovery may take longer than you think or want. Too much too soon will only knock you back, so it’s important to be honest with yourself. Obviously, the more unwell you have been, the longer your recovery will probably take. But even if you’ve only had a mild illness, you need to make sure you are both physically and mentally fit enough to run again.