December 8, 2024
Half Marathon, 10K & 5K Races

The 5 stages of running injury grief

Little did I know when I injured my foot last August that it would 8 months and counting of recovery.  In over 25 years of running I’ve never had a serious injury.  Yes I’ve had some setbacks along the way…shin splints, hip and knee pain, sprained ankles but nothing that stopped me from running.  I ran through everything.

That streak ended last August while I was ramping up my training for December’s Reggae Marathon.  I still don’t know exactly what caused the seriously strained plantar in my right foot but it hobbled me and after the race in December I stopped running.

Since then I’ve experienced tons of grief and learned about the 5 stages of running injury grief: denial anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance.  Through the first 4 stages I kept running.  Duh!  Only in January did I have the good sense (with a lot of prodding from my wife Sally) to STOP running and rest.  Only now have I moved to the final stage, acceptance.

The author of “The 5 stages of running injury grief” is McKenzie Lobby and his article in active.com is worth reading:  RUNNING GRIEF.

Until next time…

Reggae Marathon RunninGuy

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