Running clubs are full. Parkrun is a weekly ritual. On the surface, the sport has never been better in health, but physiotherapists are seeing a different picture in the clinic – rising injury rates, overtraining and runners struggling to slow down in a culture built on comparison.
Running has never been more popular. From marathon training plans filling TikTok feeds to Strava screenshots shared on Instagram stories, the sport has shifted from a solitary pursuit into a lifestyle defined by consistency, mileage and self- discipline.
But beneath the rise in running culture sits another growing trend: injury.
For many runners, the hardest part is not necessarily the injury itself, but the act of slowing down.
John Daly, physiotherapist at Pure Sports Medicine, says the issue is often progression that comes too quickly.
“People are just doing too much too soon. People perhaps compare times and they haven’t had that training history of exposing their body to the load,” he says.
“We are seeing an increase in bone stress injuries where people are doing too much too soon.”
“A marathon is a big commitment,” he says. “It’s important to see if you actually enjoy the process before jumping in the deep end. Get some 5ks, 10ks, and half marathons first.”
The explosion of online running culture has created an environment where progression and comparison are constantly visible. Easy runs are uploaded publicly, weekly mileage is tracked obsessively, and rest days can feel unproductive when everyone else appears to still be moving.
According to Tom Goom, physiotherapist and running specialist, social media has amplified the pressure runners place on themselves to keep going, even when their bodies are signalling otherwise.
“There is sometimes quite a lot of external pressure for people to keep running, and that might come from having lots of followers on Strava,” he says.
“So they feel like they have to keep going, or if they’re a bit of an influence and they’ve got loads of followers on Instagram that want to keep up with them, that might keep them going when really maybe they should be stopping.”
“A lot of people run for their mental wellbeing,” he says. “Running is a huge part of people’s social lives now. So if they have to stop, they’re losing that exercise, they’re losing that social life and they might be losing that coping strategy.”
For injured runners, recovery is rarely just physical.
Within running culture, there is often a celebration of endurance and perseverance. Phrases such as ‘rest is rust’, as Goom explains, continue to circulate online and reinforce the idea that pausing is weakness rather than necessity.
“People see rest as failure rather than recovery,” Goom says. “What we try to help people understand is that when you exercise, it stimulates your body to adapt, and all that adaptation happens when you’re resting and recovering.”
Daly agrees, explaining that recovery should not be viewed as separate from training, but part of it.
“The rest is when we absorb the load, the benefits and the effect of training,” he says. “If we are not absorbing the training, then we’re not actually getting the benefits of it.”
“Strength and conditioning can not only help when you’re injured to get you back running, it can also help you keep running,” Daly says. “You are able to hold your paces for longer because your body is more robust.”
“I always think trying to keep twice a week when you are working calves should be a part of your programme.”
Yet despite the importance of strength work and recovery, many runners struggle psychologically with stepping away from the sport.
Daly says that for some athletes, stopping exercise completely can trigger a ‘negative downward spiral’, particularly when running has become central to stress relief, routine or identity.
Goom adds that there is no single solution.
“There aren’t one-size-fits-all approaches that work for everyone,” he says. “It will come down to what that individual can manage consistently.”
As running culture continues to grow online, so too does the pressure to constantly progress. But beneath the race times, training blocks and uploaded runs lies a quieter reality: maintenance, restraint and recovery are often the things runners struggle with most.
*Disclaimer from both physiotherapists, if you have a running injury be sure to seek medical advice.