Pre-Run Stretching

Have you ever seen a cheetah stretch before it chases it’s prey?

Last night I decided to get out for a run with a different running group for a change. A bigger group than I usually run with, with a few faster runners. Before the run I looked on in mild amusement as I watched 100 plus runners participated in a pre-run stretch routine. Glancing around the group I could tell who some of the more serious runners were – they were milling around the outside watching the others stretch. WHAT?? Why were the “serious” runners not stretching? Well, if you’re still stretching before your runs you’re working on some outdated and potentially wrong information.

A plethora (thank you Three Amigos) of recent research has shown that, if done correctly, stretching does not help to prevent injury. However, in worse case scenarios, stretching done incorrectly can CAUSE injury, so really it seems there’s nothing to gain from stretching pre-run.


The whole idea of pre-run stretching has gone through a pretty dramatic revolution over the last few years. It used to be common knowledge that stretching prevented running injuries by getting the muscles loose. Around 2008-2009 some studies emerged that suggested static stretching might actually raise the risk of injury by damaging the muscles and temporarily reducing the muscle’s ability to absorb shock. A study by David A. Lally, Ph.D., showed an increase occurrence of injuries in marathon runners who stretched before runs than those who didn’t. Within the last year or two however, new studies have come out indicating that there doesn’t seem to be any statistical injury difference between those who stretch and those who don’t. A study by Daniel Pereles, MD, showed that in a group of 1400 runners the injury rates were about the same in both stretching and non stretching groups.

Perhaps even more interesting to runners though is a study by Jacob Wilson, PhD, of the University of Tampa. While he agreed with the findings that stretching doesn’t help prevent injury, he also found that stretching might DECREASE ENDURANCE. In his study, runners who stretched didn't run as fast in a half-hour performance run as those who did not stretch. A study by Nebraska Wesleyan University also agreed with this when it showed that runners with more sit and reach flexibility had lower running economy.

Before you run out and change your pre-run routine though, the study by Daniel Pereles also suggests that runners switching their pre-run stretch routine are at the highest risk of injury. This could possibly be because stretching can slightly alter your running stride – so if you’re used to stretching and stop, your stride might be altered, raising the risk of injury. Ultimately you have to be careful whenever you make any changes to your normal routine.

Bottom line; you might not be helping yourself out when you stretch, but don’t change your routine over night. The best way to prevent injury is to warm up properly, start slow until the muscles are warm, loose and ready to go.


WEB MD article: http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20110217/stretch-before-running-new-twist-on-old-debate

Nebraska Wesleyan University study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19050648

Risky stretches: http://www.suite101.com/content/risky-stretches-that-can-result-in-injury-a128043