Running is a high impact sport with a ton of other environmental factors to consider. Staying healthy while running, plus avoiding pain and injury, is no easy feat. Nor is it particularly easy on your feet. As runners prepare to run this year’s NYC Marathon leading physical therapy clinic Perfect Stride offers 5 key tips to stay strong during the grueling training.

With physical performance at the core of their ethos, Perfect Stride aims to promote both physical longevity and injury prevention.
Here, they share 5 things NYC runners need to do in order to stay healthy.

1. Listen to your body – most running injuries don’t just happen overnight. They usually come with warning signs, namely soreness, aches and persistent pains. Don’t wait for them to turn into an injury before you do something! Listen to your body and make the right adjustments to stay in good condition.

2. Get plenty of sleep – sleep isn’t just important for your overall health; it will improve your running performance and rate of recovery, too. Sleep ensures the body has time to recover, heal, and build energy for later.

3. Combine different types of runs – a successful runner does not simply step out of their door and run as fast as they can and as long as they can. Most runners tend to stay in the aerobic zone, meaning 80% or more of the time they are running a slow, sustainable pace. Runners also need to incorporate different runs like tempo runs, track workouts, hill repeats and interval training into their running programs to improve their durability, speed and running efficiency.

4. Protect yourself in bad weather – this one’s especially important for New Yorkers – as we’re exposed to rain, snow, and everything in between! Choose fabrics that warm easily, and those that pull moisture away from the skin so it can evaporate at the surface. Just as it’s important to protect yourself in the cold, be mindful of the summer heat – heat-induced illnesses can be a serious threat.

5. Cross Training – when done right, cross training will help increase mobility, build resilience in tissue and help reduce the chance of injury, allowing you to stay healthy as a runner.