Debunking the Myths That Try to Stop Us

Just days before the Comrades Marathon, I received a phone call that completely caught me off guard. What started as a “concerned warning” quickly turned into a moment that challenged my confidence and forced me to reflect deeply.

Have you ever had someone question your journey… your discipline… or something you’ve worked so hard for?

In this episode, I unpack that experience and confront some of the most common myths about running - like “running ruins your knees” and “it makes you age faster.” More importantly, we explore how these myths can shape our mindset, limit our potential, and distract us from what truly matters.

This is not just about running - it’s about learning to think critically, trust evidence, and protect your passion from uninformed voices.

If you’ve ever doubted yourself because of what others say… this episode is for you.

Tune in, and remember: 

Respect the load. Respect recovery. And never let myths outrun your purpose.

Transcript

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Hello friends, welcome back to Move and Thrive. Thank you so much for being here. I truly appreciate it. Today I want to share something interesting. Something that happened to me this week. Something that almost disturbed my spirit, my excitement about Comrades Marathon. You know, I received a call, uh, a phone call today. Not just any call, but a call that caught me off guard, completely off guard. A concerned voice from the other end, from a so-called spiritual woman that I know. She's known of being spiritual. She didn't call to wish me luck for Comrades Marathon that is coming. She didn't call to celebrate the months of preparation training. No, she called to warn me about my running. According to her, what I was doing to my body is torture. It's too extreme. It's dangerous. According to her, running marathons was not right. It's not good for the body. Yeah, she she's not a health professional, she's not a sports person, but for some reason she knows this truth. She said I was damaging my joints, and all I was doing was to make myself age faster. That call disturbed me, but I'm fine now. You know, it disturbed me because it didn't come months ago. It just came few days before Comrade's Marathon. You know, that excitement I had been building, that sense of anticipation. Sometimes there is anxiety that comes with preparing for Comrade's Marathon. At this point, you are looking forward to it, then suddenly a call like this comes. And after that call, I sat down and asked myself, was she genuinely concerned about me? Or was this one of those voices that tries to blunt doubt just when you are about to do something meaningful? Because we all know those voices, they exist. In fact, it's not the first time I come across such people who always have something negative to say about exercise, about running. And these voices sometimes are not always loud, not always aggressive. Sometimes they sound gentle, even spiritual, you know, but their outcome is the same. They discourage, they create fear, they make you question what you are working on, what you have worked on so hard. And here is what struck me the most. She had a strong opinion about running. I forgot to ask her this important question. What form of physical activity do you do? Because maybe we can learn from you. I don't know how I forgot to ask her that question. Because often the loudest critiques of movements are the people who are not engaged in physical activities, but they have opinions about people who are exercising. You know that conversation stayed with me for some time. I'm over it now, and that conversation has led me to this episode. I was planning something else, but I thought let me deal with this. Because what she said is not new, it's part of a long list of running myths that refuses to die. Let's start with the big one that says running will destroy your knees, running will damage your joints, running will lead to arthritis. You've had it right. Your family probably have said it, your friends have warned you. But here is what the science actually says. Running is not associated with higher rates of arthritis. In many studies, in fact, runners have lower rates of knee pain, joint pain than non runners, because issues of arthritis have got to do with lifestyle, especially wrong eating habits, eating wrong foods, foods that causes your blood to be acidic, foods that promotes inflammation, because arthritis is inflammation of joints. So it's a lifestyle-related problem, is an issue of poor lifestyle. So recreational running may even protect joint health. That's what science says. So this thing of saying running will destroy your joints, running will cause arthritis is nowhere close to becoming the truth. So allow that to sink in. The problem is not running, the problem is lifestyle, poor lifestyle that causes many of these problems. Obviously, if you're doing too much too soon, if you don't rest, you don't recover well, there will be consequences, but not arthritis. You might have uh injuries that are related to overuse, which can be prevented. So, as a sports physiotherapist, I can tell you this clearly. Running injuries are not about the running itself. They are caused mainly about mismanaged load. So if you are a runner and you manage your load properly, you should not be having problems. And the more you train, the more you gain fitness, the more your joints are healthy, the more you can enjoy longer. So the thing of running marathons and ultramarathons as damaging your body is not true, especially if you have trained correctly. So do not be deceived by what people tell you. Keep doing what is right and run correctly and apply all the right principles of training. Another myth that we hear is that running makes you age faster. I don't know where this is coming from. This one really surprised me when she said it that running will make you age faster. It sounds logical, right? You push your body hard, surely you weigh it out. But biology tells a different story. Yes, running is a stressor, but it's a positive stressor. It strengthens your cardiovascular system, it improves bone density, it supports mental health, it may even help maintain cellular health and slow aspects of aging. In fact, regular exercise is one of the most powerful anti-aging tools we have. So running does not age you faster. Poor lifestyle habits do. Now, I want to also address some of the dangerous myths that actually cause harm. I want to talk about the myths that really hurt runners. Things like more kilometers will always make you better. No pain, no gain. You must run hard every day to be strong. These are some of the things we hear from other runners, from coaches, from other people that are really now causing harm to runners. So these are not just myths, they are injury factories. These are putting runners at risk of injuries. Because adaptation doesn't happen from training alone, it happens when training meets recovery. Many runners do not want to recover. We want to just push our bodies hard. That's when we get injured. And here is something powerful. Studies show that runners who sleep poorly are almost twice as likely to get injured. So what is important in running is that yes, you must train hard, but you must also recover well. So recovery that's where fitness is gained. So if there is recovery in your program, you will be okay, you'll be safe from injuries, you will gain fitness the right way. After all the myths are stripped away, here is what remains. Running is a tool for health, a tool for resilience, a tool for discipline, a tool for mental strength. But it must be done wisely. Because the body is not fragile, it is adaptable. Giving the right load, giving the right recovery and the right approach, the body becomes stronger. So, what did I learn from that phone call? It's not just about running, I learned about people. I learned that not every warning is wisdom, not every concern is helpful, and not every voice deserves influence over your journey. Because if I had listened blindly, I would have allowed fear to replace months of preparation. So if you are listening to this before your big race or you are reflecting after a race, here is my message to you. Do not let uninformed voices define your limits. Do not let fear override evidence, and do not let doubt steal your joy. Run your race, trust your preparation, and most importantly, recover wisely. As always, please respect the Lord. Respect recover and never let me override your purpose. Until next time, please keep moving and keep driving.