We have all been there: working towards a goal, getting excited about shifts we see within ourselves along the way, and then it hits us: learning something the hard way. Sometimes it is coupled with calling a friend or a quick google search to see how to avoid it for next time, and certainly it comes with “gosh, I wish I knew that sooner!” This blog post is aimed at helping you avoid some of those moments with my own top 10 list of mistakes I’ve made so you can avoid them yourself! Without further ado, my top mistakes:
- Wearing the wrong gear
What you do before your run to set yourself up for success matters, including the gear you have on before stepping foot out the door (or onto a treadmill). When I first started running consistently, I remember wondering how on earth people were running comfortable loops around the lakes in short shorts. Never mind the distance, how on earth were they doing that without chafing? Meanwhile, I was running in cotton shorts and had never heard of anti-chafe products. Whoops!
If something doesn’t feel right, or used to feel great but doesn’t anymore, check your gear! Running means your body is in motion, and with that motion comes jostling and skin rubbing against itself. There’s a reason that clothes made for running utilize particular materials, aimed at wicking sweat and avoiding the inevitable red marks of chafing, blisters, or blackened toenails. Check your tags, check your sizing (especially if you wear a sports bra – there are fantastic calculators online to ensure you have the right size!), and run confidently in the clothing that you feel great in. Remember – clothes are meant to fit your body, not the other way around.
What works for one runner may or may not work for the next, which is why recommendations are so individualized. One person’s favorite running socks may not work as well (or at all) for their closest friend. As someone who has loose skin from three pregnancies, I generally prefer high-waisted shorts – not because there is anything aesthetically wrong with loose skin, but because the elastic waistband of mid-rise shorts can cause chafing for me. I am a really heavy sweater, so I like running in toe socks, but for other folks, the thought of that is truly bizarre. I joke that I have “hobbit feet” (i.e. really wide feet!), and tend to buy men’s shoes since the standard width is wide, and even then, I opt for a men’s wide at times. My older sister has standard-to-narrow feet and would be sloshing around in my shoes even though the numerical size is the same. I tend to run relatively high mileage, so I also switch my shoes out regularly rather than running in the same pair each day or for the entire training block. Everyone burns through shoes at a different rate depending on gait, running surface, body size, etc. but you will be able to tell yours are reaching their next phase of life (running errands, then yardwork!) as time goes on. If you pick up a second pair of the same shoe and notice a stark difference, that’s also a sign!
As for toenail and blister troubles, I’d encourage every runner to either head to their local running store to get fitted or check their own sizing after a run or at the end of the day so your feet have any swelling that comes from time on feet, versus the start of the day. Many runners size up a half size from their street shoes for extra toe room. Explore lacing techniques, such as heel-lock lacing or a runner’s knot, to see what keeps you the most comfortable. You can even bend your toes to scrunch your feet up when initially lacing your shoes to mimic the space needed mid-foot to avoid any rubbing or blisters along the top of your mid-foot.
How do you figure out what works for you? Time, and the trial and error that comes along with it. The great thing about the running community? Folks really want you to enjoy it and be successful, so most people (myself-included!) are an open book and would love to share their experience if you want some help!
- Forgetting sunscreen
This could go under gear, but feels important enough to be a standalone point. Study after study shows that skin cancer is more prevalent among distance runners. As someone who has had melanoma removed despite doing just about everything to prevent it, please take care of your skin! Every summer, one of my goals is to have as minimal of a running watch tan line as possible. Don’t forget the parts that are less likely to burn, such as the backs of your calves, bottom of your thighs, and (in the winter) areas that are prone to sun reflecting off of fresh snow. If you are able to avoid running during peak UV hours, that is another great strategy, although like many of you, it is simply not always possible given various life obligations. And the “base tan” myth you may have grown up hearing- it is definitely a myth. Time in a tanning bed in advance of a vacation is not protective. Slather on that sunscreen!
- Racing workouts
People come to running and races with all sorts of goals- getting outside, maintaining health and wellness, reaching certain pace or distance goals, and more. Make sure to keep your easy miles truly easy, and not race your workouts. What does that mean in realistic terms? Easy miles should be conversational, and because life happens, your easy pace may vary from day to day based on sleep, stress, and other factors. I often catch up with my parents on the phone when I am running easy miles, and don’t even look at my pace or have it showing on my watch face. At the end of the run, I figure that the pace at which I could talk about my mom’s upcoming book club baking creation, or my dad’s planned shared meal for Burning Man, was the right pace for the day.
Racing workouts may seem like an odd turn of phrase when it comes to doing speedwork, but running faster than your current level of fitness is not doing you any favors, either. I have absolutely been guilty of this, and my fitness didn’t progress at the rate I wanted despite seemingly putting in “more” work because it was not the right kind of work. Similar to running too hard on your easy days (and thus not being able to properly recover and be successful on a speedwork day), running your intervals too hard can lead to not hitting target paces throughout. Using an online pace calculator based on a recent run or race can really help you determine paces for different types of speedwork (tempo, threshold, 3-5k intervals, etc.) so you are not left feeling absolutely gassed the rest of the day. Which leads us to…
4.Being too married to the plan
In general, hitting 85% of your planned runs is a huge success. I have said this before and will say it again: life happens. A poor night of sleep, an absolutely delicious and spicy curry the evening before a speed workout, kids up all night with norovirus – there are plenty of reasons to modify, move, or skip a run in favor of progressing and enjoying things long-term. During one of my final long runs before Grandma’s in 2025, I had an awful night of sleep – travel, sick kids, and the cumulative fatigue of an intense training block. I started my planned 22 mile run with mid-run marathon pace work, and within a few miles, knew it was not happening that day. I pulled way back on pace, texted my husband not to worry when he saw my tracker moving slower, and nailed the workout two days later. Later this summer, I had a chance to enjoy the hilly Maah Daah Hey trail in North Dakota. The run I had on my schedule was intervals at 5k pace, but I pivoted to make sure I didn’t let running get in the way of enjoying an incredible experience in a new place, and left with absolutely zero regrets.
Put simply: it is okay to adjust. If you find yourself panicking, think of the advice you would give a friend if your positions were reversed. I imagine you would be far less worried and much more gentle about the circumstances and long-term success. A training plan is just that: a plan. It is not carved in stone. Being flexible gives you the chance to enjoy runs in new spots you may find yourself in, too!
5. Ramping up too fast
Previously, I wrote about how to build a strong base for your training, and that advice certainly applies here as well. When you have a strong foundation, you are more likely to be successful with your training plan and have fun along the way. Whether it is working on building up your mileage and long runs to complete your first marathon, adding speedwork to chip away at a PR (personal record), or trying to hit consistent weekly/monthly mileage, the rate at which you do these things matters. Avoid injury and burnout by doing things such as cutback weeks (planned weeks where you are running fewer miles and/or lower intensity), building your mileage carefully (such as following the 10% rule), and checking in with yourself to see how your plan is going. Are you feeling exhausted all the time? Is it hard to hit certain paces? Are things still fun? Do you feel “off” or like you’re getting the warning signs of “too much, too soon”? It is better to back off a bit and reassess, than to plow forward and end up unable to run. I learned this lesson the hard way when a stress fracture in 2013 kept me from running my first marathon, and because I stubbornly kept running through pain, I had no desire to run again for many years. Don’t be me!
If things aren’t fun but you feel physically fine, it can also be a really good gut-check moment to look out for signs of burnout. When you aren’t enjoying workouts or races, it feels like an obligation more times than not, and running just seems to have lost its spark for you, you may be experiencing burnout. There are plenty of ways to get out of this funk, like taking a cutback week or hitting up a new running spot, but better yet is to be mindful of it along the way if you’re able.
6.Forgetting cross training
Jacob Oak wrote a fantastic post about this in October, and put it beautifully when he said that “the truth is that strength training is one of the most powerful tools you have as a runner. It does not take away from your running. It enhances it. Strength helps you maintain form late in races, handle higher mileage, and stay injury free through tough training blocks.”
Anyone training for a race has had one of those mentally and physically tough runs – the ones that leave you questioning your ability to complete your upcoming race, the wisdom of signing up for it in the first place, or both. Cross training, including strength and mobility work, is a powerful tool that helps you during those challenging moments. Cross training can be the ticket to staying injury free during your training cycle, keep things interesting so workouts don’t feel so repetitive, and not fall apart in the latter stages of a race. During the NCTR Bird Sanctuary trail race in Solon Springs in 2025 (Shannon, fellow Grambassador, ran it with me back in 2024!), I was acutely aware of this. On paper, it looked like I ran a really solid race. Off book, though, I was acutely aware of the glaring gap in my training going from one year to the next. Sure, I was running higher mileage and faster paces in the lead-up to the second try at the course, but during the actual race? My legs and posterior chain were simply not equipped to handle the elevation and terrain challenges that come with trail racing. I may have run it only a touch slower the second year, but the reasons why were incredibly clear to me because I had favored mileage over the lifting I had kept up with the year prior. That feedback was good, though, because I knew what needed to change so I could be stronger overall and have that overall body strength to lean on. We learn something new about ourselves with every race and every training block, and the chance to keep learning about ourselves is one of the many gifts of running.
If you are just getting started with cross training, remember the adage of keeping your easy days easy, and your hard days hard. If you have an easy run planned that day, consider that a great opportunity to do upper body work so that the day stays easy on your legs. If you have speedwork planned, that could be a good day to build in lower body work later in the day or just after your workout. A mid-week medium-long run? Perhaps that’s when you add some full-body work. I like to think that I am not just “training for Grandma’s Marathon,” but that I am training for my old lady body – the one that lives as independently as possible for as long as possible. Cross training and strength work will go so far in achieving this, and in the short-term, you’ll be so glad when you hit mile 3 of the 5k, 12 of the half, or 25 of the marathon, and have just that little bit extra to give!
If you’re like me and arrived at running without a background in sports or athletics, the gym can feel like a really intimidating place, but I promise, it gets better! There are countless online resources about lifting, cross training, and mobility work for runners, YouTube videos to follow, lists of different lifts to try (including on Jacob’s post!), and other online forums if you want to dig into where to start. A running-specific PT will have great advice specific to your medical history and running form. For folks who may not have access to a gym or gym equipment, resistance bands and bodyweight-only exercises are fantastic, too. Lastly, you do not need to have a huge amount of time available to make cross training worth it. Whether you have 5 minutes every once in a while, or 30 all in one go, those minutes add up!
7. Falling into the comparison trap
Alyson touched on this in her blog post about “The Power of Melting,” and ensuring that we don’t let comparison steal the joy from running. She shared that “when we wish for a better body, or a faster time, what’s really happening is that we are wanting more from ourselves. The solution may lie in turning inward towards the body we are actually living in.” Check out her post for staying rooted in your body, exactly as it is, exactly where it is now.
One of the great things about living in such an interconnected world is the ability to get advice and inspiration from others – and to be that for others. One of the hardest things is that it can be too easy to compare our accomplishments, goals, or even our own bodies to others, and sink into negative self-talk. If you find yourself doing this, there are some concrete steps you can take, such as unfollowing (or hiding from your feed) any accounts that trigger that negative self-talk. Focus on improving based on yourself, and not others. Set goals that have nothing to do with pace or distance, like running in different places, counting how many dogs you see during a marathon, fueling in a way that leaves you feeling better at the end of a race and the days that follow, or finding and repeating a mantra to yourself that helps you when you find yourself feeling down. Make a list of your own individual things you are proud of that are comparison-free, so that your own sense of pride isn’t married to what anyone else is doing.
8.Inadequate fueling
Ah, fueling. There is a reason that runners talk about what works, what doesn’t, and some unfortunate trips to the bathroom (or porta potty, or bushes) that happened as a result of fueling errors. For anyone doing endurance sports, it seems to be the one thing that brings us all together.
What you put into your system – or forget to – before and during a run matters. From too much fiber (been there!), to not enough electrolytes (there too!), to not enough carbs (whoops!), your fueling is either working for you or against you.
The basics? You will run better and recover faster if you fuel for runs. Yes, even the shorter ones. Featherstone Nutrition has many resources on this, such as this one that digs into fueling for shorter efforts.
Each year, as Grandma’s Marathon weekend draws closer, the questions start rolling in around what people plan to use for their pre-race dinner, pre-race breakfast, and fueling during the run. The good news is that you do not actually have to be embarking on a 20 miler to start figuring this out. By keeping a mental (or physical) note of what you had before and/or during a run that went particularly well (or spectacularly terrible), you are building your race weekend fueling strategy. Once you know the types of “quick carbs” that work for you during your long runs and runs at your goal pace, you can then choose to either keep using them for all of your training runs, or look to less expensive types of fuel to save a bit of money during your training block. During my marathons, for example, I carry pretty standard carbs and electrolyte chewables. Since I know what works or me, I enjoy other things like gummy bears, PB&J sandwiches, a breakfast pastry, or some applesauce pouches. I don’t know what sort of sorcery happens with a basic PB&J when you’re running with it, but it somehow transforms into the greatest sandwich of my life every time I have it on a long run. It took me a while to get there, though, and I have had my fair share of “that… we won’t be doing again” experiences. While they aren’t fun at the time, it is better to figure it out during a training run well in advance of race day, than during the race itself.
Lastly, look into what is offered on-course so you know what to expect, where, and practice that during training runs. Grandma’s Marathon is incredibly well-run, and because of this, it was the first race where I felt confident fully relying on race-provided hydration. Leading up to race day, I practiced with water and Powerade Ion4, both offered throughout the race, so I had zero worries about how they would sit in my stomach.
9.Not prioritizing recovery
Recovery comes in many forms, whether it is taking your easy runs easy enough, your days off completely off (or completely off of your legs), getting enough to eat, getting enough sleep, and mentally recovering from a tough race (or tough life circumstance). It can be challenging to recover from overtraining, which is all the more true when you are chronically overtired or underfueled. During training cycles where I prioritized knocking out every single mile on my training plan over getting to sleep at a decent hour, I never reaped the full benefit of all the hard training I was putting in (and was, frankly, grumpy). The physical act of running is only one piece of what makes you ready on race day—be sure to recover, too!
10.Forgetting that it’s only running
At the end of the day, running should feel like something that we get to do versus have to do. Most of us aren’t professionals, and even for those who are, running is part of who we are, not all of it. Running, and movement in general, is a great thing to add to your life to create joy, chase your potential, stay active, and try something new—not create such a strict running routine that the slightest shift in your plan creates waves of anxiety. Have we all had runs that we are glad are behind us, and enjoy the “ran” more than the “run”? Absolutely. But should most of it be fun, something we look forward to, and a way to recenter ourselves? Absolutely. It’s only running. It is okay to not crush every run. It is okay to listen to your body and skip a run (or add a mile!). It is okay to move a scheduled run when you need to—I certainly did so for Grandma’s when a relaxed morning as a family before our daughter’s dance recital (and some celebratory ice cream afterwards) felt like the best way to spend the day.
It is worth repeating: There is no set amount of minutes, miles, days per week, or races that make you a runner. Keep your running rooted in your why, stay flexible, and be kind to yourself along the way, and the Grandma’s Marathon Weekend finish line may very well turn into more of a starting line for your running journey. During your training, as with all things, life happens, and if you’re able to even hit 85% of the plan you’ve set for yourself, you’ve had an incredibly successful training block. Running can be such a fun part of your life – but it also isn’t your entire life. Start slow, wear sunscreen, celebrate small wins along the way, and remember: Progress, not perfection. You’ve got this!
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Favorite Grandma’s Marathon Memory: There is something extra special about your first Grandma’s, and my favorite memory is simply the overall feeling I had during the race (and even now, talking about it!). My primary race-day goal was to take it all in, rather than being so focused on pace that I only remembered my watch face. I had wanted to run Grandma’s for nearly 30 years after seeing my dad run the 20th anniversary of the race. He has often said “every runner has got to do Grandma’s,” and I agree. I spent so much of my race feeling gratitude: gratitude for being able to arrive at the start line surrounded by folks who each had their own journey to get there, gratitude and awe for what a special experience it was to follow my dad’s route, and gratitude for the unique way the north shore invites us to reflect on our interconnectedness. To hear the waves along the same shoreline, see the light filtering through the same trees, and feel encouraged by the cheers of many of the very same residents who cheered on my dad, just like they have done for decades of Grandma’s runners- oh, what a feeling indeed! That interconnectedness and gratitude made for an unforgettable day.
Three words to describe your training, racing, or life: Determined, grateful, optimistic
Favorite post-race beverage: Chocolate milk!
Reason you absolutely won’t run outside: I have three little kids at home, so at times, their needs mean I am on the treadmill at odd hours.